Not in the legions of horrid hell can come a devil more damned in evils to top Macbeth. – Joe MacBeth (1955)
Joe MacBeth (1955) – A Noir Twist on Shakespeare’s Classic Tale of Ambition and Betrayal!
What happens when Shakespeare’s classic tragedy collides with the smoky, high-stakes world of 1950s organized crime? Imagine the Scottish play as you’ve never seen it before—betrayal, ambition, and murder unfolding under the shadow of dimly lit rooms, cold-blooded mobsters, and ruthless power grabs. The timeless tale of unchecked ambition and devastating guilt is reimagined in a gritty, noir-infused underworld where every move could be your last. This is Shakespeare with a fedora and a gun—a thrilling blend of classic drama and hardboiled crime drama that will keep you on the edge of your seat!
Hello to all of the classic people that are returning. I am glad you are back. I want to welcome any new visitors. Today on Classic Movie Review, we are taking on Joe MacBeth (1955). Joe MacBeth (1955) is an interesting reimagining of William Shakespeare’s Scottish play, AKA “Macbeth,” transposing the classic tale of ambition and guilt into the shadowy world of 1950s organized crime. This gritty Film Noir adaptation dives deep into the violent underbelly of a criminal empire, where power is as intoxicating as it is deadly.
This film is rated a pretty low 6.3[1] on iMDB.com. I can’t believe the ratings of this film on Rottentomatoes.com. There is no Tomatometer score and a scant 12 percent audience score.[2] This isn’t Scarface (1932) or The Godfather (1972), but dang, it’s at least a C level on the grading scale.
Variety said on December 31, 1954 – “Joe Macbeth is far removed from the famous Shakespearean character, but there is an analogy between this modern gangster story and the Bard’s classic play. Although made in Britain, the film has an American setting. It is expensively mounted, expertly staged, and directed with a keen sense of tension.”[3]
Rottentomatoes.com lists the film as 1956. However, it premiered in London on October 18, 1955. The US premiere was on February 1, 1956.[4]
Actors – Joe MacBeth (1955)
Returning
Paul Douglas played the competent but unambitious gangster Joe MacBeth. Paul Douglas was first covered in the New Orleans-based Film Noir Panic in the Streets (1950).
New
Ruth Roman played the role of the kingmaker Lily MacBeth. Roman’s journey from humble beginnings in Lynn, Massachusetts, to becoming one of Hollywood’s most versatile leading ladies is a testament to grit and resilience. Born on December 22, 1922, Roman’s early life was marked by hardship. After losing her father, a carnival barker, at a young age, her mother worked tirelessly to support the family, instilling a sense of determination in Ruth that would shape her future.
Roman’s acting ambitions saw her leave school early and pursue theater, but her path to stardom was anything but straightforward. She cut her teeth in Boston, performing with the New England Repertory Company and studying drama at the Bishop-Lee Theatre School. Her initial foray into New York’s entertainment scene was filled with rejection, forcing her to take odd jobs like posing for crime magazines and working as a nightclub hat check girl. Hollywood didn’t immediately embrace her either; early attempts landed her only minor roles and uncredited appearances in films like Stage Door Canteen (1943).
Her perseverance paid off in 1949 when she landed two pivotal roles: the scheming murderess in RKO’s The Window (1949) and the devoted wife in Stanley Kramer’s Champion (1949). These performances showcased her range, from femme fatale to steadfast companion, and earned her a contract with Warner Bros. Roman quickly established herself as a leading lady, sharing the screen with Hollywood legends like James Stewart, Gary Cooper, and Errol Flynn.
Her breakout came with Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train (1951), where she played Anne Morton, the fiancée embroiled in a sinister murder plot. The film remains a classic, and Roman’s performance solidified her place in the noir genre. Another standout role was as Lily in Joe MacBeth (1955), a gangster-themed reimagining of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, which we will refer to as the Scottish play for good luck, where she masterfully embodied the manipulative, power-hungry wife.
Roman’s real-life drama rivaled her on-screen roles. In 1956, she and her son were among the 760 survivors of the Andrea Doria shipwreck, a harrowing experience that made headlines. Despite such challenges, she continued to act and embrace new opportunities.
Ruth Roman passed away on September 9, 1999, in Laguna Beach, California, at the age of 76. Remembered as both glamorous and grounded, she left behind a legacy of performances that reflect the golden age of Hollywood while capturing the timeless struggle of an artist determined to succeed against the odds. Whether starring in Westerns, thrillers, or dramas, Roman’s career remains a shining example of Hollywood perseverance and talent.
