The film's opening title card reads: "M. B. Dudley presents Mr. Frederick Warde in Shakespeare's Masterpiece, The Life and Death of King Richard III." Although a 1912 copyright statement for the Richard III Film Co. Inc. appears on the film's credits, the picture was not registered for copyright until September 9, 1913, at which time the copyright claimant was the Sterling Film and Camera Co. Early ads for the film list it as a Shakespeare Film Co. production, available for state rights distribution on October 15, 1912. It is probable that the Richard III Film Co. was a renamed version of the Shakespeare Film Co. Although ads for Richard III included titles of three pictures "in preparation" by the company, no additional films were made under either company name. In early 1913, the Sterling Camera and Film Co. apparently bought the rights to Richard III and made it available for distribution to film exchanges.
While historically, and in William Shakespeare's play, Richard was the "Duke of Gloucester," the film's titles consistently list the character as the "Duke of Gloster." "Miss De Felice," who portrayed the Princess Elizabeth in the film, May have been the actress Carlotta De Felice. The character played by actor George Moss is called "Tressel" in the opening credits, but there is no character by that name in either the film or Shakespeare's play. It is probable that the character should have been listed as "Tyrell," the man who killed the young princes in both the play and the film. After the opening title card, Warde appears before a curtain, in modern dress, and bows to the audience. He reappears at the end of the film to take a final bow.
In a Brooklyn Eagle interview with Warde, reprinted in New York Dramatic Mirror on November 13, 1912, the actor stated: "The pictures of Richard III were taken on the grounds of Judge Carey's place on City Island [Long Island Sound]. The ruins of the house were transformed into settings for the different scenes, the cellar...used as tower dungeons and other things." In Warde's memoirs, published in 1920, he further remarked that some exteriors and battle scenes were photographed in Westchester County, NY.
As stated in ads for the film, the production cost $30,000. News items in New York Dramatic Mirror indicate that the film was screened at a private showing in New York on October 6, 1912 and that public screenings of the film were to be held from October 15, 1912 at "a Broadway house" where Warde would "give a lecture before the curtain." Reviews contained in the copyright registry file on the film reveal that in early January 1913 Warde gave lectures on the film when it was exhibited in Augusta and Savannah, GA, Jacksonville, FL and other Southern cities.
The British-born Warde (1851-1935) was widely known in the U.S. for his Shakespearean roles. According to a September 11, 1912 New York Dramatic Mirror news item, he had not appeared on the stage for "several years" but had been lecturing on Shakespearean plays in which he had acted. Biographical sources reveal that stage and screen star Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. acknowledged Warde as his acting mentor. Richard III was Warde's first motion picture. Though it was thought to be a "lost film" for decades, in 1996 a nitrate print of the film, with original tinting, was donated to AFI by a private collector. A safety print of a restored version was deposited in the AFI Collection at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
The historical Richard, Duke of Gloucester, was the brother of Yorkish King Edward IV, who ascended the throne after the death of the Lancastrian King Henry VI. Following Edward's death in 1483, Richard became king. The last of the York line, Richard was killed during a battle with Henry, Earl of Richmond at Bosworth Field on August 22, 1485. Richmond then became Henry VII, the first Tudor king, thus ending the Wars of the Roses. Since the sixteenth century, much of what has been commonly considered Richard's physical deformities and evil-doing emanated from the play by Shakespeare, who received patronage from Queen Elizabeth I, granddaughter of Henry VII. Through the centuries, historical interpretations of Richard have often differed from the sinister, deformed figure portrayed in Shakespeare's play.
There have been many film and television adaptations of Shakespeare's play, beginning in September 1908 with a one-reel Vitagraph Co. adaptation directed by and starring William V. Ranous. Other film and television adaptations include a two-reel British production made in 1911, directed by and starring Sir Richard F. Benson; an eighteen minute BBC teleplay broadcast in April 1937, starring Ernest Milton; a one-hour NBC teleplay broadcast on July 30, 1950, directed by Albert McCleery and starring William Windom; a 1955 British film directed by and starring Laurence Olivier; a 1983 four-hour BBC teleplay directed by Jane Howell and starring Ron Cook; and a 1995 British film, set in 1930s England, directed by Richard Loncraine and starring Sir Ian McKellan. Al Pacino produced and starred in a 1996 feature film, Looking for Richard, which is a partial documentary on the staging of Richard III, with extensive footage of a performance of the play.
The historical figure of Richard III was also featured in the 1939 Universal film Tower of London, directed by Rowland V. Lee and starring Basil Rathbone, Boris Karloff and Vincent Price, and a 1962 United Artists release of the same name, directed by Roger Corman and starring Vincent Price and Michael Pate. Portions of Richard III also figured into the plot of the 1955 Twentieth Century-Fox film Prince of Players, directed by Philip Dunne and starring Richard Burton as actor Edwin Booth. The 1977 Warner Bros. comedy The Goodbye Girl, directed by Herbert Ross and based on Neil Simon's play featured Richard Dreyfuss as an actor portraying an avant garde version of Richard III.
Shown at AFI Los Angeles International Film Festival (Mid Fest Gala) October 18-31, 1996.
Shown at Portland International Film Festival February 13 - March 2, 1997.
Shown at Venice International Film Festival (Special Events) August 27 - September 6, 1997.
b&w
5,000 feet
A recent discovery donated by retired projectionist, William Buffman, to the American Film Institute, "Richard III" boasts to be the earliest surviving print of an American feature film.
