Internet Shakespeare Editions

Shakespeare in Performance: Film

Macbeth (1949, Anthony Brown)

TitleMacbeth
Year1949
Release LocationsGB
DirectorAnthony Brown
MediumBlack & white video
Length2 hrs
LanguagesEnglish
Audiencegeneral public
Play ConnectionsMacbeth (teleplay)

Description

A 1949 publicity blurb pointed out that all available space at Alexandra Palace (the BBC headquarters) would be needed for George More O'Ferrall's production. Some 27 separate sets of scenery had to be constructed in the Alexandra Palace workshops, and several of the actors were equipped with masks that could change expressions, an innovation in the eyes of the producers. Peter Bax, the designer, copied illuminations from the ninth-century Book of Kells for the Celtic and Scandinavian designs in scenery and dresses. Obviously great excitement surrounded this enterprise in the early days of television. For George More O'Ferrall, the producer, who had produced snippets of Macbeth in 1937 on BBC, this opportunity to do the entire play on the relatively generous budget of £2,260 must have been welcome indeed (KSR)

Description from Shakespeare on Screen : an International Filmography and Videography by Kenneth S. Rothwell and Annabelle Henkin Melzer. ©1990 Kenneth S. Rothwell. Cited by permission. — Added 2008-11-14

Cast Overview

MacbethStephen Murray
Lady MacbethRuth Lodge
DuncanArthur Wontner
MalcolmJohn Ainsworth
DonalbainPeter Mullins
BanquoEsmond Knight
MacduffMark Dignam
Lady MacduffMargaret Vines
RossKenneth More
MonteithRichard Walter
AngusStanley Lemin
CaithnessJohn Brooking
FleanceAlan Stebbings
SiwardCharles Doran
Young SiwardPaul Connell
WitchesRosamund Greenwood
SetonPatrick Troughton
Macduff's SonCavan Malone
DoctorJames Mills
SergeantJulian Somers
PorterGordon Crier
MurderersMaurice Jones
CastMichael Martin Harvey
CastEugene Leahy
14 Soldiers and Ladies in Waitingnot specified
CastErnest Thesinger

Production Team and Crew Overview

DirectorAnthony Brown
DirectorOwen Davis
DirectorGarry Simpson
ProducerGeorge More O'Ferrall
Fight CoordinatorMaurice Jones
Stage ManagerArchie Angus
Stage ManagerCecil Petty

Production information courtesy of: Kenneth Rothwell