Minerva Pious played Rosie, the fortune teller. In a lot of ways, she is the most interesting character in the movie, replacing the hags in the play. I talk about this in the conclusion. Pious was only in five movies; however, these include voice work for Pinocchio in Outer Space (1965). That’s definitely going on the list.
Story – Joe MacBeth (1955)
The credits roll over a large city. I’m going to make it Chicago since they have a lake side. A quote from William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Act 4, Scene 3 is shown: Not in the legions Of horrid hell can come a devil more damned In evils to top Macbeth.
A man in a trench coat is waiting outside Tommy’s nightclub. Two gunshots ring out, and two hoods leave the close. They place the closed sign on the club as they go. Tommy is inside, slowly dying from his wounds. Joe MacBeth calls to say, No hard feels, to Tommy before the wounded man staggers to the jukebox before dying.
The car with the killers of Tommy pulls into the gang’s garage headquarters, where a large number of hoods are waiting. Joe and Banky (Sidney James) walk into the office of Duke/Duncan (Grégoire Aslan). Duke is the head of the gang and rules with an iron fist. MacBeth is his number one boy and does most of the killing and other dirty work. During the office conversation, it is revealed that Tommy was the number one boy to Duke until Joe was ordered to end him. Duke gives Joe an expensive ring and tells him to go marry his fiancee, who has been waiting all day.
Lily (Ruth Roman) is still waiting at the church even though Joe is two hours late. She is standing by a stained glass window of a king. She is angry and smacks him with flowers, but they still get married. Tommy’s club has been rebranded as Duca’s. Rosie (Minerva Pious) enters the club with a basket of flowers to sell.
Joe and Lily are celebrating their marriage in Duca’s with a large wedding cake. Joe hears Rosie outside of the private dining room and invites her inside. Rosie greets him as Noble MacBeth. She is an actress who has fallen on hard times. Lily asks if she has her deck, and Rosie reveals a worn deck of tarot cards that she says came off the body of a hanged murderer.
Joe cuts the deck, and Rosie begins her spiel. The first card is a Robber Baron. Joe says he has been the baron of the west side for two years. The next card is Lord of the Castle. Lily says it looks like the house at Lakeview Drive, which is Tommy’s former house.
Joe gets hot, but Lily asks Rosie to continue. The third card is King of Darkness. She then says MacBeth, king of the city. Joe is adamant that the Duke is the boss and that he is loyal. Rosie blames the cards, and Lily says Joe has it in him to be the Kingpin. He pays Rosie and sends her away, thinking she is tricking him.
As Rosie leaves, Joe tells Lily that the first thing he would have to do for the prophecy to be true is to take over the house on Lakeview Drive. Just then, Duke enters and gives his new number one boy the keys to the house at Lakeview Drive as a present.
The house is very nice as Joe and Lily move in. Lily tells Joe that he needs to take care of Duke so he can be the Kingpin. A bell on a lake rings in the breeze. The butler Angus (Walter Crisham) arrives and tells the couple that he comes with the house.
As Joe and Lily settle down for their honeymoon night, Banky and Lennie (Bonar Colleano) arrive at the home. They let Joe know that Big Dutch (Harry Green) is moving in on their gang’s territory. The Duke has ordered Joe to report to work. Lennie is Banky’s son. However, Lennie is more worried about his young wife and their sick baby than about doing the work for Duke. Lennie earns a slap across the face for saying Banky was with the Duke longer and should be the number one boy and have the house.
Lily blows a gasket because Joe is being called to work. I love you, cutie, but killins my duty.
Joe and his companions meet with a bunch of other well-armed gang members outside of Dutch’s Club. They break open a window and fire Tommy guns into the crowded bar. At another location, Joe oversees the burning of some buildings that belong to Dutch.
Dutch is at another restaurant dining with two blondes and another of his gang members, who serve as his food taster. Dutch is a total slob only interested in stuffing his face with all kinds of delicacies. He eats fast and carelessly. Another gang member arrives and tells Dutch their warehouse has been burned.
Dutch jumps in a car with the man, but it is a trap. Joe and his gang are on their trail. Dutch’s guy’s fire at Joe’s car and force the driver off the road. Banky and Lennie take the wounded Joe back to Lennie’s apartment, where Ruth (Teresa Thorne) is with the sick baby. Lily arrives in a bad mood. Lily takes Joe home, but they all know Duke will be mad that they missed Dutch.
Lily rages on Joe on the drive home. She thinks Joe should be in charge. She says she is only thinking of Joe.
