As You Like It as an early Shakespeare talkie

The Folger Collection holds nearly 30 press kits and hundreds of publicity and production photos from film adaptations of Shakespeare’s works. Visitors can research with them in the Reading Room and they’re often on view in our exhibition halls, including this press kit for Britain’s first full-length Shakespeare talkie, As You Like It featuring Elisabeth Bergner and Laurence Olivier.

In Shakespeare’s As You Like It, the Forest of Arden is temporary home to a wild cast of characters: exiled Duke Senior and his men; disguised cousins Rosalind and Celia; poetic lover Orlando and his treacherous brother Oliver; shepherds; a jester; even a lion. Shifting identities, reversals of fortune, friendship, and love drive the play to its joyful ending, with a little help from the Greek god of marriage. Featured in the Folger Collection is this press book for the 1936 film adaptation of As You Like It. 

A Film of Firsts

Transitioning out of the silent film era, Paul Czinner’s (1890–1972) 1936 film adaptation of As You Like It was Britain’s first feature-length Shakespeare “talkie.” During the era of silent films, two adaptations of the play had been made in England (1913) and in America (1912). This American silent film is the only American-produced movie of the play to date.

One of the lesser filmed of Shakespeare’s comedies, the next British film adaptation would not be until 1963 as a recording of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s 1961 production staring Vanessa Redgrave as Rosalind/Ganymede.

Today, many may first recognize Laurence Olivier (1907–89) as Orlando from the film’s cast. Throughout his career on screen and on stage, Olivier’s name became closely linked with the performance of Shakespeare. Some of his other influential film adaptations of Shakespeare’s works include the controversial Othello (1965), Richard III (1955), Hamlet (1948), and Henry V (1944). However, As You Like It was Olivier’s first appearance in a cinematic adaptation of Shakespeare’s plays.

Laurence Olivier Shakespeare Films in the Folger Collection

Star Power

At the time of production, Elisabeth Bergner (1897–1986) as Rosalind/Ganymede brought star power to the film. Collection items like this press kit show how the film’s marketing team used Bergner’s name to generate interest for the production. Although Bergner had a long and varied career on the stage and in film, the only Shakespearean role she became closely associated with is the role of Rosalind/Ganymede. At the Lessing Theatre in Berlin, she appeared in the role for a record 566 consecutive performances.

Critical Reception

Although audiences loved Bergner’s stage performances in As You Like It, critics were less receptive to her film adaptation. Much of Jacques’s melancholy and Touchstone’s cynicism were cut from the script to make way for Bergner’s sunny performance as Rosalind/ Ganymede and director Czinner’s fairytale take on the play as whole. Olivier himself was not above criticism either. Overall, critics argued that the production felt like a jolly adventure rather than a test of character, missing much of the depth of Shakespeare’s text. Nevertheless, the studio released educational materials like this teaching guide for use in classrooms.

A Guide to the Study of the Screen Version
of Shakespeare’s As You Like It