William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar (billed on-screen as William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar) is a 1953 American film adaptation of the Shakespearean play, directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz and produced by John Houseman for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It stars Marlon Brando as Mark Antony, James Mason as Brutus, John Gielgud as Cassius, Louis Calhern as Caesar, Edmond O'Brien as Casca, Greer Garson as Calpurnia, and Deborah Kerr as Portia. The film opened to positive reviews, and was nominated in five categories at the 26th Academy Awards (including Best Picture and Best Actor for Brando), winning Best Art Direction - Black-and-White. Brando and Gielgud both won BAFTA Awards, Brando for Best Foreign Actor and Gielgud for Best British Actor. Plot "Upon Caesar's return to Rome, after defeating Pompey in the civil war, his countrymen chose him a fourth time consul and then dictator for life. . . thus he became odious to moderate men through the extravagance of the titles and powers that were heaped upon him."Plutarch's Lives The film is a largely-faithful adaptation of Shakespeare's play, with no significant cuts or alterations to the original text. The only notable exception is the Messenger's text recounting the Battle of Philippi, which is substituted with a visual depiction of the battle. Cast Cast as listed in end credits Production Producer John Houseman says the film was made because Laurence Olivier's 1944 production of Henry V had been a success. MGM's head of production Dore Schary offered the project to Houseman, who said he wanted Joseph L. Mankiewicz to direct because he thought he and William Wyler were "probably the two best dialogue directors in the business" and that Mankiewicz was "younger and more flexible." Houseman did not want to use an all-British cast. "I'd done a lot of Shakespeare in America," he said. "If it was going to be cast all-English, it should be an English picture, made in England and we might as well forget about it." Houseman says MGM wanted to make the film in color but he and Mankiewicz refused, "partly because we wanted people to relate to the newsreels, to the Fascist movements in Europe, which were still relevant" and also because they would be "using a lot of the Quo Vadis sets, and it seemed idiotic to invite comparison with Quo Vadis." Though Houseman originally intended to shoot the film in Italy, production ultimately took place in Los Angeles instead. Many of the sets and costumes were repurposed from Quo Vadis (1951), with several setpieces deconstructed, flown from Rome to California, and rebuilt on MGM's Culver City studio backlot. Houseman says they "decided to do it as a small production, not a spectacle; to do it for what it really is—the drama of a political power play." Casting Many actors in this film had experience in the play. John Gielgud had played Mark Antony at the Old Vic Theatre in 1930 and Cassius at the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1950, James Mason had played Brutus at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin