Mickey Rooney Week : A Midsummer Night's Dream

Hello there readers and welcome to Day 1 of Mickey Rooney Week.  Due to some oral surgery of which I shan't get into on I was delayed yesterday but today it is all steam ahead.  I thought we would tackle something we could all be fascinated with.  William Shakespeare and his amazing plays.  They have been beloved down the centuries from live performances to radio plays and even the silver screen.  This time is no exception as we will be looking at one of the earliest cinema productions.  This is A Midsummer Night's Dream.

Yes?! I am wooing over here!

Puck: Lord, what spoilers these mortals be!








Left in the very capable hands of directors Max Reinhardt (Die Insel der Seligen, A Venetian Night) and William Dieterle (The Life of Emile Zola, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Devil and Daniel Webster and Portrait of Jennie) our two maestros gently bring us to the events of star crossed lovers and forbidden temptations worthy of Shakespeare's tale of unrequited love in all its variants.  Young Hermia (Olivia de Havilland of The Adventures of Robin Hood, Gone with the Wind, The Heiress, The Snake Pit, Hush...Hush, Sweet Charlotte and Airport '77) is head over heels for Lysander (Dick Powell of Hollywood Hotel, Going Places, Christmas in July, In the Navy, Murder, My Sweet, Pitfall and Right Cross) who in turn loves Hermia but her father Egeus forbids that union and has chosen her another suitor Demetrius (Ross Alexander of Captain Blood, Here Comes Carter, Flirtation Walk and Ready, Willing and Able).  When she refuses, Egeus points to the law stating a daughter will  adhere to her father's demands or be put to death.  And you thought you had a strict upbringing.  Duke Theseus of Athens offers Hermia another choice of which she will live a life of celibacy as a nun to the goddess Diana.  

MY PRECIOUS!!!!

Meanwhile the Duke is preparing for his marriage to Hippolyta (Verree Teasdale of The Firebird, The Milky Way, 5th Ave Girl, I Take This Woman, Turnabout and Come Live with Me) so he is swamped enough as it is when the fairy court makes an appearance.  Lord Oberon (Victor Jory of Cat-Women of the Moon, Gone with the Wind, Manhunt, The Miracle Worker and Papillon) and Queen Titania (Anita Louise of The Story of Louis Pasteur, Marie Antoinette, The Little Princess,  Retreat, Hell!, My Friend Flicka and Ethel Barrymore Theater) are at odds with one another and seek to put each other in one's place with love potions and wicked deeds and poor Puck (Mickey Rooney of National Velvet, Pinocchio, Baby Face Nelson, The Last Mile, The Big Operator, Requiem for a Heavyweight and Pete's Dragon) is stuck in the middle of this insanity just following orders.  Pulling pranks on Bottom (James Cagney of Angels with Dirty Faces, Yankee Doodle Dandy, Blood on the Sun, White Heat, Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye and These Wilder Years) not withstanding of course.

Just a few notes on the film itself at this time.  Shot on 35 mm Spherical and recorded in Mono, this film's musical score hails from composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold (Captain Blood,  The Prince and the Pauper, The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Sea Hawk, Between Two Worlds and Of Human Bondage) which truly breathes life into this production and sets the tone every time.   The dance choreography alone is astounding and Mickey took it seriously at age 15, providing an eternal child beholden to his king and queen.

NO, I AM NOT ANDY DICK!!!