Joe MacBeth
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''Joe MacBeth'' is a 1955 British–American
crime drama Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...
, directed by
Ken Hughes Kenneth Graham Hughes (19 January 1922 – 28 April 2001) was an English film director and screenwriter. He worked on over 30 feature films between 1952 and 1981, including the 1968 musical fantasy film ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'', based on th ...
and starring Paul Douglas, Ruth Roman and Bonar Colleano. It is a modern retelling of
Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
's ''
Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...
'', set in a 1930s American criminal underworld. The film's plot closely follows that of Shakespeare's original play. It has been called "the first really stand out movie" of Hughes' career. A similar adaptation, ''
Men of Respect ''Men of Respect'' is a 1990 crime drama film, an adaptation of William Shakespeare's play ''Macbeth''. It stars John Turturro as Mike Battaglia, a Mafia hitman who climbs his way to the top by killing his boss. The film also stars Rod Steiger ...
'', was released in 1990, starring
John Turturro John Michael Turturro ( ; born February 28, 1957) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his varied roles in independent films, and has worked frequently with the Coen brothers and Spike Lee. He has received a Primetime Emmy Award a ...
,
Rod Steiger Rodney Stephen Steiger ( ; April 14, 1925 – July 9, 2002) was an American actor, noted for his portrayal of offbeat, often volatile and crazed characters. Ranked as "one of Hollywood's most charismatic and dynamic stars", he is closely associ ...
and Dennis Farina.


Plot

Mob trigger man Joe "Mac" MacBeth assassinates Tommy, second-in-command to crime boss "Duke" Duca, on Duke's orders and then proceeds to his own wedding, where his bride Lily scolds him for being two hours late. As they celebrate their marriage that night at Duke's nightclub, fortune teller Rosie declares that Joe's destiny is to become the kingpin of the mob. The ruthlessly ambitious Lily is convinced of the fortune's inevitability, but Joe brushes it off. Almost immediately after Rosie leaves, however, Duke arrives and rewards Joe with a promotion to Tommy's old position and his prized lakeside mansion. Duke's mob soon goes to war with a rival outfit run by the gluttonous Big Dutch. After Big Dutch's men turn the tables and make inroads on Duke's territory, Joe pays the rival boss a personal visit at a restaurant and secretly poisons a dish. Once Joe departs, Big Dutch devours the tainted food, then dies on the spot. During an overnight party at the lakeside mansion to celebrate Big Dutch's demise, Lily continues to goad Joe into going after Duke, but Joe hesitates. The festivities end with Duke inviting Lily to go for a swim. Once in the water, Joe stabs his boss in the back and holds him under until he is dead, but he is shaken by the act and fails to remove the knife, forcing Lily to dive in and recover the murder weapon. In the morning, when Duke's bodyguards come to pick him up and he cannot be found, Lily claims to have discovered Duke's robe by the lake and suggests he drowned while swimming. Joe is immediately elevated to kingpin and he promotes his friend Banky to his right-hand man. Banky's son Lennie resents Joe's rapid rise, asserting that his father served Duke long before Joe came along. He also openly casts suspicion on Duke's death. The loyal Banky beats Lennie for the insubordination, but urges Joe to set his son up with a small business so that his family can leave the criminal life. Later, Joe and Banky come across Rosie again, and she claims Joe is being overshadowed by his friend. The men laugh off Rosie's words, but shortly after, Joe hires a pair of hitmen from out of town to eliminate Banky and Lennie; Banky dies, but Lennie escapes, and Lily berates Joe for not doing the job himself. At a banquet where Lennie unexpectedly shows up, Joe begins to be haunted by nightmares and visions of the men he betrayed. Lennie entertains plans of usurping Joe as the latter's erratic behavior disturbs the rank-and-file members. Meanwhile, Joe sends the hitmen to kidnap Lennie's wife, Ruth, and their daughter to rein the upstart in, but they botch the job. Lily discovers the bodies when she visits Ruth's house and is traumatized. The brutal act also alienates Marty, Joe's last ally in the mob. That night, Marty warns Joe that Lennie is coming for him. Joe orders the hitmen to guard the mansion while he tends to Lily, but the mercenaries decide to make a run for it and are gunned down by Lennie. Panicked and paranoid, Joe closes himself in a dark room with a machine gun and starts shooting wildly at the slightest movements. When the doors to the room open, he fires at them and kills Lily. As Joe rushes to his wife's side, Lennie then personally executes Joe. Angus, the mansion's longtime butler, suggests that Lennie is the new master of the mansion and therefore the mob, but Lennie disagrees and tells Angus to look for a new job.


Cast

* Paul Douglas as Joe MacBeth * Ruth Roman as Lily MacBeth * Bonar Colleano as Lennie *
Grégoire Aslan Grégoire Aslan (born Krikor Kaloust Aslanian (); 28 March 1908 – 8 January 1982) was a Swiss-Armenian actor and musician. Early life He was born to an Armenian family in Switzerland or in Constantinople, according to different sources. He m ...
as Duca, a.k.a. "The Duke" * Sid James as Banky * Harry Green as Big Dutch * Walter Crisham as Angus * Kay Callard as Ruth * Robert Arden as Ross * George Margo as Second Assassin * Minerva Pious as Rosie * Philip Vickers as Tommy * Mark Baker as Benny * Bill Nagy as Marty * Nicholas Stuart as Duffy * Teresa Thorne as Ruth * Shirley Douglas as Patsy * Alfred Mulock as First Assassin * Louise Grant *
Beresford Egan Beresford Egan (1905–1984) was a satirical draughtsman, painter, novelist, actor, costume designer and playwright. He was born in London but grew up in South Africa following a family move when he was five years old. He returned to London in J ...


