An aging King invites disaster, when he abdicates to his corrupt, toadying daughters, and rejects his loving and honest one.
Acting
Frederick Warde's operatic physicality—every gesture reads to the back row.
Production
Minimalist sets that force focus onto faces and body language.

Director
Ernest C. Warde
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Frederick Warde was 70 playing Lear at 80—this was his only surviving film after decades of stage fame.
Shot in New York with American actors, this 'British' classic reveals how Shakespeare traveled across media before Hollywood dominance.