A group of top Hollywood stars took a rare venture into Shakespeare with this lavish filming of The Bard’s classic romantic fantasy, starring James Cagney as Bottom, Olivia de Havilland as Hermia, and a 14-year-old Mickey Rooney as Puck. A Best Picture nominee, the film is a collaboration between Max Reinhardt, a visionary of the Austrian theater, and German-born director William Dieterle. Hal Mohr’s luscious cinematography and Ralph Dawson’s editing both received Oscars. Austrian composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold adapted the music of Mendelssohn for the film’s score. Sherry Shourds also received a rare write-in nomination for the short-lived category of Best Assistant Director. 

Directors: Max Reinhardt, William Dieterle. Cast: James Cagney, Joe E. Brown, Dick Powell, Jean Muir. 1935. 132 min. USA. B&W. English. 35mm. New print courtesy of the Academy Film Archive.

All film screenings of Vienna in Hollywood: Émigrés and Exiles in the Studio System are available here.