Macbeth is a silent, black-and-white 1916 film adaptation of the William Shakespeare play Macbeth.[1] It was directedbyJohn Emerson, assisted by Erich von Stroheim, and producedbyD. W. Griffith, with cinematographybyVictor Fleming. The film starred Herbert Beerbohm Tree and Constance Collier, both famous from the stage and for playing Shakespearean parts. Although released during the first decade of feature filmmaking, it was already the seventh version of Macbeth to be produced, one of eight during the silent film era. Although 1916 was the middle of WW1, this film was part of numerous festivities to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. It is considered to be a lost film.[2]
| Macbeth | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | John Emerson |
| Written by | John Emerson (scenario) Anita Loos (intertitles) |
| Story by | William Shakespeare |
| Based on | Macbeth (play) |
| Produced by | D. W. Griffith |
| Starring | Herbert Beerbohm Tree Constance Collier |
| Cinematography | Victor Fleming George W. Hill |
| Distributed by | Triangle Film Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 8 reels (~7500 feet) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent film (English intertitles) |
In the companion book to his Hollywood television series, Kevin Brownlow states that Sir Herbert failed to understand that the production was a silent film and that speech was not needed so much as pantomime. Tree, who had performed the play numerous times on the stage, kept spouting reams of dialogue. So Emerson and Fleming simply removed the film and cranked an empty camera so as not to waste film when he did so.[3]
