Macbeth (1948)

Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, receives a prophecy from a trio of witches that one day he will become King of Scotland. Consumed by ambition and spurred to action by his wife, Macbeth murders his king and takes the throne for himself.

Director:

Orson Welles

Writer:

William Shakespeare (by)

Stars:

Orson Welles, Jeanette Nolan, Dan O'Herlihy

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Orson Welles	...	Macbeth
Jeanette Nolan	...	Lady Macbeth
Dan O'Herlihy	...	Macduff
Roddy McDowall	...	Malcolm
Edgar Barrier	...	Banquo
Alan Napier	...	A Holy Father
Erskine Sanford	...	Duncan
John Dierkes	...	Ross
Keene Curtis	...	Lennox
Peggy Webber	...	Lady Macduff / The Three
Lionel Braham	...	Siward
Archie Heugly	...	Young Siward
Jerry Farber	...	Fleance
Christopher Welles	...	Macduff Child
Morgan Farley	...	Doctor

Storyline

In fog-dripping, barren and sometimes macabre settings, 11th-century Scottish nobleman Macbeth is led by an evil prophecy and his ruthless yet desirable wife to the treasonous act that makes him king. But he does not enjoy his newfound, dearly-won kingship... Restructured, but all the dialogue is Shakespeare's.

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Plot Keywords:

11th century | prophecy | king | murder | scotland | 

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Taglines:

Entertainment Greatness . . . That Only Motion Picture Magic Can Bring !

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Genres:

Drama | History | War

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 June 1950 (France)

Also Known As:

Макбет

Filming Locations:

Republic Studios - 4024 Radford Avenue, North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$900,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mercury Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min (cut) 107 min (premiere) 107 min (restored video)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Laurence Olivier wanted to follow up Henry V (1944) with a film version of "Macbeth", but decided against it because Orson Welles' version would reach theaters first. Olivier opted to make his film of Hamlet (1948) instead, which went on to win him Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor.

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Goofs

Duncan and his men renew their baptismal vows with a prayer composed by Pope Leo XIII in 1884.

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Quotes

[first lines]
The Three, The Three, The Three: Double, double, toil and trouble; fire burn, and cauldron bubble.

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Alternate Versions

The edited version had a prologue spoken by Welles before any lines of Shakespeare's play were even uttered. In the prologue, Welles explains that the witches are "agents of hell...plotting against Christian law and order" and that "here on the blasted heath", the spell is put upon Macbeth. Most books which discuss the Welles film mention Welles's narration, apparently completely unaware that it does not appear at all in the complete, restored version of the film.

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Connections

Version of Macbeth: Episode #1.5 (1970)

User Reviews

From the Language Shapes

I got an angry email from a reader upset that I thought Olivier's "Hamlet" to be worthless.

I hold that view because of a personal appreciation of Shakespeare.

What I appreciate of his work is the unique way that his words can weave small cells of images, ambiguous layered and rich. Lovely as well, to tease their way into our souls. These little packages of firework wordimages burst on the tongues we listen with and successively whip a foam that perfectly follows the shape of the larger story.

He does this in different ways: "Tempest," "Ceasar," "Juliet" are all different and different from this play in how he structures this foamnarrative. This is not favorite among the great plays because it is excessively sonorous. I believe this to have something to do with Will's obsessions with word origins and his emphasis on Saxon structures.

Olivier is a typical British actor, someone that sees the words as merely shapes for the mouth and incidentally related to the grand arcs and tensions of the long composition. They are excuses for locution. Such actors disconnect the poetry from the massive stones that pass through the narrative.

This on the other hand is as well conceived as Olivier's Hamlet is mere posturing. It takes the poetry and uses it to build the whole. Welles mucks around with the play, reassigning text, creating new characters and editing heavily, but all to a coherent purpose. His army of cross bearers is something you will never forget.

But he does something else. All the changes, all the special attentions. All the theatrical devices are geared toward the cinematic expression. This isn't just a production by Welles. It was THE production. He'd been doing this for a decade. His theatrical production was the first cinematic play in history, and his work on it (and most of the players) came to Hollywood prepared, which is why we got "Citizen Kane."

This is terrific Shakespeare. This is terrific cinema. To my taste, "Othello" was even better. More layers. More ambiguity. More patina. And highly architectural.

But this. My friends. Shakespeare is special. Don't trust your soul with someone not worthy.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.