Romeo and Juliet (1954 film) Romeo and Juliet (1954 film) Romeo and Juliet is a 1954 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of the same name. It was directed by Renato Castellani and stars Laurence Harvey as Romeo, Susan Shentall as Juliet, Flora Robson as the Nurse, Mervyn Johns as Friar Laurence, Bill Travers as Benvolio, Sebastian Cabot as Lord Capulet, Ubaldo Zollo as Mercutio, Enzo Fiermonte as Tybalt and John Gielgud as the Chorus. The film won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and was named the best foreign film by the National Board of Review, which also named Castellani as best
Romeo and Juliet repeating the same musical theme at the ball, in the balcony scene, in Juliet's bedroom and in the tomb has been used by subsequent directors: for example, Nino Rota's love theme is used in a similar way in the 1968 film of the play, as is Des'ree's Kissing You in the 1996 film. Other classical composers influenced by the play include Henry Hugh Pearson ("Romeo and Juliet, overture for orchestra", Op. 86), Svendsen ("Romeo og Julie", 1876), Delius ("A Village Romeo and Juliet", 1899–1901), Stenhammar ("Romeo och Julia", 1922), and Kabalevsky ("Incidental Music to Romeo and Juliet", Op. 56, 1956).