Joe MacBeth

Joe MacBeth
Theatrical release poster
Directed byKen Hughes
Screenplay byKen Hughes
Philip Yordan
Based onMacbeth
1606 play
by William Shakespeare
Produced byM.J. Frankovich
George Maynard (executive producer)
StarringPaul Douglas
Ruth Roman
Bonar Colleano
CinematographyBasil Emmott
Edited byPeter Rolfe Johnson
Music byTrevor Duncan
Production
company
Film Locations
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release dates
  • 18 October 1955 (1955-10-18) (UK)
  • February 1956 (1956-02) (USA)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Joe MacBeth is a 1955 British–American crime drama, directed by Ken Hughes and starring Paul Douglas, Ruth Roman and Bonar Colleano. 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. It has been called "the first really stand out movie" of Hughes' career.

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