Edmond O’Brien has a go at Louis Calhern. Image: TCM
One of the mandatory books we studied in high school was William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar.
Our poor English teacher. She had a time of it, trying to engage us in Shakespearean language, hoping we’d be enthusiastic about the politics or the drama – or anything at all.
Yours truly viewed this exercise as a Necessary Evil, as in: What’s the least amount of work to ensure a passing grade?
Until.
One day our English teacher wheeled in a cart; there was to be a movie. “Not Julius Caesar!” we groan-whispered to a friend who, incidentally, seemed unperturbed by this and every other ridiculous assignment.
The film began, and it was a Surprise: A gorgeous 1953 black-and-white MGM production, with credible sets and costumes, and actors who made the antiquated language come Alive.
We were smitten. “Shakespeare knows his stuff,” we marveled, even though we were loathe to admit the movie was having its intended effect.
In fact, Julius Caesar remains our favourite Shakespearean play, and it’s largely due to the cast in this 1953 film.
Conspirators plot to kill Caesar. Image: hdencode.org
You know the story of Julius Caesar, that savvy militarist and political leader who consolidated his power to become Dictator-for-Life in 49 BC, only to be assassinated by multiple conspirators in 44 BC.
The folks at MGM knew how to cast this film, and even unexpected casting choices, such as character actor Edmond O’Brien, are pitch-perfect.
Louis Calhern plays the titular Caesar, and his short time on screen leaves a long shadow. His Julius Caesar is smart and capable of affection, but he’s also arrogant. He often refers to himself in the third person, as though he is so Grand he dare not address himself colloquially.
“Caesar doth no wrong,” he says, without a trace of irony. “I am constant as the morning star.”
The shrewd Cassius, conspiracy instigator and influencer, is played by John Gielgud, in somewhat distracting hair. Gielgud reveals his character’s jealousy for Caesar with delicious disdain. Gielgud-as-Cassius is shrewd enough to convince conspirators to join the coup d’état by telling them Caesar’s death will fulfill their personal objectives.
He’s mostly concerned, though, with his own goals. “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves,” he says, “that we are underlings.”
The Brutus to whom he speaks is played by James Mason. Mason gives us a conflicted man who participates in the assassination not out of envy, but because he genuinely believes Rome ought to be free of Caesar.
The Master of Method acting, Marlon Brando, plays Mark Antony, the avenger of Caesar’s death, a man every bit as cunning as Gielgud’s Cassius.
There is a crucial moment when an indignant Brando, addressing an unsympathetic audience at Caesar’s makeshift funeral, publicly presents the leader’s corpse. He points to each wound in the body and names every person involved, as if he knew Who stabbed Caesar Where. This magnificent bluff sways the crowd – They’re out for blood now! – and civil war ensues.
As you can see, Shakespeare’s play is rich with Motive and Ambition and Revenge, which makes it a timeless political analysis.
Marlon Brando: No one’s getting away with murder today! Image: IMDb
Julius Caesar is not big-budget, splashy MGM fare. It was shot in toned-down black and white for two reasons: (1) the sets were recycled from the film Quo Vadis (1951) and audiences would know it; and (2) producer John Houseman wanted this film to have a “newsreel” texture, since the subject of dictatorial leaders was still a Hot Topic in 1953.
The film, shot in 35 days, was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture but not, alas, for Best Director. However, it did win an Oscar for Best (black-and-white) Art Direction.
Shakespeare’s works have been adapted to film numerous times, and we always appreciate how well-suited his works are to the Big Screen. Yet none of the films we’ve seen have the same place in our heart as this version of Julius Caesar.
What are some of your favourite Shakespearean film adaptations?
This post is dedicated to Marilyn.
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Julius Caesar: starring Louis Calhern, Marlon Brando, James Mason. Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Written by Joseph L. Mankiewicz & William Shakespeare. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1953, B&W, 120 mins.
Shakespeare died over 400 years ago. Yet, his plays still are staged in theaters regularly in many countries. I find this to be amazing, partly because the plays are not, obviously, in modern English. And also because many of them require plenty of brainpower to be understood.
