Macbeth is a
AmericanThe cinema of the United States has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
film adaptation by
Orson WellesGeorge Orson Welles was an American film director, writer, actor and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television, and radio. Welles was also an accomplished magician, starring in troop variety spectacles in the war years...
of
William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's tragedy
MacbethThe Tragedy of Macbeth, commonly just Macbeth, is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
.
In 1947, Orson Welles began promoting the notion of bringing a Shakespeare drama to the motion picture screen. He initially attempted to pique investors’ interest in an adaptation of
OthelloOthello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
, but was unable to gather support for the project. Welles switched to pushing for a film adaptation of
Macbeth, which he visualized in its violent setting as "a perfect cross between
Wuthering HeightsWuthering Heights is a black and white film, directed by William Wyler and produced by Samuel Goldwyn. It is based on the celebrated novel, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. The film only depicts sixteen of the novel's thirty-four chapters, eliminating the second generation of characters. The...
and
Bride of FrankensteinBride of Frankenstein is a horror film, the first sequel to the influential Frankenstein...
."
Teaming with producer
Charles K. FeldmanCharles K. Feldman was a film producer and talent agent born in New York City. In 1934 he married actress Jean Howard, whom he divorced in 1948....
, Welles successfully convinced
Herbert YatesHerbert John Yates was the founder and president of Republic Pictures, famous for being the home of John Wayne, Gene Autry, and Roy Rogers...
, the founder and president of
Republic PicturesRepublic Pictures was an independent film production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, operating from 1934 through 1959 and best known for its specialization in quality westerns, movie serials and B films emphasizing mystery and action.They were also responsible for financing one...
, of the prospect of creating a film version of
Macbeth.
Macbeth is a
AmericanThe cinema of the United States has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
film adaptation by
Orson WellesGeorge Orson Welles was an American film director, writer, actor and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television, and radio. Welles was also an accomplished magician, starring in troop variety spectacles in the war years...
of
William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's preeminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's tragedy
MacbethThe Tragedy of Macbeth, commonly just Macbeth, is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
.
Pre-production
In 1947, Orson Welles began promoting the notion of bringing a Shakespeare drama to the motion picture screen. He initially attempted to pique investors’ interest in an adaptation of
OthelloOthello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
, but was unable to gather support for the project. Welles switched to pushing for a film adaptation of
Macbeth, which he visualized in its violent setting as "a perfect cross between
Wuthering HeightsWuthering Heights is a black and white film, directed by William Wyler and produced by Samuel Goldwyn. It is based on the celebrated novel, Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë. The film only depicts sixteen of the novel's thirty-four chapters, eliminating the second generation of characters. The...
and
Bride of FrankensteinBride of Frankenstein is a horror film, the first sequel to the influential Frankenstein...
."
Teaming with producer
Charles K. FeldmanCharles K. Feldman was a film producer and talent agent born in New York City. In 1934 he married actress Jean Howard, whom he divorced in 1948....
, Welles successfully convinced
Herbert YatesHerbert John Yates was the founder and president of Republic Pictures, famous for being the home of John Wayne, Gene Autry, and Roy Rogers...
, the founder and president of
Republic PicturesRepublic Pictures was an independent film production-distribution corporation with studio facilities, operating from 1934 through 1959 and best known for its specialization in quality westerns, movie serials and B films emphasizing mystery and action.They were also responsible for financing one...
, of the prospect of creating a film version of
Macbeth. Yates was attempting to raise the level of his studio, which produced
Roy RogersRoy Rogers , was a singer and cowboy actor, as well as the namesake of the Roy Rogers Restaurants chain. He and his second wife Dale Evans, his golden palomino Trigger, and his German Shepherd Dog, Bullet, were featured in over one hundred movies and The Roy Rogers Show...
Westerns and low-budget features, into that of a prestige studio. Republic had already tried to present off-beat features, including Gustav Machaty’s
Jealousy (1945) and
Ben HechtBen Hecht , , was an American screenwriter, director, producer, playwright, and novelist...
’s
Spectre of the Rose (1946), so having a creative artist of Welles’ stature was considered an artistic coup.
