During the late 1940s and through the 1950s, there were quite a few shows on television that featured weekly teleplays which were broadcast live!! It's hard to imagine all the work that went into these productions, yet many of them (such as "Marty" and "Days of Wine & Roses") were true TV classics--and were later remade by Hollywood for the big screen. However, even though there were some great teleplays, there were also some misfires--and "Henry IV" is clearly a misfire as its story is weak and it fails to engage the viewer.
The story begins with people wearing 16th century costumes. You assume, naturally, that the play is set during this period and it is probably based on either Shakespeare's "Henry IV, part 1" or "Henry IV, part 2". In both cases you'd be wrong. The Henry IV in the title refers to a German, not English prince. And, weirdly, the story is set in modern times!! It seems that some rich guy lost his mind after an falling off a horse and he insists HE is Henry IV. Now someone being crazy is not that interesting, but the family and friends of this guy humor him--dressing up in period costumes themselves! It's all very surreal and dumb. The only interesting part of this is at the end when the old boy comes out of it--or possibly reveals he hasn't been crazy all along. You watch (if you care) and figure this out for yourself. But be forewarned, there is some overacting and the story is dreadful. Not terrible...but close.
By the way, 37 minutes into the show, look and you'll see an entire boom microphone accidentally in the shot! The technician is seen quickly dragging it off--too late to cover his mistake!
The story begins with people wearing 16th century costumes. You assume, naturally, that the play is set during this period and it is probably based on either Shakespeare's "Henry IV, part 1" or "Henry IV, part 2". In both cases you'd be wrong. The Henry IV in the title refers to a German, not English prince. And, weirdly, the story is set in modern times!! It seems that some rich guy lost his mind after an falling off a horse and he insists HE is Henry IV. Now someone being crazy is not that interesting, but the family and friends of this guy humor him--dressing up in period costumes themselves! It's all very surreal and dumb. The only interesting part of this is at the end when the old boy comes out of it--or possibly reveals he hasn't been crazy all along. You watch (if you care) and figure this out for yourself. But be forewarned, there is some overacting and the story is dreadful. Not terrible...but close.
By the way, 37 minutes into the show, look and you'll see an entire boom microphone accidentally in the shot! The technician is seen quickly dragging it off--too late to cover his mistake!