Twelfth Night

Another of the ambitious releases by this house. This reproduction of one of Shakespeare's most pleasing comedies is satisfactory in every particular. The staging is according to the best traditions of Shakespeare's time and the acting is in harmony with the modern understanding of the piece. The story is known to all readers of English and need not be repeated. The acting appears to interpret what may be termed the modern impression of the Shakespearian drama. Of course, much must be eliminated, otherwise it would be impossible to make any adequate reproduction of the play. The condensing has been done by a master hand, however, and does not mar the piece itself. In some degree, perhaps, it is an improvement, since it eliminates many of those portions which illuminate the main story, though they are not essential to its development, nor to an understanding of it. Manufacturers who endeavor to place such pictures before audiences numbering in the aggregate many thousands scattered through the country are to be commended. It brings to the many who really enjoy this drama an opportunity to see it adequately performed, and at a nominal cost. It elevates and improves the literary taste and appreciation of the great mass of the people, performing in this way service which cannot be measured in material terms. Such work is in the nature of an educational service, which is deserving of the heartiest support of all who are working for the improvement of humanity. - The Moving Picture World, February 19, 1910

This little silent film does a nice job of getting across the flavor of Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night". Naturally, Shakespeare loses a lot without the dialogue, but the characters and situations are entertaining in themselves, and this does a good job of covering the most important parts of the amusing plot with its mix-ups. Most of the characters are rendered with good acting, especially the engaging Viola (Florence Turner) and the haughty Malvolio (who was played by director Kent). It's a pleasant short feature, and crafted carefully enough that even without all of the dialogue from the original play you can enjoy it.

This isn't a particularly great film to watch today, as the film is so very, very sketchy you'd hardly recognize that it's based on a Shakespeare play! Imagine boiling all of his play into only 13 minutes! Well, they did it and the general plot IS recognizable, but all of the subtlety is missing. About the only really good feature is the costumes--very good for 1910. So I would NOT advise lovers of the Bard to watch the film, but instead see it as more a curio for historians and Cinephiles. Interesting, though not all that good and hardly something many people would want to watch in the 21st century due to its brevity and lackluster production values.

Lets face it, any film adaptation of Shakespeare will be inadequate in fundamental ways. In this case, you have the translation of language to pure visuals and the necessities of extreme compression.

But his comedies are not like his other stuff; the gags are rooted in visual jokes — particularly the "woman dressed as a man" routine. (In his day, women were played by boys which adds to the joke.)

This is slight, but for my tastes it captured the spirit of the thing and a couple of the joke scenes. All the sex stuff is missing, which is the big loss, but the players are enderaing even in their exaggerated gesticulating.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

This early adaptation of William Shakespeare's classic comedy "Twelfth Night, Or What You Will" is typical of the period in which it was made. The production is more theatrical than cinematic, intertitles are placed in between scenes to describe what is going on, and all the actors play to the back row. The subplot with Malvolio is handled rather poorly and feels tacked on due to time constraints. The resolution is unsatisfying as well; the picture could have benefited from at least another minute or two, I think.

Nevertheless, it has beautiful Elizabethan costumes and will prove entertaining for enthusiasts of cinema history or Shakespeare.