Love Shakespeare, the original Screenwriter. I first learned about the Bard in 8th Grade, bur didn’t get the chance to read any of his stuff until High School. Romeo & Juliet will always be my favorite Shakespeare play, but I enjoy his other works as well, and Julius Caesar is one of them. My one college teacher told us it’s a part of the Bard’s Historical plays, but it feels exactly like one of his Tragedies ala Hamlet, Othello, Richard III, etc. I remember reading that after Sir John Gielgud saw Leslie Howard and Moria Shearer in Romeo & Juliet, he was certain no filmmaker could adapt Shakespeare properly, and then of course Olivier takes home an Oscar for Hamlet, which led Gielgud to do this film here. Not too sure about Louis Calhern as Caesar though.
I don’t mind Calhern as Caesar, although it could be he’s the first actor I saw in the role and he “shaped” the character for me – if that makes sense?
I like what you said about this play feeling like one of Shakespeare’s tragedies. It really does.
Lovely post Ruth, must check this out… my dad brought me up on Carry on Cleo, so really should.. and not just to see Gielgud’s hair.. what a cast and it looks more than fantastic with that black and white ambience.
Just watched Henry IV part 1 with Tom Hiddleston and Simon Russel Beale as fatty Falstaff. I tried to follow with the text but it veered away quite a lot. Captivating though.
My favourite movie adaptation from Shakespeare will always be Blood Throne by Akira Kurosawa: the Japanese director, in my opinion, was the one that better conveyed the universality of Shakespeare, whose stories, words and characters fit incredibly to every time and place, even medieval Japan. I still shiver thinking about that wonderful movie.
Honestly, I’ve never been a huge fan of Shakespeare. I mean in school, I liked Romeo and Juliet because it’s such a downer ending! However, your terrific review of Julius Caesar sounds exceptionally intriguing! Especially with that cast!
I love this! My senior AP teacher, Mr. Duda, did the same thing as Mrs. Faber, except we saw “Much Ado About Nothing.” Of course, it wasn’t too hard a sell because it was an AP class, but it sure helped us get into Shakespeare.
I too, only learned to appreciate Shakespeare after seeing his plays on film. Until then, couldn’t understand why he was considered such a great author, much less many of his plays. I still can’t sit through a reading, but watching them performed is magic.
I am an absolute Bard devotee. I’ve read all of Shakespeare’s plays, some of them multiple times a year, and I have plenty of favorite film adaptations. My top five are Olivier’s 1955 Richard III, Luhrmann’s 1996 Romeo + Juliet, the 2009 TV version of Hamlet with David Tennant, Kurosawa’s 1957 Throne of Blood (a Macbeth adaptation set in feudal Japan), and Kurosawa’s 1984 masterpiece Ran (a King Lear adaptation set in feudal Japan as well).
I saw this Julius Caesar years ago and remembered enjoying it, especially Brando’s Marc Anthony. Your post is making me want to rewatch it.
You’ve listed some great Shakespearean film titles. (*whispers, looks around*) I’ve yet to see Ran, which is almost sacrilege, I know. So your comment is prompting me to suss it out soon.
Silver Screenings 
Shakespeare died over 400 years ago. Yet, his plays still are staged in theaters regularly in many countries. I find this to be amazing, partly because the plays are not, obviously, in modern English. And also because many of them require plenty of brainpower to be understood.
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So true! I liked what you said about brainpower. There’s no going on cruise control when watching a Shakespearean play, is there?
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Love Shakespeare, the original Screenwriter. I first learned about the Bard in 8th Grade, bur didn’t get the chance to read any of his stuff until High School. Romeo & Juliet will always be my favorite Shakespeare play, but I enjoy his other works as well, and Julius Caesar is one of them. My one college teacher told us it’s a part of the Bard’s Historical plays, but it feels exactly like one of his Tragedies ala Hamlet, Othello, Richard III, etc. I remember reading that after Sir John Gielgud saw Leslie Howard and Moria Shearer in Romeo & Juliet, he was certain no filmmaker could adapt Shakespeare properly, and then of course Olivier takes home an Oscar for Hamlet, which led Gielgud to do this film here. Not too sure about Louis Calhern as Caesar though.
