''The Merchant of Venice'' is a 1916 British silent

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Walter West and starring

Matheson Lang Matheson Alexander Lang (May 15, 1879 – April 11, 1948) was a Canadian-born stage and film actor and playwright in the early 20th century. He is best remembered for his performances roles in Great Britain in Shakespeare plays. Biography Lang w ...

Hutin Britton Nelly Hutin Britton (24 April 1876 — 3 September 1965), usually credited as Hutin Britton was an English actress. She was best known for her performances in Shakespeare roles early in the 20th century. She also appeared in leading roles in two ...

, Ernest Caselli. It is an adaptation of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's play ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...

''.

Production

The film was made by

Broadwest Broadwest or the Broadwest Film Company was a British film production company of the silent era. Its name it a portmanteau of its two founders, George Broadbridge and the film director Walter West. West took an active role in the company's pr ...

. The company hired the complete stage cast of the play and filmed at

Walthamstow Studios Walthamstow Studios was a British film studio located in Walthamstow, London which operated between 1914 and 1930. Two earlier studios had previously existed in Walthamstow. It was the base of Broadwest films for a number of years, which also u ...

using largely

natural light Natural Light, sometimes Natty Light, is an American reduced-calorie light lager brewed by Anheuser-Busch since its introduction on July 31, 1977. Its ingredients are listed as water, barley malt, cereal grains, yeast, and hops. One serving c ...

. The film marked the screen debut of Matheson Lang who went on to become one of the leading British actors of the 1920s. It was not a success.

Cast

as Shylock *

as Portia *Ernest Caselli as Lorenzo *Kathleen Hazel Jones as Jessica * George Morgan as Lancelot * Terence O'Brien as Tubal *

George Skillan William George Skillan (3 October 1893 in Woodford, London, England – March 1975 in Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire, England) was a British stage, television and film actor. Selected filmography Film * ''The Merchant of Venice'' (1916) * '' Dr ...

as Antonio *

Joseph Tozer Joseph Rose Tozer (1881 in Birmingham, Warwickshire – 1955) was a British actor. Musical theatre *''Houp La!'' (1916) Partial filmography * '' The Brass Bottle'' (1914) * '' A Park Lane Scandal'' (1915) * '' The Answer'' (1916) * ''The Me ...

as Bassanio *Marguerite Westlake as Nerissa

References

External links

* 1910s historical drama films British historical drama films British silent feature films Films directed by Walter West British films based on plays Films based on The Merchant of Venice Broadwest films British black-and-white films 1916 drama films 1910s British films Silent drama films 1910s English-language films {{1910s-UK-film-stub