The Merchant of Venice "play Antonio as gay". Joseph Fiennes, however, who plays Bassanio, encouraged a homoerotic interpretation and, in fact, surprised Irons with the kiss on set, which was filmed in one take. Fiennes defended his choice, saying "I would never invent something before doing my detective work in the text. If you look at the choice of language … you'll read very sensuous language. That's the key for me in the relationship. The great thing about Shakespeare and why he's so difficult to pin down is his ambiguity. He's not saying they're gay or they're straight, he's leaving it up to his
The Thief of Venice George Sanders were to play support roles, with filming to start in Italy on 1 November 1949. Sanders eventually pulled out. The movie was shot on location in Italy with studio work done at Scalera Studios. The "Christian Science Monitor" said that "a series of coups, captures and escapes take place with a great deal of running about but very little inventiveness." The "Washington Post" called it "a rip snorting Western" style film. The Thief of Venice The Thief of Venice or Il Ladro di Venezia is a 1950 Italian film directed by John Brahm. The US title was "The