Romeo and Juliet (1916 Metro Pictures film)

Romeo and Juliet is a lost[1][2] 1916 American silent film based on William Shakespeare's play, Romeo and Juliet. John W. Noble is credited as director and Francis X. Bushman and Beverly Bayne star as the lovers. This film was produced in 1916, the 300th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, and was released amongst many other commemorations of his works.

Romeo and Juliet
Francis X. Bushman and Beverly Bayne from an ad for the film
Directed by	John W. Noble Francis X. Bushman
Produced by	Maxwell Karger
Written by	Scenario: John Arthur Rudolph De Cordova John W. Noble
Based on	Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
Starring	Francis X. Bushman Beverly Bayne
Music by	Irene Berg Samuel Berg
Cinematography	R. J. Bergquist
Production company	Quality Pictures Corporation
Distributed by	Metro Pictures
Release date	October 19, 1916 (1916-10-19)
Running time	8 reels
Country	United States
Language	Silent (English intertitles)

This film was produced and released in direct competition with another film, Romeo and Juliet produced by William Fox, starring Theda Bara, and released three days later. Bushman later claimed, in an interview, that he went to see the Theda Bara version and was shocked to see that Fox had added some intertitles from the Metro version.[3]