AGES OF MAN (TV)
Summary
An adaptation of John Gielgud's one-man Broadway show, based on George Ryland's anthology of readings and re-enactments of the poetry and plays of William Shakespeare. After opening with the "Seven Ages of Man" speech from "As You Like It," Gielgud performs scenes from "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "The Tempest," "Romeo and Juliet," and "The Merchant of Venice"; portrays Benedick in "Much Ado About Nothing"; and reads sonnets 18 ("Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day?"), 116 ("Let Me Not to the Marriage of True Minds"), 129 ("Th'Expense of Spirit in a Waste of Shame"), and 130 ("My Mistress' Eyes are Nothing Like the Sun"). In addition, the actor plays Romeo, Hotspur, Henry VI, and Richard II; performs excerpts from "The Winter's Tale" and "Measure for Measure"; reads several passages of Shakespeare to a young patron, including sonnets 2 ("When Forty Winters Shall Besiege Thy Brow") and 12 ("When I Do Count the Clock that Tells the Time"), and the lyrics of songs from "Twelfth Night," "As You Like It," and "The Tempest."
In an excerpt from the prologue of "Henry V," Gielgud portrays Cassius from "Julius Caesar" (Act I, Scene 2) and Hamlet (Act II, Scene 2); the actor reads sonnets 30 ("When to the Sessions of Sweet Silent Thought"), 73 ("That Time of Year Thou Mayst in Me Behold"), and 138 ("When My Love Swears that She Is Made of Truth"); plays three guilty men, King Henry ("Henry IV, Part 2," Act III, Scene 1), Macbeth (Act II, Scene 1), and Clarence ("Richard III," Act I, Scene 4); and performs scenes from "Measure for Measure" as Claudio (Act III, Scene 1), and "Richard II" as John of Gaunt (Act II, Scene 1). In addition, Gielgud reads three of Hamlet's speeches (Act II, Scene 2; Act III, Scene 1; and Act IV, Scene 2), sonnet 29, and the dirge from "Cymbeline." He compares the death scenes of a youthful Romeo with the elder Lear by performing Romeo (Act V, Scene 3) and Lear (Act V, Scene 3); and concludes with Prospero's final speech from "The Tempest." Includes commercials.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: January 23, 1966 4:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:52:27
- COLOR/B&W: B&W
- CATALOG ID: T81:0055
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama; Poetry; Theater
- SERIES RUN: CBS - TV, 1966
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - FTD florists
CREDITS
- David Susskind … Producer
- Daniel Melnick … Producer
- Michael Campus … Associate Producer
- Paul Bogart … Director
- George Ryland … Writer, Based on the anthology by
- William Shakespeare … Based on the works of
- John Gielgud … Cast