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Joe MacBeth is a 1955 British–American crime drama, directed by Ken Hughes[1] and starring Paul Douglas, Ruth Roman and Bonar Colleano.[2] It is a modern retelling of Shakespeare's Macbeth, set in a 1930s American criminal underworld. The film's plot closely follows that of Shakespeare's original play.[3][4][5] It has been called "the first really stand out movie" of Hughes' career.[6]

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Joe MacBeth
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Ken Hughes
Written by	Ken Hughes Philip Yordan
Based on	the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Produced by	M.J. Frankovich George Maynard (executive producer)
Starring	Paul Douglas Ruth Roman Bonar Colleano
Cinematography	Basil Emmott
Edited by	Peter Rolfe Johnson
Music by	Trevor Duncan
Production company	Film Locations
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release dates	18 October 1955 (1955-10-18) (UK) February 1956 (1956-02) (USA)
Running time	90 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

A similar adaptation, Men of Respect, was released in 1990, starring John Turturro, Rod Steiger and Dennis Farina.

Plot

Hit man Joe MacBeth goes directly from the assassination of crime boss Duke's second-in-command Tommy to his own wedding, where bride Lily scolds him for being two hours late.

Duke rewards him with a mansion by a lake. A fortune teller persuades Lily, however, that Joe's destiny is to be the leader, not a follower. Lily is ruthlessly ambitious. After he personally eliminates Duke's gluttonous rival, Big Dutch, at a restaurant, Lily continues to goad Joe into going after his own boss.

After eliminating his crime ally Banky and alienating Banky's son Lennie, an evening at the lakeside mansion ends with Duke inviting the lovely Lily to go for a swim. Once in the water, though, Duke is stabbed in the back by Joe and left to die. Lily dives in to make sure.

Although he expresses outrage that someone has murdered their boss, Joe is not believed by Lennie, who suspects the truth. Joe begins to be haunted by nightmares and visions. One night, when he believes Lennie's men have come to kill him, Joe takes a machine gun and opens fire at a moving curtain. Lily falls dead. Joe's own violent end is about to follow.

Cast

• Paul Douglas as Joe MacBeth
• Ruth Roman as Lily MacBeth
• Bonar Colleano as Lennie
• Grégoire Aslan 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

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 considereding producing.[7]

In February 1942 director William Dieterle said he was trying to finance Joe MacBeth.[8] The following month Yordan said Dieterle would direct the stage version which would open in New York on 25 August.[9] The production did not happen. In March 1946 Yordan was still discussing it as a possibility.[10]

In February 1947 it was announced that United California Productions, a company formed by Robert Cummings, Philiip Yordan and Eugene Frenke, had bought the rights to Joe MacBeth, based on an original by Philip Yordan. Yordan wrote the film as a vehicle for Cummings. The movie would be distributed by United Artists.[11] By April Cummings had dropped out.[12] Frenke was discussing producing the play at the Pasadena Playhouse.[13] In September 1947 Cummings announced he had shelved plans to make the film so it did not have to compete with the Orson Welles film of MacBeth.[14]

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 and star Lew Ayres and Audrey Trotter with filming to start in August.[15] 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.[16] In August William Bacher was reportedly seeking Shelley Winters to play a lead.[17]

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.[18][19] Franvoich ended up making the movie under a deal he had with Columbia and in April 1955 Paul Douglas, not Ireland, agreed to star.[20] Douglas did it under a two-picture deal with Columbia, the second to be The Gamma People (his wife, Jan Sterling, signed to make 1984 in England at the same time). Filming on Joe MacBeth would start 1 May 1955.[21] Ruth Roman signed to play the female lead.[22]

French actor Gregoire Aslan was cast as a gangster.[23]

It was the last film Mike Frankovich made as independent producer before running Columbia's British operations.[24]

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."[25]

Reception

Critical response

Critical reception to the film in England was harsh.[26]

Author Geoff Mayer wrote in his book Historical Dictionary of Crime Films: "Although this bizarre gangster film was an attempt to update William Shakespeare's play to contemporary America ... less-than-subtle alterations to the play with name changes..."[27]

The Variety 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."[28]

References

Citations

Sources

• Shakespeare, William; Williams, William Proctor (2006). Macbeth. Naperville, Illinois: Sourcebooks. p. 29. ISBN 978-1402206887.
• Jackson, Russell (2007). The Cambridge companion to Shakespeare on film. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 310–311. ISBN 978-0521866002.
• Mayer, Geoff (2003). Guide to British Cinema. Reference Guides to the World's Cinema. Santa Barbara, California: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 216. ISBN 978-0313303074.
• Mayer, Geoff (2012). Historical Dictionary of Crime Films. Historical Dictionaries of Literature and the Arts (1st ed.). Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 233. ISBN 978-0810867697.

External links

• Joe MacBeth at IMDb
• Joe MacBeth at AllMovie
• Joe Macbeth at BFI

На других языках

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- [en] Joe MacBeth

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[ru] Джо Макбет

«Джо Макбет» (англ. Joe MacBeth) — нуаровая гангстерская драма режиссёра Кена Хьюза, которая вышла на экраны в 1955 году.

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