However, Yates was not able to provide Welles with a large budget. Welles promised to shoot
Macbeth in three weeks on a budget of $700,000. When some members of the Republic board of directors expressed misgivings on the project, Welles offered to personally finance any part of the film that exceeded its original budget.
Welles had previously staged
Macbeth in 1936 in
New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
with an all-black cast, and again in 1947 in Salt Lake City as part of the
UtahUtah is a western state of the United States. It was the 45th state admitted to the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80 percent of Utah's 2,736,424 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering around Salt Lake City. In contrast, vast expanses of the state are nearly uninhabited, making...
Centennial Festival. He borrowed aspects from both productions for his film adaptation.
Macbeth marked the fourth time that a post-silent era Hollywood studio produced a film based on a Shakespeare play:
United ArtistsUnited Artists Entertainment LLC is an American film studio. The current United Artists was formed in November 2006 under a partnership between producer/actor Tom Cruise and his production partner, Paula Wagner, and Metro–Goldwyn–Mayer Studios Inc., an MGM company...
had produced
The Taming of the ShrewThe Taming of the Shrew is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1594.The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the Induction, in which a drunken tinker named Sly is tricked into thinking he is a nobleman by a mischievous Lord...
in 1929, Warner Brothers made
A Midsummer's Night DreamA Midsummer Night's Dream is a film directed by Max Reinhardt and William Dieterle, produced by Henry Blanke and Hal Wallis, and adapted by Charles Kenyon and Mary C. McCall Jr...
in 1935, and
Metro-Goldwyn-MayerMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc., or MGM, is an American media company, involved primarily in the production and distribution of films and television programs. MGM was founded in 1924 when the entertainment entrepreneur Marcus Loew gained control of Metro Pictures, Goldwyn Pictures Corporation and Louis B...
produced
Romeo and Juliet----Romeo and Juliet is a 1936 film adaptation of the play by Shakespeare, directed by George Cukor from a screenplay by Talbot Jennings. The film stars Leslie Howard as Romeo and Norma Shearer as Juliet...
in 1936. None of these were commercially successful, but the commercial and critical prestige earned by
Laurence OlivierLaurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century, along with his contemporaries John Gielgud, Peggy Ashcroft, Alec Guinness and Ralph Richardson...
’s film version of
Henry VHenry V is a 1944 film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play of the same name. The on-screen title is The Chronicle History of King Henry the Fift with His Battell Fought at Agincourt in France . It stars Laurence Olivier, who also directed. The play was adapted for the screen by Olivier,...
(which was produced in Great Britain in 1944 but not seen in the U.S. until 1946) helped propel Welles' Macbeth forward.
Casting
Welles cast himself in the title role, but was initially stymied in casting
Lady MacbethLady Macbeth may refer to:*Lady Macbeth , from the play Macbeth **Queen Gruoch of Scotland, the real-life Queen on whom Shakespeare based the character...
. At first he desired to have
Vivien LeighVivien Leigh, Lady Olivier was an English actress. She won two Best Actress Academy Awards for playing "southern belles": Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind and Blanche DuBois in the film version of A Streetcar Named Desire , a role she had also played on stage in London's West End.She was a...
in the role, but he never inquired for her availability since she was married to
Laurence OlivierLaurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century, along with his contemporaries John Gielgud, Peggy Ashcroft, Alec Guinness and Ralph Richardson...
, whom Welles assumed would be unsupportive. Other actresses he approached included
Tallulah BankheadTallulah Brockman Bankhead was an American actress, talk-show host and bon vivant.- Early life and family :...
,
Anne BaxterAnne Baxter was an American actress known for her performances in films such as All About Eve, The Razor's Edge and The Ten Commandments.-Early life:...
, and
Mercedes McCambridgeCarlotta Mercedes McCambridge , nicknamed Mercy, was an American film actress, also known for her acting in radio dramas. Orson Welles called her "the world's greatest living radio actress."-Early life:...
, before settling on
Jeanette NolanJeanette Nolan was an American actress, born in Los Angeles, California.Miss Nolan was a graduate of Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles...
