The Beggar's Opera (film)

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The Beggar's Opera
Directed by	Peter Brook
Produced by	Laurence Olivier Herbert Wilcox
Written by	Christopher Fry Denis Cannan John Gay
Starring	Laurence Olivier
Music by	Arthur Bliss
Cinematography	Guy Green
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release date(s)	1953
Running time	94 min.
Language	English
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Peter Brook's film version of The Beggar's Opera was made in 1953 starring Laurence Olivier, Dorothy Tutin, Stanley Holloway and others. Olivier and Holloway do their own singing in this film, but Dorothy Tutin and several others are dubbed. This was Laurence Olivier's only film musical.

With additional dialogue and lyrics by Christopher Fry, the film expands on some elements in the opera, notably giving Mrs Trapes (Athene Seyler) a larger role and adding dramatic action sequences to Macheath's escape.

The framing device is also changed: the Beggar (Hugh Griffith) is himself a prisoner in Newgate with the real Macheath, who escapes at the end under cover of the confusion created when the Beggar decides that his fictional Macheath should be reprieved.

Laurence Olivier
Shakespeare Trilogy	Henry V (1944) | Hamlet (1948) | Richard III (1955)
Other Films	The Prince and the Showgirl (1957) | Three Sisters (1970)
Productions	The Beggar's Opera (1953) | "Laurence Olivier Presents" (1976-78) (TV)
Books	Confessions of an Actor: An Autobiography (1985) | On Acting (1986)
See Also	Laurence Olivier Productions (L.O.P.) | Filmography and list of stage appearances | List of awards & nominations