Later, the Duca club is burned, presumably by Dutch’s gang. Duke, Lily, and Joe arrive in a car outside Duca’s. Duke lays into Joe for not doing better. Joe talks back and sends Joe to get Dutch.
The next day, Dutch is back in a club with his food taster and two blondes. A man comes in to tell Dutch that Joe MacBeth is in the club. Dutch has Joe brought into his dining area. Dutch treats Joe with a decent amount of respect. Joe urges peace, but Dutch wants nothing to do with it. It’s pretty clear that the chef making the crepes at the table is a killer. When Joe leaves, Dutch eats the crepes without the taster and quickly dies of the poison.
Joe pays his respects to Dutch at his funeral.
Later, when Joe gets home, the butler tells that Lily is upstairs with a visitor. The visitor is Rosie. This time, she has a crystal ball. Joe is pretty rude to Rosie. She says someone will die in this house, and the birds will all fly away in one direction. She then says that with every death in this house, MacBeth will rise, and there is nothing he can do to stop it. When Rosie leaves, Joe tells Lilly not to have her back.
Lily rages on Joe and says Duke is putting him in too many dangerous situations. She talks about Tommy and the number one boy before being killed off by Duke. Lily flatly tells him he needs to be Kingpin. She then says she wants to have a party, and the exchanged looks indicate that they both know it’s about murder.
On the night of the party, people are downstairs mingling while the hosts are still in their bedroom. Lily sends Joe down to greet the Duke when the boss arrives. Joe says he can’t do it, meaning the killing. Lily decides to go downstairs as Joe freets. She says they only have to go through it once.
Downstairs, Duke is taken in by Lily’s charm and beauty. She invites the Duke to stay for the weekend. Duke says Banky and Lenny will stay as well. Joe talks to the butler and says the night has just begun. Lily stays close to Duke, keeping him entertained. Lennie is starting to resent Joe, and Joe notices. Banky asks Joe to give Lennie a safe job.
Lily starts ragging on Joe, and Joe says he will not do the killing of Duke. She pumps him up for the murder. Lily has a plan to shift the blame for the murder to Banky and Lennie. Joe doesn’t want to betray Banky. Lily works on him until he agrees.
Banky and Lennie are awake in the dining room when Joe comes inside. Duke is in Tommy’s old room. Joe gets the two men to go to bed. Lily gives Joe a knife for the killing of Duke. As Lily whispers murder instructions, Joe finally goes up to kill Duke.
Joe enters Tommy’s old room, but Duke is smoking on the balcony. He scares Lily but then asks her to go for a swim in the lake. Duke jumps in and swims to a floating dock. Joe finds Lily on the land dock. Joe swims out with the knife. As Lily watches, Joe pulls Duke into the water and sends the knife home. Joe has left the knife in Duke. Lily swims back to retrieve the knife. The sounds of birds squawking and bells ringing begin to drive Joe insane.
In the morning, two men come to pick Duke up. Joe greets the men, and one goes up to wake Duke. Banky and Lennie are called, but they know nothing. Lily comes saying she found Duke murdered. Lennie wants to come against Joe, but Banky holds him back with a stare. Banky is made the number one boy, and Lily says Joe is the Kingpin.
The phone rings at Lennie’s, and Joe orders him to work. Lennie has to break a date with his wife for work.
Joe leaves the gang, waiting for a long time in the garage, and Lennie loses his temper. The men seem to know what happened, but Lennie is the only one complaining. Joe arrives and shuts down Lennie. Banky says the guys are unhappy. Lennie opens up and tells Joe that he has no right to take over Duke’s role. Banky beats the crap outta Lennie. Banky then asks about Joe’s promise to get Lennie out of the gang for safety.
The club is rebranded Mac’s. Rosie is outside selling roasted chestnuts and talking to a sandwich board man. Joe arrives at the club, and Rosie begins announcing Hail MacBeth, king of the city and king of all he surveys. She asks him, “How heavy hangs the crown?” She then says MacBeth stands best when he stands alone. Rosie continues by saying that Banky casts a shadow over Joe. Still, he has nothing to fear from Banky, only his shadow. Joe questions Banky about Lennie before paying off Rosie. Rosie is saying, “Get your chestnuts,” but it almost sounds like she is saying get your justice.
The next day, Banky tells Ruth that Lennie has to go out of town for a while. They plan to leave her behind with the baby. Two thugs get out of a car and head up the stupe. Ruth asks who they are looking for. One man says they are just looking for a room, and the other man goes inside. Two gunshots ring out. Bnaky staggers out and says Lennie got away.
