IMDb >
Macbeth (1948)
Watch It
Buy it at Amazon
Rent it at Blockbuster.com
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
BETA
Discuss in Boards More at IMDb Pro Add to My Movies Update Data
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotesOverview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany creditstv scheduleAwards & Reviews
user commentsexternal reviewsnewsgroup reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guiderecommendationsmessage boardPlot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsAmazon.com summarymemorable quotesFun Stuff
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQOther Info
merchandising linksbox office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specslaserdisc detailsDVD detailsliterature listingsNewsDeskPromotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo galleryExternal Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clipsMacbeth (1948) More at IMDbPro »
| Photos (see all 42 | slideshow) |
          |
Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writer:
Release Date:
23 June 1950 (France)
more
Tagline:
Entertainment Greatness . . . That Only Motion Picture Magic Can Bring !
Plot:
In fog-dripping, barren and sometimes macabre settings, 11th-century Scottish nobleman Macbeth is led...
more
| add synopsis
User Comments:
"Returning were as tedious as go o'er."
more (28 total)
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 |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
89 min (cut version) | Germany:92 min | USA:107 min (premiere version) | USA:107 min (restored video version)
Country:
Language:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Certification:
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
Shot in 21 days on a budget of $700,000.
more
Goofs:
Anachronisms: Duncan and his men renew their baptismal vows with a prayer composed by Pope Leo XIII in 1884.
more
Quotes:
[first lines]
The Three Witches: Double,double,toil and trouble; fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
more
The Three Witches: Double,double,toil and trouble; fire burn, and cauldron bubble.
more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in "Neues aus der Anstalt: Mental-Training vor der Fußball-EM (#2.5)" (2008)
more
FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (28 total)
Message Boards
Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Macbeth (1948)| Recent Posts (updated daily) | User |
|---|---|
| Those crowns.... | Marius-Creb |
| Two versions? | cens0red |
| Masterful | SurrenderToto |
| I need help on a Macbeth project. Please look. | movielover26 |
Recommendations
If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
Show more recommendations
|
|
|
|
|
| The Tragedy of Macbeth | Macbeth | Macbeth | Hamlet | Macbeth |
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
IMDb User Rating:
|
Related Links
| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| IMDb Drama section | IMDb USA section | Add this title to MyMovies |
The good news? For his last Hollywood film of the 1940s, Orson Welles delivered a low-budget, inventive, expressionist Shakespeare adaptation that served as a template for his experimental European films. The bad news? Welles perhaps captures the eerie mood of "The Scottish Play" all too well; the film is an unrelentingly dark and often uncomfortable experience. The lugubrious pacing and indifferent acting offer little respite from the play's fatalism.
A little background helps one better appreciate this film. After a string of box office failures (including "The Magnificent Ambersons" and "The Lady from Shanghai"), Welles signed on with Republic Pictures to do a low-budget "Macbeth," hoping that he could popularize Shakespeare on film as he had done on radio and in the theatre. His actors rehearsed the play on tour, and painstakingly pre-recorded their dialogue in Scottish brogues. Welles then shot the film in 23 days, some kind of record for him. Well, you can guess what happened: The studio hated it. They forced Welles to cut 20 minutes from the film, and made the actors re-dub their dialogue with "normal" accents - wasting all that time they spent in pre-production. The film bombed on release and Welles spent the next 10 years working in Europe.
Years later, the original prints were found and released as another "Lost Welles Classic." Unfortunately, time has devalued that label; "Macbeth" doesn't quite meet the standard set by "Othello" or "Touch of Evil," two other films that were restored after Welles' death. While the Scottish accents are a nice touch, the extra running time actually robs the film of some momentum. Welles did wonders with the cheap Republic sets; the film is a masterpiece of expressionist set design. The same can't be said of the costumes, which make Welles look like the Statue of Liberty at one point. Constrained by having to sync their movements to pre-recorded dialogue, the actors deliver wooden performances (only the soliloquies, delivered in voice-over, resonate). Fortunately, the last twenty minutes are visually captivating and offer enough Wellesian moments to make the viewing worthwhile.
If Welles fails to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear - as he would later do with "Othello" and "Chimes of Midnight" - he succeeds in developing an expressionist style that he would later perfect with his bizarro masterpiece "The Trial." "Macbeth" isn't exactly an enjoyable movie experience; indeed, "returning were as tedious as go o'er." But for the Welles aficionado, "Macbeth" provides an essential link between Welles' Hollywood years and the independent style of his European work.