| Richard III | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | André Calmettes James Keane |
| Produced by | J. Stuart Blackton M.B. Dudley |
| Written by | James Keane William Shakespeare |
| Starring | Frederick Warde Robert Gemp |
| Distributed by | States Rights Independent Exchanges |
| Release date(s) | October 15, 1912 |
| Running time | 55 min. |
| Country | France United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $30,000 (estimated) |
Richard III (1912) is a 55-minute film adaptation of Shakespeare's play, starring Frederick Warde as the title character. The film, a French/U.S. coproduction, was produced by Film d'Art and released through the independent states rights film distribution system. The film was directed by French film director André Calmettes, who had previously directed the films The Assassination of the Duke of Guise (1908) with a score composed by Camille Saint-Saëns, La Tosca (1909) based on the play by Victorien Sardou, and La Dame aux Camélias (1910) with Sarah Bernhardt. Richard III was adapted from Shakespeare's original by playwright James Keane, who also served as co-director and actor.
In 1996, a pristine print of the film was found by a private collector and donated to the American Film Institute. It is considered to be the earliest surviving American feature film.[1]
On June 26, 2001, Kino International released the film on DVD, which includes a 17-minute documentary film Rediscovering Richard: Looking Back on a Forgotten Classic.