Macbeth is a silent, black-and-white 1916 film adaptation of the William Shakespeare play Macbeth. It was directed by John Emerson, assisted by Erich von Stroheim, and produced by D. W. Griffith, with cinematography by Victor 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.
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.
Cast
Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree as Macbeth
Constance Collier as Lady Macbeth
Wilfred Lucas as Macduff
Spottiswoode Aitken as Duncan
Ralph Lewis as Banquo
Mary Alden as Lady Macduff
Olga Grey as Lady Agnes
Lawrence Noskowski as Malcolm
Bessie Buskirk as Donalbain
Jack Conway as Lennox
Seymour Hastings as Ross
Karl Formes Jr. as the Bishop
Jack Brammall as Seyton
L. Tylden as First Witch
Scott McKee as Second Witch
Jack Leonard as Third Witch
Francis Carpenter, Thema Burns and Madge Dyer as Macduff's children
Raymond Wells as the Thane of Cawdor
George McKenzie as the Doctor
Chandler House as Fleance
Monte Blue (Stunt double for Herbert Tree)