A Midsummer Night's Dream

A Midsummer Night's Dream (1935)

Timing: 2:23 (143 min)

6.4/10
38

All about film

Video 1

Photo 5

Actors and characters

Release date

1935-10-09

Country

United States

Production

Warner Bros. Pictures

Genre

Fantasy, Romance, Comedy

Budget

$0

Revenue

$25 002 557

Website

Director

Max Reinhardt, William Dieterle

Actors

Ian Hunter, Verree Teasdale, Hobart Cavanaugh, Dick Powell, Ross Alexander, Olivia de Havilland, Jean Muir, Grant Mitchell, Frank McHugh, Dewey Robinson
All actors and roles (10)

Scenario

Producer

Henry Blanke, Hal B. Wallis, Jack L. Warner

Operator

Hal Mohr

Composer

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy

Artist

Audition

Editing

Ralph Dawson
All team (40)

• The film was banned from distribution in Nazi Germany because director Max Reinhardt and composer Felix Mendelssohn were of Jewish nationality.
• Olivia de Havilland initially joined the film crew as a stand-in for Gloria Stuart, but received the role due to the actress's illness. Bette Davis was also considered for the role of Hermia.
• Notably, Hal Mohr, the Academy Award-winning cinematographer, did not participate in the actual filming but completed studio work. The following year, the Academy announced it would no longer consider studio cinematography for awards.
• The film was initially released with a runtime of 132 minutes, but was then edited down to 117 minutes. It wasn't until 1994 that the full version was restored, adding an 8-minute overture at the beginning and a 2-minute addition at the end, which were not present in the 1935 release. The music used in the film, in addition to that which Mendelssohn wrote for Shakespeare’s play in 1843, includes excerpts from his other works: “Symphony No. 3 in A minor,” “Songs Without Words,” and “Italian Symphony.”