An early film adaptation of Shakespeare and it's aged pretty well. There are some obvious moments where modern film-making would have improved things, especially the lighting. The long version is really long, with the ethereal fairies moving about in a way that added nothing to the film.
As for the acting, my primary negative takeaway is with Puck. Mickey Rooney played the sprite, and over acted it entirely. At the start, it was mildly charming. With every scene it was made worse with his voice and his laugh. I came to dread every scene in which Puck was in. It wasn't helped by the lovers being uninteresting as well. There wasn't much chemistry between them and Lysander also had an unfortunate laugh.
The film was saved, by two things. One, it's Shakespeare. The plot and dialogue are solid and it was a fine adaptation. The best part of the movie, were the players. Joe E. Brown's comic relief was great. The last scene of the movie featured him and it leaves one with a great feeling of the movie.
The surprising, was James Cagney as Bottom. His part was perfectly played as an over-acted role and he was clearly having fun doing it. He was deserving of an Academy Award nomination, as it really was one of the best of his career. To anyone thinking of him as just a hard nosed gangster, he had some great range.
It was truly a joy to watch Cagney, and I almost wonder how he would have handled the Puck role. It couldn't have made things worse than Mickey Rooney already did. Watch this movie because it's Shakespeare and James Cagney. Just try not to let Mickey Rooney force you to stop before the end.
As for the acting, my primary negative takeaway is with Puck. Mickey Rooney played the sprite, and over acted it entirely. At the start, it was mildly charming. With every scene it was made worse with his voice and his laugh. I came to dread every scene in which Puck was in. It wasn't helped by the lovers being uninteresting as well. There wasn't much chemistry between them and Lysander also had an unfortunate laugh.
The film was saved, by two things. One, it's Shakespeare. The plot and dialogue are solid and it was a fine adaptation. The best part of the movie, were the players. Joe E. Brown's comic relief was great. The last scene of the movie featured him and it leaves one with a great feeling of the movie.
The surprising, was James Cagney as Bottom. His part was perfectly played as an over-acted role and he was clearly having fun doing it. He was deserving of an Academy Award nomination, as it really was one of the best of his career. To anyone thinking of him as just a hard nosed gangster, he had some great range.
It was truly a joy to watch Cagney, and I almost wonder how he would have handled the Puck role. It couldn't have made things worse than Mickey Rooney already did. Watch this movie because it's Shakespeare and James Cagney. Just try not to let Mickey Rooney force you to stop before the end.