Henry VIII (1911)

Early silent movie adaptation of Shakespeare's play, focused on key moments: the arrest of the Duke of Buckingham, Henry's infatuation with Anne Boleyn at a banquet, the Trial of Queen Katharine, Cardinal Wolsey's downfall, and Anne's coronation.

Date of release
1911-01-02
TMDB
1.0 / 10 (2)
Runtime
40m
Genres
Drama, History
Director
William Barker, Herbert Beerbohm Tree

Casting

Interesting facts

Henry VIII (1911) is a British historical film based on the play of the same name by William Shakespeare. The film consisted of scenes from the play; it was released for six weeks before all copies were burnt. At a time when films based on Shakespeare plays were common, the film was considered to have a unique appeal and had considerable success. It was well-viewed in contemporary newspapers.

Background, production and release

Thirty-six film adaptions of Shakespeare plays were produced between 1908 and 1913. Most of these were of American origin; American films were cheap to import and dominated the British market. Films in these period appealed mainly to a working-class audience and were often shown among other entertainment in music halls. This demographic found Shakespeare's violent and romantic storylines exciting.

The film was produced by William Barker and starred Herbert Beerbohm Tree. It was the most expensive film based on a Shakespeare play that had then been made and Tree was paid £1,000, a very high salary by the standards of the time. Filming was conducted over a single day. The film was released for a six week period beginning in March 1911.

Read on Wikipedia · Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Data from Wikidata.

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