Prince of Players
Encyclopedia
Prince of Players is a 1955
20th Century Fox
biographical film
about the 19th century American actor Edwin Booth
. The film was directed and produced by Philip Dunne
from a screenplay
by Moss Hart
, based on the book by Eleanor Ruggles. The music score was by Bernard Herrmann
and the cinematography
by Charles G. Clarke
. The film was made in CinemaScope
.
The film starred Richard Burton
, Maggie McNamara
, John Derek
with Raymond Massey
, Charles Bickford
, Elizabeth Sellars
and Eva Le Gallienne
.
1955 in film
The year 1955 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 3 - The musical Guys and Dolls, starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra, debuts.* June 27 - The last ever Republic serial, King of the Carnival, is released....
20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
biographical film
Biographical film
A biographical film, or biopic , is a film that dramatizes the life of an actual person or people. They differ from films “based on a true story” or “historical films” in that they attempt to comprehensively tell a person’s life story or at least the most historically important years of their...
about the 19th century American actor Edwin Booth
Edwin Booth
Edwin Thomas Booth was a famous 19th century American actor who toured throughout America and the major capitals of Europe, performing Shakespearean plays. In 1869 he founded Booth's Theatre in New York, a spectacular theatre that was quite modern for its time...
. The film was directed and produced by Philip Dunne
Philip Dunne (writer)
Philip Dunne was a Hollywood screenwriter, film director and producer, who worked prolifically from 1932 until 1965. He spent the majority of his career at 20th Century Fox crafting well regarded romantic and historical dramas, usually adapted from another medium...
from a screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
by Moss Hart
Moss Hart
Moss Hart was an American playwright and theatre director, best known for his interpretations of musical theater on Broadway.-Early years:...
, based on the book by Eleanor Ruggles. The music score was by Bernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann was an American composer noted for his work in motion pictures.An Academy Award-winner , Herrmann is particularly known for his collaborations with director Alfred Hitchcock, most famously Psycho, North by Northwest, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Vertigo...
and the cinematography
Cinematography
Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
by Charles G. Clarke
Charles G. Clarke
Charles G. Clarke ASC an American cinematographer who worked in Hollywood for over 40 years and was treasurer and president of the American Society of Cinematographers.-Career:...
. The film was made in CinemaScope
CinemaScope
CinemaScope was an anamorphic lens series used for shooting wide screen movies from 1953 to 1967. Its creation in 1953, by the president of 20th Century-Fox, marked the beginning of the modern anamorphic format in both principal photography and movie projection.The anamorphic lenses theoretically...
.
The film starred Richard Burton
Richard Burton
Richard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
, Maggie McNamara
Maggie McNamara
Marguerite "Maggie" McNamara was an American stage, film, and television actress.-Early life:Born in New York City, McNamara was one of four children born to Irish American parents. Her mother was born in England to Irish parents. She attended Textile High School in New York and worked as a teen...
, John Derek
John Derek
John Derek was an American actor, director and photographer.-Career:His matinee-idol good looks quickly got him supporting roles, most notably as Broderick Crawford's son in All the King's Men , but he also enjoyed leads such as "Nick Romano" in Knock on Any Door opposite Humphrey Bogart John...
with Raymond Massey
Raymond Massey
Raymond Hart Massey was a Canadian/American actor.-Early life:Massey was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Anna , who was born in Illinois, and Chester Daniel Massey, the wealthy owner of the Massey-Ferguson Tractor Company. Massey's family could trace their ancestry back to the American...
, Charles Bickford
Charles Bickford
Charles Bickford was an American actor best known for his supporting roles. He was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for The Song of Bernadette , The Farmer's Daughter , and Johnny Belinda...
, Elizabeth Sellars
Elizabeth Sellars
Elizabeth Sellars is a British actress.Sellars was born in Glasgow, Scotland. She appeared on the stage from age 15 and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts...
and Eva Le Gallienne
Eva Le Gallienne
Eva Le Gallienne was a well-known actress, producer, and director, during the first half of the 20th century.-Early life and early career:...
.
Cast
- Richard BurtonRichard BurtonRichard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...
- Edwin BoothEdwin BoothEdwin Thomas Booth was a famous 19th century American actor who toured throughout America and the major capitals of Europe, performing Shakespearean plays. In 1869 he founded Booth's Theatre in New York, a spectacular theatre that was quite modern for its time... - Maggie McNamaraMaggie McNamaraMarguerite "Maggie" McNamara was an American stage, film, and television actress.-Early life:Born in New York City, McNamara was one of four children born to Irish American parents. Her mother was born in England to Irish parents. She attended Textile High School in New York and worked as a teen...
- Mary Devlin - John DerekJohn DerekJohn Derek was an American actor, director and photographer.-Career:His matinee-idol good looks quickly got him supporting roles, most notably as Broderick Crawford's son in All the King's Men , but he also enjoyed leads such as "Nick Romano" in Knock on Any Door opposite Humphrey Bogart John...
- John Wilkes BoothJohn Wilkes BoothJohn Wilkes Booth was an American stage actor who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre, in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. Booth was a member of the prominent 19th century Booth theatrical family from Maryland and, by the 1860s, was a well-known actor... - Raymond MasseyRaymond MasseyRaymond Hart Massey was a Canadian/American actor.-Early life:Massey was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Anna , who was born in Illinois, and Chester Daniel Massey, the wealthy owner of the Massey-Ferguson Tractor Company. Massey's family could trace their ancestry back to the American...