Production

In 1941, it was announced Philip Yordan had written a play ''Joe MacBeth'' which updated Shakespeare's play to the Chicago gang wars. Arthur Vinton was considering producing. In February 1942, director
William Dieterle William Dieterle (July 15, 1893 – December 9, 1972) was a German-born actor and film director who emigrated to the United States in 1930 to leave a worsening political situation. He worked in Cinema of the United States, Hollywood primarily a ...
said he was trying to finance ''Joe MacBeth''. The following month, Yordan announced Dieterle would direct the stage version, which would open in New York on 25 August. The production did not happen. In March 1946, Yordan was still discussing it as a possibility. In February 1947, it was announced that United California Productions, a company formed by
Robert Cummings Charles Clarence Robert Orville Cummings (June 9, 1910 – December 2, 1990) was an American film and television actor who appeared in roles in comedy films such as ''The Devil and Miss Jones'' (1941) and ''Princess O'Rourke'' (1943), and in d ...
, Philip Yordan and Eugene Frenke, had bought the rights to ''Joe MacBeth'', based on an original screenplay by Philip Yordan. Yordan wrote the film as a vehicle for Cummings. The movie would be distributed by
United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...
. By April, Cummings had dropped out. Frenke was discussing producing the play at the Pasadena Playhouse. In September 1947, Cummings announced he had shelved plans to make the film so it did not have to compete with the
Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...
film of ''MacBeth''. In June 1948, James Nasser announced he had acquired rights to ''Joe MacBeth'' for filming under his deal with United Artists. It was to be directed by
Lloyd Bacon Lloyd Francis Bacon (December 4, 1889 – November 15, 1955) was an American screen, stage, and vaudeville actor and film director. As a director, he made films in numerous genres, including westerns, musicals, comedies, gangster films, and c ...
and star
Lew Ayres Lewis Frederick Ayres III (December 28, 1908 – December 30, 1996) was an American actor whose film and television career spanned 65 years. He is best known for starring as German soldier Paul Bäumer in the film ''All Quiet on the Western Fro ...
and Audrey Totter with filming to start in August. Filming did not happen. In January 1949, Yordan said the film had been unable to get off the ground due to troubles finding the right cast. In August, William Bacher was reportedly seeking
Shelley Winters Shelley Winters (born Shirley Schrift; August 18, 1920 – January 14, 2006) was an American film actress whose career spanned seven decades. She won Academy Awards for ''The Diary of Anne Frank (1959 film), The Diary of Anne Frank'' (1959) and ' ...
to play a lead. In October 1954, Mike Frankovich announced he had purchased the screen rights. Frankovich and writer Philip Yordan had previously collaborated on '' Anna Lucasta''. Filming was likely to be done for United Artists with Joanne Dru and John Ireland, then married, as possible stars. Frankovich ended up making the movie under a deal he had with Columbia and in April 1955, Paul Douglas, not Ireland, agreed to star. Douglas arranged this as the first of a two-picture deal with Columbia, the second to be ''
The Gamma People ''The Gamma People'' is a 1956 British-American black-and-white science fiction film, produced by John Gossage, directed by John Gilling, that stars Paul Douglas, Eva Bartok, and Leslie Phillips. The film, shot in Imst, Austria, was distributed ...
'' (his wife, Jan Sterling, signed to make ''
1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...
'' in England at the same time). Filming on ''Joe MacBeth'' would start 1 May 1955. Ruth Roman signed to play the female lead. French actor Gregoire Aslan was cast as a gangster. It was the last film Mike Frankovich made as independent producer before running Columbia's British operations. Hughes later said he "enjoyed" making the film. "I was terribly young, only 22. The cheek I had to be directing old timers like Paul Douglas and Richard Conte. Still, I think they liked that and I tried never to be arrogant. And it was one of the few scripts I picked up in my life that didn't require a great deal of work."


Reception


Critical response

Critical reception to the film in England was harsh. Author Geoff Mayer wrote in his book ''Historical Dictionary of Crime Films'': "Although this bizarre gangster film was an attempt to update
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's play to contemporary America ... less-than-subtle alterations to the play with name changes..." The staff of '' Variety'' wrote in their review: "''Joe Macbeth'' is far removed from the famous Shakespearean character, but there is an analogy between this modern gangster story and the Bard’s classic play. Although made in Britain, the film has an American setting. It is expensively mounted, expertly staged and directed with a keen sense of tension."


References


Citations


Sources

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External links

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Joe Macbeth
at BFI {{Macbeth 1955 films 1955 crime drama films Films directed by Ken Hughes Films based on Macbeth British crime drama films Films set in the 1930s Films set in the United States Columbia Pictures films 1950s English-language films 1950s British films American crime drama films British black-and-white films American black-and-white films Films scored by Trevor Duncan English-language crime drama films