King Lear (1953)

An elderly King (Orson Welles) decides to retire from the throne and offers to divide his kingdom to his three daughters, the ones who love him most getting the largest shares. Two of his daughters (Beatrice Straight NETWORK, Margaret Phillips THE NUN'S STORY) flatter him while the third (Natasha Parry, Zeffirelli's ROMEO AND JULIET), while expressing her love, refuses to flatter him and in a rage, he disinherits her. But the two daughters prove themselves to be selfish and cruel and drive him away with only his fool (Alan Badel) to accompany him. Shakespeare's great tragedy, possibly his greatest, gets a stripped down production by Peter Brook who staged it with assistance from director Andrew McCullough. Everything not relating directly to the Lear plot is excised, most notably the Edgar/Edmond/Gloucester subplot which makes the production a showcase for Welles as Lear and what a wonderful Lear he is. Alas, the production is limited by both the cuts, the budget and limitations of live television (though surprisingly the graphic eye gouging scene got by the censors) but don't let that dissuade you. The score is by Virgil Thomson, no less. With Arnold Moss, Bramwell Fletcher, Michael MacLiammoir and Lloyd Bochner.