- Junius Brutus BoothJunius Brutus BoothJunius Brutus Booth was an English actor. He was the father of John Wilkes Booth , Edwin Booth , and Junius Brutus Booth, Jr., an actor and theatre manager... - Charles BickfordCharles BickfordCharles Bickford was an American actor best known for his supporting roles. He was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for The Song of Bernadette , The Farmer's Daughter , and Johnny Belinda...
- Dave Prescott - Elizabeth SellarsElizabeth SellarsElizabeth Sellars is a British actress.Sellars was born in Glasgow, Scotland. She appeared on the stage from age 15 and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts...
- Asia BoothAsia BoothAsia Frigga Clarke , was the youngest daughter in the family of ten children born to Junius Brutus Booth and his wife Mary Ann Holmes. Her famous brothers were Edwin Booth and John Wilkes Booth... - Christopher Cook - Edwin Booth at age 10
- Dayton LummisDayton LummisDayton Lummis. Sr. , was an American actor of film and television who specialized in the genre of anthology and western series, often playing authority figures. From 1959-1960, he appeared as Marshal Andy Morrison in nine episodes of NBC's Law of the Plainsman western, with Michael Ansara and...
- English physician - Ian Keith - Ghost of Hamlet's FatherKing HamletThe ghost of Hamlet's father is a character from William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, also known as The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. In the stage directions he is referred to as "Ghost."...
in HamletHamletThe Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601... - Paul StaderPaul StaderPaul B. Stader, sometimes known as Manny Stader , was an American actor best known for having performed stunts for Johnny Weismuller, Lex Barker, Gregory Peck, and John Wayne. He was also the underwater director of the 1978 film The Return of Captain Nemo.-Working with Weismuller and Barker:Stader...
- LaertesLaertesIn Greek mythology, Laërtes was the son of Arcesius and Chalcomedusa. He was the father of Odysseus and Ctimene by his wife Anticlea, daughter of the thief Autolycus. Laërtes was an Argonaut and participated in the hunt for the Calydonian Boar...
in Hamlet - Louis Alexander - John Booth at age 12
- William Walker - Old Ben
- Charles Cane - Theater Assistant
- Mae Marsh - Witch in MacbethMacbethThe Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
- Stanley Hall - Abraham LincolnAbraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
- Sarah Padden - Mary Todd LincolnMary Todd LincolnMary Ann Lincoln was the wife of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, and was First Lady of the United States from 1861 to 1865.-Life before the White House:...
- Ruth Clifford - English Nurse
- Ivan Hayes - Bernardo in Hamlet
- Paul FreesPaul FreesPaul Frees was an American voice actor and character actor.-Biography:He was born Solomon Hersh Frees in Chicago...
- Francisco in Hamlet - Ben WrightBen Wright (American actor)Ben Wright is best known for originating the role of "Jack" in the Tony Award winning musical, Into the Woods. Wright's professional acting career started with George C. Wolfe's Off-Broadway production of Paradise at Playwrights Horizons...
- HoratioHoratio (character)Horatio is a character from William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. A friend of Prince Hamlet from Wittenberg University, Horatio's origins are unknown, though he is evidently poor and was present on the battlefield when Hamlet's father defeated 'the ambitious Norway'...
in Hamlet - Melinda Markey - Young Lady
- Eleanor Audley - Mrs. Montchesington
- Percival Vivian - PoloniusPoloniusPolonius is a character in William Shakespeare's Hamlet. He is King Claudius's chief counsellor, and the father of Ophelia and Laertes. Polonius connives with Claudius to spy on Hamlet...
in Hamlet - George Dunn - Doorman
- Ruth Warren - Nurse
- Richard H. Cutting - Doctor
- Lane ChandlerLane ChandlerLane Chandler was an American actor specializing in Westerns.-Early life:He was born as Robert Chandler Oakes on a ranch near Culbertson, Montana, the son of a horse rancher. At an early age, the family relocated to Helena, Montana, where he graduated from high school...
- Colonel - Steven Darrell - Maj. Rathbone
- Tom Fadden - Trenchard
- Henry Kulky - Bartender
- Olan SouleOlan SouleOlan Soule was an American character actor with hundreds of credits in films, radio, commercials, television and animation.-Early life:...
- CatesbyWilliam CatesbyWilliam Catesby, esq. was one of Richard III of England's principal councillors. He also served as Chancellor of the Exchequer and Speaker of the House of Commons during Richard's reign....
in Richard IIIRichard III (play)Richard III is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1591. It depicts the Machiavellian rise to power and subsequent short reign of Richard III of England. The play is grouped among the histories in the First Folio and is most often classified... - Eva Le GallienneEva Le GallienneEva Le Gallienne was a well-known actress, producer, and director, during the first half of the 20th century.-Early life and early career:...
- Queen GertrudeGertrude (Hamlet)In William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, Gertrude is Hamlet's mother and Queen of Denmark. Her relationship with Hamlet is somewhat turbulent, since he resents her for marrying her husband's brother Claudius after he murdered the King...
in Hamlet - Jack Raine - Theater Manager