Julius Caesar (1950)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

David Bradley

Writers:

David Bradley (writer)
William Shakespeare (play)

Release Date:

March 1950 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot Keywords:

Shakespeare's Julius Caesar | William Shakespeare | Ancient Rome | Based On Play | Character Name In Title

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Harold Tasker	...	Julius Caesar
Charlton Heston	...	Antony
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Bradley	...	Brutus
Theodore Cloak	...	Emil Lepidus
Mary Sefton Darr	...	Portia
Homer Dietmeier	...	Artemidorus
Alfred Edyvean	...	Flavius
George Gilbert	...	Strato
Grosvenor Glenn	...	Cassius
Russell Gruebner	...	Cinna-the poet
Walter Hardy	...	Cimber
George Hinners	...	Lucius
Bob Holt	...	Octavius Caesar
Sam Needham	...	Pindarus
John O'Leary	...	Marullus
Cornelius Peeples	...	Popilius
Frederick Roscoe	...	Decius
Helen Ross	...	Calpurnia
Arthur Sus	...	Cinna
Don Walker	...	Soothsayer
Jeffrey Hunter	...	Third Plebian (uncredited)

Directed by
David Bradley

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
David Bradley		writer
William Shakespeare		play

Produced by
David Bradley	....	producer
Owen Davis	....	producer
Robert Keigher	....	producer

Original Music by
Chuck Zornig

Cinematography by
Louis McMahon

Costume Design by
Katharine Bradley

Makeup Department
Sam Needham	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Robert Keigher	....	production manager

Sound Department
Sherwin Cazanov	....	sound effects
Sherwin Cazanov	....	sound
Art Foy	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Johnny Green	....	lighting technician

Music Department
Grant Fletcher	....	musical director

Other crew
Louis McMahon	....	battle sequences

Production Companies

• Avon Productions (II)

Distributors

• Brandon Films (1952) (USA)

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Avon Productions (II)

Trivia:

Jeffrey Hunter's TV debut.

Movie Connections:

Version of An Honourable Murder (1960)

Caesar, Chicago Gangster?

Back in the 1930s, a reporter named Wallace Irwin wrote a hard-boiled mystery novel spoof called THE JULIUS CAESAR MURDER CASE, in which Caesar and his cronies behaved and talked like cut-throat gangsters...which, when you think about it, they were. I kept thinking of Irwin's novel as I watched this black-and-white low-budget oddity from 1950, which was filmed in Chicago at various sites that double quite well for ancient Rome. The look is ancient, but the actor's accents could be straight out of an old James Cagney or Edward G.Robinson gangster movie. With that in mind, this movie provides yet another interesting take on one of the best plays ever written: Shakespeare's Caesar is the first and greatest Godfather of them all.

This movie marks the first of many appearances in loincloth by Charlton Heston (aged 25), who reprised the role of Antony in the 1970s all-star version, and again played Antony in his own movie adaptation of ANTONY AND CLEOPATRA. The role fits him like a glove.

There's also a small appearance by Jeffrey Hunter, who speaks a few lines and has some close-ups as a plebeian in the crowd reacting to the speeches by Brutus and Antony.

All in all, a worthwhile curiosity for anyone interested in pioneering independent film, Shakespeare movies, or the career of Charlton Heston.