Movie Review: The Merry Wives of Windsor (1980)

Title: The Merry Wives of Windsor
Release Date: January 1, 1980
Director: Jack Manning
Production Company: Shakespeare Society of America
Main Cast:

• Gloria Grahame – Mistress Page
• Leon Charles – Sir John Falstaff
• Valerie Seelie-Snyder – Mistress Ford
• Dixie Tymitz – Mistress Quickly
• Joel Asher – Dr. Caius
• Phillip Persons – Justice Shallow
• Eugene Brezany – Slender
• Richard Cordery – Sir Hugh Evans
• Lee Fishel – Pistol
• Lanny Broyles – Bardolph
• Paul Aron Scott – Nym
• Lisa Barnes – Anne Page
• Addison Randall – Fenton
• Lucinda Dooling – Robin

Synopsis (via Letterboxd):

Sir John Falstaff in love? Chaos must inevitably follow.

My Thoughts:

With some Shakespeare plays – especially the comedies – I appreciate them more after seeing a performance.  But in this case I think I chose the wrong performance, or maybe it’s just not that good.  This version is filmed on a stage in Los Angeles (without an audience) that is said to resemble the Globe Theatre (it doesn’t). The whole thing is cheap and slapdash.  And yet it’s introduced by John Houseman and stars Hollywood veteran Gloria Grahame, so it’s not like it’s a community theater production.  Anyhow, there are other adaptations of The Merry Wives of Windsor out there, so I chose poorly.

All I know is that the next Shakespeare movie I will be watching is directed by Orson Welles, so I expect it to be good!

Rating: **

 

#Comedy #Drama #MovieReviews #Movies #Theater #WilliamShakespeare