The Taming of the Shrew

Adapted from Shakespeare's play: Baptista Minola, a wealthy resident of Padua, is the father of Katherine and Bianca. The younger daughter, Bianca, is charming and has many suitors. But her father will not allow Bianca to be married until her older sister, who is notoriously quarrelsome and bad-tempered, is married first. When Petruchio comes from Verona to Padua in search of a wife, he hears of this situation, and he accepts the challenge of trying to woo and marry the ill-natured Katherine.

Boy but there’s some fun chemistry on offer here as the original cinema golden couple take on one of Shakespeare’s best romantic comedy plays and use their new found voices to make it count. Mary Pickford is the shrew, Douglas Fairbanks her suitor “Petruchio”. Now make no mistake, this isn’t a love match, it’s more a sort of trade off so “Hortensio” (Geoffrey Wardwell) can fulfil his entirely reciprocated affections for “Bianca” (Dorothy Jordan). She can’t marry til her elder sister is, and - well that’s where “Petruchio” comes in. It’s fair to say that “Katherine” isn’t remotely interested in her would-be beau, her father’s wishes nor her sister’s happiness - but that seems to simply energise her newly emerging gadfly so with, as was the status a woman back them, their betrothal duly contracted for 20,000 pieces of gold and some goats, the big day looms. The nuptials are celebrated but that’s just the opening skirmish in a marriage where the whip hand (quite literally) never stays with one of them for long. It’s a fairly loosely abridged version of the play but there’s still enough left to keep it witty, lively and energetic from start to finish with some grand looking settings and a better than competent supporting cast clearly all having some fun delivering some of the bard’s pithier dialogue. It’s pocket-Shakespeare at it’s most simply entertaining and engagingly showcases people who know how the talk and walk at the same time.