As You Like It (1936)

A Duke (Felix Aylmer) who has deposed his older brother (Henry Ainley) later banishes his niece (Elisabeth Bergner), who is the best friend of his daughter (Sophie Stewart). The maidens hide in the forest of Arden where the niece masquerades as a young boy. Meanwhile, a young man (Laurence Olivier) has also fled to the Arden forest to escape his treacherous older brother (John Laurie). Based on the play by William Shakespeare and directed by Paul Czinner. As far as Shakespearean adaptations on film goes, this one is subpar. Personally, I don't think it's one of Shakespeare's better plays (excluding movies and TV, it was the first Shakespeare play I saw performed) and Czinner does nothing to make it very cinematic. The acting isn't strong enough to save it. Bergner's German accent (she was born in Austria) handicaps her performance. She's not at ease with the Shakespearean cadence and seems to recite her lines as if she doesn't quite understand their nuance (she played the role in Germany but in German I assume). This was Olivier's first venture into acting Shakespeare for the screen and he hadn't yet eased into the medium (that would happen with WUTHERING HEIGHTS). The score is by William Walton. With Mackenzie Ward, Joan White, Richard Ainley, Peter Bull, Dorice Fordred and Leon Quartermaine, who gets to recite the "All the world's a stage" monologue.