Richard III

Following ‘Henry V’ (1944) and ‘Hamlet’ (1948), this was the last of the three Shakespeare films in which Laurence Olivier took the title role in addition to serving as director, producer and writer. In this case, the title role is that of the cold and calculating king, a treacherous and untrustworthy fellow who makes plans to kill anyone who threatens his position. Henry Stafford (Ralph Richardson), the Duke of Clarence (John Gielgud) and Lady Anne Neville (Claire Bloom) are just some of those moving in his orbit.