Taming of the Shrew

(1967 USA Franco Zeffirelli)

There have been a number of successful adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays into films: Luhman’s and Zeffirelli’s versions of “Romeo and Juliet,” Olivier’s and Branaugh’s “Hamlets,” Kurosawa’s “Ran,” and “Throne of Blood,” (inspired by ‘King Lear’ & ‘Macbeth,’ respectively), readily spring to mind, but this is the only comedy I’ve ever enjoyed.

The movie opens with Michael York, (in his film debut), arriving in town and receiving an explanation of the situation. An elderly gentleman has two adult daughters, the lovely, charming Bianca, sought after by all the men, and her elder sister, the ill-tempered, hostile Katerina. The old man, unwilling to be stuck alone with his shrewish daughter, has decreed that Bianca shall not be married until her sister has been wed.

The film really takes off when the drunken Petruchio is introduced. Sir Richard Burton inhabits the role with all the theatricality and bravado unique to his fellow countrymen Richard Harris and Peter O’Toole. His boisterous delivery makes the lines readily understandable, natural even. Burton and his on-again off-again wife, Elizabeth Taylor invested in the production of the film and eschewed their salaries, opting instead for a percentage of the gate. The pair recognized that their tumultuous relationship mirrored that of the protagonists; it was a perfect marriage of actors and roles.

When Petruchio learns of the fortune that is Katerina’s dowry, he arrives at the household, and the laughs begin. He questions the patriarch, “Pray, have you not a daughter named Katerina, fair and virtuous?” The nervous, timid reply, “I have a daughter, Sir, named Katerina.” The pair’s first meeting is marked by shouting and heaving things at each other. After some time, Petruchio announces to the father and guests, “Upon Sunday is the wedding day.” “I’ll see thee hanged on Sunday first!” she retorts, as he wrestles her into a room and shuts the door on her. “It was bargained twixt us, when alone, that she shall still seemed cursed in company,” he explains to her bewildered father.

He then leaves the city until the wedding day, all part of his master plan. He knows he must break her before he can tame her, not unlike a wild horse. This truncated version of the play removes most of the subplot to focus on the main story, thus clocking in at under two hours. Taylor has a blast playing against type, and it shows. Shakespeare’s never been more fun!