, a radio actress with no previous film or stage experience.
Welles brought in Irish actor
Dan O'HerlihyDaniel O'Herlihy was an Irish film actor.-Early life:O'Herlihy was born in Wexford and married Elsie Bennett in 1945. He was the brother of director Michael O'Herlihy and the father of actor Gavan O'Herlihy, visual artist Olwen O'Herlihy, and architect Lorcan O'Herlihy...
in his first U.S. film role as
MacduffMacduff is a fictional character in Shakespeare's Macbeth . He suspects Macbeth of regicide and kills him off-stage in the final act. Macduff's origin lies in Holinshed's Chronicles , a history of Britain. Shakespeare faithfully follows Holinshed in fashioning Macduff for the theatre...
, and cast former child star
Roddy McDowallRoderick Andrew Anthony Jude "Roddy" McDowall was an English-born actor and photographer. He is known for beginning his long career as a child actor. His best known role is in the "Planet of the Apes" films and TV series from 1968-1974.-Early life and career:McDowall was born in Herne Hill,...
as Malcolm. Welles also cast his daughter Christopher in the role of Macduff’s son; this turned out to be her first and only film appearance.
- Orson Welles
George Orson Welles was an American film director, writer, actor and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television, and radio. Welles was also an accomplished magician, starring in troop variety spectacles in the war years...
as MacbethMacbeth is the titular protagonist in William Shakespeare's Macbeth . The character is based on the historical king Macbeth of Scotland, and is derived largely from the account in Holinshed's Chronicles , a history of Britain. Macbeth is a Scottish noble and a valiant military man...
, a Scottish captain and later King of Scotland
- Jeanette Nolan
Jeanette Nolan was an American actress, born in Los Angeles, California.Miss Nolan was a graduate of Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles...
as Lady MacbethLady Macbeth may refer to:*Lady Macbeth , from the play Macbeth **Queen Gruoch of Scotland, the real-life Queen on whom Shakespeare based the character...
, his wife and later Queen of Scotland
- Dan O'Herlihy
Daniel O'Herlihy was an Irish film actor.-Early life:O'Herlihy was born in Wexford and married Elsie Bennett in 1945. He was the brother of director Michael O'Herlihy and the father of actor Gavan O'Herlihy, visual artist Olwen O'Herlihy, and architect Lorcan O'Herlihy...
as MacduffMacduff may refer to:* Macduff , the character in Shakespeare's Macbeth* Macduff, Aberdeenshire, the former burgh which is now within the Aberdeenshire council area of Scotland* the Clan MacDuff, a Scottish clan...
, the Thane of Fife
- Peggy Webber as Lady Macduff
Lady Macduff is a character in Shakespeare's Macbeth . She is the wife of the Thane of Fife, and the mother of his young son. She and her children are mentioned in the source material as victims of Macbeth's cruelty; Shakespeare however is completely responsible for her development as a dramatic...
, his wife , and as One of The Three WitchesThe Three Witches or Weird Sisters are characters in William Shakespeare's play Macbeth . Their origin lies in Holinshed's Chronicles , a history of Great Britain...
- Christopher Welles as Macduff's son
Macduff's son is a character in William Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth . His name and age are not established in the text, and, typical of Shakespeare's child characters, the boy is cute and clever...
- Erskine Sanford
Erskine Sanford was an American actor in films from the late 1930s. A member of Orson Welles' Mercury Theatre company, he also appeared in several of Welles' films, most notably as the bumbling, perspiring newspaper editor Herbert Carter in Citizen Kane.Erskine Sanford lived the last decades of...
as King Duncan of ScotlandKing Duncan, or Duncan, King of Scotland is a fictional character in Shakespeare's Macbeth. He is the King of Scotland, the father of two youthful sons , and the victim of a well-plotted regicide in a power grab by his trusted captain and cousin Macbeth...
later murdered by Macbeth
- Roddy McDowall
Roderick Andrew Anthony Jude "Roddy" McDowall was an English-born actor and photographer. He is known for beginning his long career as a child actor. His best known role is in the "Planet of the Apes" films and TV series from 1968-1974.-Early life and career:McDowall was born in Herne Hill,...
as Malcolm, his son
- Edgar Barrier as Banquo
Banquo is a character in William Shakespeare's 1606 play Macbeth. Banquo is at first an ally to Macbeth, his co-captain in the battle against the rebels, and they are together when they meet the Three Witches. After prophesying that Macbeth will become king, the witches tell Banquo that he will not...
