Julius Caesar ** (1950, Harold Tasker, Charlton Heston, David Bradley) – Classic Movie Review 3387

Charlton Heston plays Marc Antony in writer-producer-director David Bradley’s enterprising 1950 film version of the play, notable as the first with sound. Harold Tasker plays Julius Caesar and David Bradley gives himself the role of Brutus. Bradley uses actors from the Chicago area, recruiting drama students from his own Northwestern University for bit parts and extras.

The 27-year-old Heston, who had long known Bradley, was the sole paid cast member. It is Heston’s proper film debut, apart from playing lead character in a 16mm production of Peer Gynt in 1941. Jeffrey Hunter, who studied with Heston at Northwestern, makes his screen debut at 24, playing Third Plebian, uncredited.

Julius Caesar was shot on 16 mm in 1949 on Chicago locations, including Soldier Field, the Museum of Science and Industry, the Elks National Veterans Memorial and the Field Museum, with Lake Michigan’s Indiana sand dunes used for the Battle of Philippi.

A single rather impressive indoor set was built in the Chicago suburb of Evanston. Around eighty percent of the film was shot silent, with the actors dubbing thier dialogue afterwards.

The film premiered in Evanston in 1950, but had only limited showings in the United States, mainly in schools. It was rescued by the Edinburgh Film Festival in 1951, which got it shown in New York City in late 1952, and a showing at the Locarno International Film Festival in 1953, where it tied for first place. Happily, it led to MGM hiring Bradley as a directing intern in 1950.

It is now available on Blu-ray and Region 1 DVD.

Heston plays Marc Antony again in Stuart Burge’s 1970 remake with Jason Robards and John Gielgud again, this time as Caesar. And Heston plays Marc Antony again in Antony and Cleopatra.

Julius Caesar was remade again for TV in 2002 with Jeremy Sisto, Richard Harris and Christopher Walken. But the best and most famous version is Joseph L Mankiewicz’s 1953 movie Julius Caesar with John Gielgud, Marlon Brando, James Mason, Louis Calhern, Greer Garson, Deborah Kerr and Edmond O’Brien.

© Derek Winnert 2016 Classic Movie Review 3387

Link to Derek Winnert’s home page for more reviews: http://derekwinnert.com/