Hedda Gabler (1962)

While not an expert, as the 2 previous reviewers present themselves to be, I consider myself to be a somewhat experienced theatre goer, having seen hundreds of stage plays over the years - and I don't mean Neil Simon or Hello Dolly - and my not totally ignorant opinion is that this TV adaptation is well worth seeing. Michael Redgrave, who wrote an excellent and very readable autobiography, is superb. Ralph Richardson, although not quite the right choice for a blackmailing seducer, is also superb. The staging, especially the stuffy Victorian set, contributes to the suffocating claustrophobia that drives Hedda to rage against her intolerable life, the unfairness of the universe, the perfidy of men, and so on. The only fault I could see in casting Ingrid Bergman is that she is about 20 years too old for the role. On the stage her age would be no hindrance, but in TVs huge closeups she fails to convince that she is in her late 20s. However, Bergman, like Hedda, is a titanic figure, which makes her a good casting choice. Along with Redgrave, Richardson, and Trevor Howard, Bergman too is superb. All in all, this production is a good introduction to this puzzling play and may just inspire the viewer to visit his local library to read this classic.