, a Scottish captain and Macbeth's friend
- Jerry Farber as Fleance
Fleance is a character in William Shakespeare's play Macbeth. He is the son of Banquo, who, along with Macbeth, is one of King Duncan's most trusted captains. The Three Witches prophesy that Banquo's descendants will be kings. Macbeth, fearing Banquo and Fleance threaten his throne, has Banquo...
, his son
- Alan Napier
Alan William Napier-Clavering was an English character actor. He is best known for playing Alfred in the 1960s live-action Batman television series.-Early life and career:...
as a Holy Father
- John Dierkes as Ross, a Scottish lord
- Keene Curtis as Lennox, a Scottish lord
- Lionel Braham as Siward, an English commander
- Archie Heugly as Young Siward, his son
- Morgan Farley as a Doctor attending Lady Macbeth
- Lurene Tuttle
Lurene Tuttle was a character actress, who made transitions from vaudeville to radio, to films and television. Her most enduring impact was in radio drama as one of network radio's most versatile actresses...
as a Gentlewoman attending Lady Macbeth, and as One of The Three Witches
- Brainerd Duffield as First Murderer and as One of The Three Witches (Duffield is the only actor in the film to play a role in drag
- In science and technology :* Drag , a combination of aerodynamic or hydrodynamic forces which tends to reduce speed* Drag coefficient, in physics, a quantity used in analyzing the amount of aerodynamic drag caused by fluid flow...
.)
- William Alland as Second Murderer
- George Chirello as Seyton, Macbeth's servant
- Gus Schilling as Porter at Macbeth's castle
Adaptation
In bringing
Macbeth to the screen, Welles made several changes to Shakespeare's original.
Welles added sequences involving the witches to increase their significance. At the beginning of the film, they create a clay figurine of Macbeth, which is used to symbolize his rise and ruin. It collapses in a heap, seemingly of its own volition, immediately after Macbeth is beheaded. The witches also return at the end of the film, viewing the drama from afar and uttering “Peace, the charm’s wound up” as the final line (this line is spoken in the first act in the original text, when the witches initially confront Macbeth).
Because of
censorshipCensorship is the suppression of speech or deletion of communicative material which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or inconvenient to the government or media organizations as determined by a censor.-Rationale:...
, the Porter's speech was shorn of all its double entendre.
A major change is Welles's introduction of a new character, the Holy Man. The priest recites the prayer of Saint Michael. Welles later explained that the character’s presence was meant to confirm that “the main point of that production is the struggle between the old and new religions. I saw the witches as representatives of a
Druidical pagan religionA druid was a member of the priestly and learned class active in Gaul, and perhaps in Celtic culture more generally, during the final centuries BCE...
suppressed by
ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
-- itself a new arrival.”
Two more subtle changes include an insinuation that Lady Macbeth fatally stabs Duncan prior to Macbeth’s attack on the king, and the fact that Macbeth is witness to Lady Macbeth’s
sleepwalking and madness sceneThe sleepwalking scene is a theatrical tour de force and a critically celebrated scene from William Shakespeare's tragedy Macbeth . The first scene in the tragedy's fifth act, the sleepwalking scene is written principally in prose, and follows the guilt-wracked, sleepwalking Lady Macbeth as she...
; in the play, he is not present.
Other changes were made to make the play more cinematic. Nearly all of King Duncan's scenes at the beginning of the play have been cut as well as the character of Donalbain, his second son. Macbeth is seen dictating his letter to his wife, rather than writing it himself. In the play, no such dictation scene exists. The Thane of Cawdor's execution takes place on-stage amid great pomp. Lady Macbeth’s suicide and the final battle between Macbeth’s forces and Macduff’s army are depicted on-screen; in the play, both scenes occur off-stage. Rather than fatally stabbing Macbeth and then beheading the dead body, Macduff kills Macbeth by slashing off his head. Needless to say, lines have been cut, speeches have been reassigned, scenes have been reordered, etc. This scandalized many critics at the time; today it is accepted practice to do so in film versions of Shakespeare plays.
