Macbeth (1961)

The Scottish Lord Macbeth, chooses evil as the way to fulfill his ambition for power. He commits regicide to become King, and then furthers his moral descent with a reign of murderous ... See full summary »

Director:

Paul Almond

Writers:

William Shakespeare (play), Paul Almond (adaptation)

Stars:

Sean Connery, Zoe Caldwell, William Needles

Cast

Credited cast:
Sean Connery	...	Macbeth
Zoe Caldwell	...	Lady Macbeth
William Needles	...	Banquo
Ted Follows	...	MacDuff
Robin Gammell	...	Malcolm
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sharon Acker	...	Lady MacDuff
Bernard Behrens	...	Lennox
Ray Bellew	...	Donalbain (as Raymond Bellew)
Natalia Butko	...	Second Witch
Eric Christmas	...	Porter
Lawrence Dane	...	Seyton (as Larry Zahab)
Gillie Fenwick	...	Angus
Rex Hagon	...	Fleance
Max Helpmann	...	Ross
Jacqueline Ivings	...	Third Witch

Storyline

The Scottish Lord Macbeth, chooses evil as the way to fulfill his ambition for power. He commits regicide to become King, and then furthers his moral descent with a reign of murderous terror to stay in power, eventually plunging the country into civil war. In the end, he loses everything that gives meaning and purpose to his life before losing his life itself.

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Plot Keywords:

regicide | one word title | shakespeare's macbeth | taunting | scottish accent | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 January 1961 (Canada)

Also Known As:

Макбет

Filming Locations:

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min (Ontario)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Just before Lady Macbeth says, "When you durst do it..." the boom mic shadow falls onto her face and blackens it.

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Quotes

Lady Macbeth: Screw your courage to the sticking place and we'll not fail.

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Connections

Version of Macbeth (2006)

User Reviews

Macbeth on a budget

I suppose for a Scot MacBeth is the role you want to have a chance to play. And for someone like Sean Connery who has never kept his Scottish nationalist feelings a secret this must have been the break of a lifetime.

For an artist yes, but Connery would wait another year before he got the career break to make him an international star as 007 James Bond in Dr. No.

This was done for British television in 1961 and for those of us on this side of the pond British television was about a decade behind what US television was looking like in 1961. It's a good thing that mists are a part of Scotland lore because it allows for the production to be done on the cheap. It looks a lot like Orson Welles's version of MacBeth done for Republic under the penny pinching restraints that Herbert J. Yates put on Welles.

Of course Connery was not an international star hardly at this point. He had mostly done supporting roles on the big screen, most notably in Darby O'Gill And The Little People.

His interpretation of MacBeth is not something acclaimed. It's adequate. I don't ever recall Connery in his long career ever expressing a desire to do the classics. Maybe he had his fill here.

This MacBeth is a curiosity. It's also one cut down version from the original play. Connery is good, nothing more.