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I don’t mind Calhern as Caesar, although it could be he’s the first actor I saw in the role and he “shaped” the character for me – if that makes sense?
I like what you said about this play feeling like one of Shakespeare’s tragedies. It really does.
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Loved this review. I enjoyed the recent MacBeth with Fassbender and Cotillard.
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Ooh – I’ve yet to see that one!
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Lovely post Ruth, must check this out… my dad brought me up on Carry on Cleo, so really should.. and not just to see Gielgud’s hair.. what a cast and it looks more than fantastic with that black and white ambience.
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This film is so well done in every way – even John Gielgud’s distracting hair!
I’ve not even heard of Carry On Cleo, but now that you’ve mentioned it, I MUST find it.
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Sid James who played Mark Antony used Richard Burton’s costume from Cleopatra…
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Ha! No way!
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Sid also used Burton’s costume – for Anne of the Thousand Days – for Carry on Henry when he played Henry VIII. The things you learn when blogging!!
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Love to know what you think of it..
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Just watched Henry IV part 1 with Tom Hiddleston and Simon Russel Beale as fatty Falstaff. I tried to follow with the text but it veered away quite a lot. Captivating though.
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That’s another one I must see. You didn’t find the departures from Shakespeare’s text lessened your enjoyment?
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My favourite movie adaptation from Shakespeare will always be Blood Throne by Akira Kurosawa: the Japanese director, in my opinion, was the one that better conveyed the universality of Shakespeare, whose stories, words and characters fit incredibly to every time and place, even medieval Japan. I still shiver thinking about that wonderful movie.
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Awesome! I’m adding it to my list. Thanks for recommending – I know I’ll love it, too.
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There are some fantastic Shakespearean film adaptations. I think my favourite is Julie Taymor’s Titus Andronicus with Anthony Hopkins!
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That’s another one I need to see. Anthony Hopkins is probably fab in it, yes?
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So good!
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Honestly, I’ve never been a huge fan of Shakespeare. I mean in school, I liked Romeo and Juliet because it’s such a downer ending! However, your terrific review of Julius Caesar sounds exceptionally intriguing! Especially with that cast!
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I love this film, and I know a lot of that is sentimental. However, for a cast from the 1950s, you couldn’t ask for much better!
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I must watch that film again! It’s been so long, and of course, the first time I watched it was because the teacher made me do it. Hahaha!
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Bahaha! It’s a good film. Mrs Faber chose well.
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I love this! My senior AP teacher, Mr. Duda, did the same thing as Mrs. Faber, except we saw “Much Ado About Nothing.” Of course, it wasn’t too hard a sell because it was an AP class, but it sure helped us get into Shakespeare.
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Do you have a special fondness for Much Ado About Nothing as result?
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Yeah, definitely. It didn’t take much, though–it’s so much fun anyway.
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I too, only learned to appreciate Shakespeare after seeing his plays on film. Until then, couldn’t understand why he was considered such a great author, much less many of his plays. I still can’t sit through a reading, but watching them performed is magic.
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So true! When you have good actors performing the plays, they are magic, like you said.
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I am an absolute Bard devotee. I’ve read all of Shakespeare’s plays, some of them multiple times a year, and I have plenty of favorite film adaptations. My top five are Olivier’s 1955 Richard III, Luhrmann’s 1996 Romeo + Juliet, the 2009 TV version of Hamlet with David Tennant, Kurosawa’s 1957 Throne of Blood (a Macbeth adaptation set in feudal Japan), and Kurosawa’s 1984 masterpiece Ran (a King Lear adaptation set in feudal Japan as well).
I saw this Julius Caesar years ago and remembered enjoying it, especially Brando’s Marc Anthony. Your post is making me want to rewatch it.
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You’ve listed some great Shakespearean film titles. (*whispers, looks around*) I’ve yet to see Ran, which is almost sacrilege, I know. So your comment is prompting me to suss it out soon.
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