Romeo & Juliet [DVD] [1936] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

Norma Shearer, despite being more than twice Juliet's age, plays her exquisitely...I find her to be the loveliest and most graceful of the screen Juliets I've seen.
Leslie Howard, who was 42 at the time, is splendid. With his perfect musical voice and enunciation, he's a joy to watch and listen to...what a pity that he didn't film more Shakespeare...a Howard "Hamlet" (which he had a huge success with on Broadway), would have certainly been a film treasure.
Also great is John Barrymore's flamboyant Mercutio, and Edna May Oliver is my all-time favorite Nurse.

Though I think the imaginitive and slightly bizarre Baz Luhmann/Leonardo DiCaprio version is fabulous and a must-see (as is the fight scene in the Zeffirelli production !) what makes this George Cukor version so special is the poetry of the language...if you want to hear the words spoken as I'm sure Shakespeare intended, give this film a try.

The notable exception to Thalberg's run of worthy Shearer failures was "Romeo and Juliet". Although it conformed to the norm by not making much money, it was a very fine film, far better than most filmed Shakespeare.

Norma was 36 when the movie was shot, and it was feared she was a bit old for the part. The problem was tackled by hiring an even older Romeo, 43-year-old Leslie Howard. The supporting cast was the best in the business- John Barrymore as Mercutio, Basil Rathbone as Tybalt, Edna May Oliver as the Nurse, Reginald Denny as Benvolio, and Violet Kemble-Cooper as Lady Capulet. George Cukor was tapped as director, and Agnes de Mille choreographed the period dance that is the highlight of the lovers' first meeting.

Production values were extraordinary, even for a Shearer movie. The creamily lit photography flattered the stars, and the props and sets were magnificent. The exterior set for the balcony scene took up all of M.G.M's Stage Sixteen, then the largest soundstage in the world; there was so much real vegetation that the building began producing its own weather. The costumes were a bit over-the-top; those for the supporting cast are highly theatrical, and the star wardrobe is intended to flatter at the expense of authenticity (Shearer's hairstyle is that of a boy of the period, not a young woman).

All the lavishness in the world would not have mattered if the cast and crew hadn't delivered, but they did. Under the tutelage of Constance Collier, Shearer turned in a touchingly tender Juliet, actually getting the best contemporary reviews of any cast member. Howard's Romeo was a bit perfunctory, but still managed a nice sense of mischief in the early scenes. Basil Rathbone's prideful Tybalt was the part he was born to play, and Oliver's Nurse crammed the maximum of bawdiness and fun into a part badly cut to comply with the demands of the censors. The surprise casting- and performance- of the film was Andy Devine as Peter, the Nurse's servant. It should have been wildly incongruous, but Devine's raspy voice and simple demeanour were perfect for the part.

Two scenes stand out in the memory. One is the stately pavane being danced when Romeo first spies Juliet. Shearer's timing and subtlety serve her well here; she interacts with her nominal dancing partner, Paris, and with Romeo on the sidelines, keeping time to the dance and losing it, sending messages of love with her eyes while her body attempts vainly to maintain an appearance of propriety.

The other is Barrymore's turn as Mercutio; it's said he was drunk during much of the filming, and that the take of his biggest scene used in the final cut was the only usable one. None of Barrymore's problems show on film; his hooting, larky performance is a miracle of comic timing and not to be missed.

The film has its small problems; no one was able to lick the story's inherent lack of action at the end, and the vitality of the film lapses into talkiness in a few later stretches. There is a lapse of judgement in one place where Romeo and Juliet kiss; the otherwise original music switches to Tchaikovsky's "Romeo and Juliet", dragging the scene into cliche. And director Cukor later bemoaned the lack of "garlic and the Mediterranean" in the film's look and feel.

It's still something very rare on film: Shakespeare that is well and respectfully adapted for the screen, accessible to any viewer, and beautifully played. Of all the versions of "Romeo and Juliet" on film, this is the one that tells the story best.