Production
In order to accommodate the tight production schedule, Welles had the
Macbeth cast pre-record their dialogue. However, he later expressed frustration with the film’s low budget trappings. In regard to the costumes, which were rented from a company called Western Costume, Welles felt he was poorly clothed. In an interview with biographer/filmmaker
Peter BogdanovichPeter Bogdanovich is an American film historian, director, writer, actor, producer, and critic. He was part of the wave of "New Hollywood" directors, which included William Friedkin, Brian DePalma, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Michael Cimino, and Francis Ford Coppola...
, Welles remarked: "Mine should have been sent back, because I looked like the
Statue of LibertyThe Statue of Liberty , officially titled Liberty Enlightening the World , dedicated on October 28, 1886, is a monument commemorating the centennial of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, given to the United States by the people of France to represent the friendship...
in it. But there was no dough for another and nothing in stock at Western would fit me, so I was stuck with it.”
Welles also told Bogdanovich that the scene he felt was most effective was actually based on hunger. “Our best crowd scene was a shot where all the massed forces of Macduff's army are charging the castle,” he said. “There was a very vivid urgency to it, because what was happening, really, was that we'd just called noon break, and all those extras were rushing off to lunch."
Welles shot Macbeth in 23 days, with one day devoted to retakes.
Distribution problems
Republic initially planned to have
Macbeth in release by December 1947, but Welles was not ready with the film. The studio entered the film in the 1948
Venice Film FestivalThe Venice Film Festival is the oldest film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi di Misurata in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the Lido, Venice,...
, but it was abruptly withdrawn when it was compared unfavorably against the Laurence Olivier
HamletHamlet is a 1948 British film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, directed by and starring Sir Laurence Olivier. Hamlet was Olivier's second film as director, and also the second of his three Shakespeare films...
, which was also in the festival’s competition.
In the U.S. theatrical release, Republic tested the film in a few cities. Critical reaction was overwhelmingly negative, with complaints about Welles’ decision to have his cast speak in
Scottish burrsScottish English refers to the varieties of English spoken in Scotland. It may or may not include Scots depending on the observer.The main, formal variety is called Scottish Standard English or Standard Scottish English...
and by his decision to telescope the Shakespeare text into a compact 107 minute film.
After its original release, Republic had Welles cut two reels from the film and ordered him to have much of the soundtrack re-recorded with the actors speaking in their natural voices, and not the approximation of the Scottish dialect that Welles initially requested. This new version was released by Republic in 1950. While critical reaction was still not supportive, the film earned a small profit for the studio.
Welles would maintain mixed emotions about
Macbeth. In a 1953 lecture delivered at the
Edinburgh FestivalEdinburgh Festival is a collective term for several simultaneous arts and cultural festivals that take place during August each year in Edinburgh, Scotland...
, Welles said: "My purpose in making
Macbeth was not to make a great film – and this is unusual, because I think that every film director, even when he is making nonsense, should have as his purpose the making of a great film. I thought I was making what might be a good film, and what, if the 23-day day shoot schedule came off, might encourage other filmmakers to tackle difficult subjects at greater speed. Unfortunately, not one critic in any part of the world chose to compliment me on the speed. They thought it was a scandal that it should only take 23 days. Of course, they were right, but I could not write to everyone of them and explain that no one would give me any money for a further day’s shooting...However, I am not ashamed of the limitations of the picture."
The truncated version of
Macbeth remained in release until 1980, when the original uncut version with the Scottish-tinged soundtrack was restored by the UCLA Film Archives and the
Folger Shakespeare LibraryThe Folger Shakespeare Library is an independent research library on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It has the world's largest collection of the printed works of William Shakespeare, and is a primary repository for rare materials from the early modern period...
.
Critical opinion of the film has drastically improved since its original release, with many now regarding it as one of his most notable films.