Romeo and Juliet

(George Cukor, US 1936, 125 min., 35mm)

Senior Matinee. This prestige production was the pet project of MGM’s whiz-kid producer Irving Thalberg, who cast his spouse Norma Shearer as the young Capulet. The winsome Leslie Howard took the part of Romeo, and, despite the pair’s rather advanced age for the teenage roles, this remains one of the most moving adaptations of the famous romance. John Barrymore’s neurotic interpretation of Mercutio is queerly brilliant.