The two torpedoes arrive at Joe’s house. Joe comes down and asks about the two men. The butler says I never look at a strange face twice, and that is why this house keeps changing owners, but he stays. The two killers tell Joe that they missed Lennie. They say the deal is Joe has to give them protection. He houses them in the cellar.
Lily comes down and finds out that Banky has been killed and that Lennie got away. She is not happy about the way Joe is running things. Joe threatens to kill everyone. The top members of the gang arrive for dinner. There are two empty places where Banky and Lennie should be sitting.
Joe makes a speech and says Banky was a good guy and was his best friend. Just then, the door opens, and Lennie walks inside. Joe is gobsmacked. Lennie lets them know that Banky is dead. Joe almost cracks, saying he doesn’t want any trouble. He says that the Detroit mob is moving in on them and tries to rally them by using a stockinghorse enemy.
Just then, the ghost of Banky appears in his chair. Joe thinks it’s a trick and appears to be crazy in front of the gang. Lily gets the table under control and tells Joe there is no one in the chair.
Joe has Lennie pour him a drink, but he drops the drink when Banky’s ghost reappears. Joe starts ranting again. The party awkwardly begins leaving. When they are gone, Lily calls Joe a coward. Outside, the gang hears Joe screaming.
Joe has the two hitmen brought up from the basement. On the steps of the lake house, Lennie asks the gang leaders if Joe goes, who replaces him. One says Banky was next, and your Banky’s son. Lennie tells them to gather the gang at the garage in the morning.
Joe orders the shooters to kill Lennie. The only way they can get Lennie to show up is by kidnapping Ruth and her baby.
In the morning, Lily takes a doll to Ruth in an attempt to get Lennie to stop the attack. When she and Marty (Bill Nagy) arrive, they see the two hired killers coming out of the apartment. Inside, Lily finds that Ruth and the baby have been murdered. She freaks out.
Lennie talks over his plan with the gang, and they decide to go along. Ruth’s driver comes into the garage and tells Lennie about his family. The pain focuses Lennie on the task ahead. Lennie wants to do the job alone, even though it will be three to one. Marty is sent to tell Joe that Lennie is coming for him.
Lily falls into a high fever. She talks about blood on her hands that she cannot get off. A doctor sedates her.
The two bumbling killers are waiting in the dining room. They claim they had to kill Ruth because she had a gun. Joe is raging on them for incompetent. Joe hears Lily calling for him as she stands at the top of the stairs. He is distracted when someone knocks on the door. It is Marty coming to deliver Lennie’s message. Marty delivers the message and says he is no longer with Joe. Joe tries to fire the butler Angus, but the butler says he was here first.
Joe and the two idiot shooters wait in the dining room for the attack. Near dawn, they hear a noise outside and the bell ringing. Lily calls for Joe, and he leaves the fools alone. The dim-witted shooters decide to flee the coming fight. They are gunned down before they can make it to Joe’s car.
Lennie heads in alone, and Joe decides to fight alone. Ruth is getting worse and finds a gun on the nightstand. Joe stands in the dining room alone, armed with a Thompson machine gun. He is so nervous he begins firing at sounds. Joe rants and raves about being Kingpin. Lily comes in the door, and Joe shoots her before he realizes who it is. Just then, Joe is gunned down by Lennie. He falls on the floor next to Lily. Angus asks Lennie if he is going to be the new head of the house. Lennie says no, and Angus should find a new job. Police sirens are heard as they approach the house.
The final screen reads It will have blood. They say blood will have blood. Macbeth Act 3 Scene 4. The killing of Lennie outside is heard.
Conclusion – Joe MacBeth (1955)
Joe MacBeth (1955) is a moody, atmospheric Film Noir that captures the timeless themes of ambition, betrayal, and guilt. By transporting Shakespeare’s tragedy into the smoky, dangerous world of organized crime, it offers a fresh, hard-edged take on a classic tale, proving that power and its consequences are as relevant in the underworld as they are in the halls of a Scottish castle.
Ruth Roman is pretty good in her role as Lily, the force behind the power grab. Paul Douglas is solid as the unambitious gangster turned villain, Joe MacBeth. Although she only has a small part, I find Minerva Pious played Rosie as the most interesting character. She replaces the role of the three hags in the play.
In the play, Macbeth and Banquo defeat an enemy of King Duncan. The three witches enter and greet Macbeth, “Thane of Glamis,” “Thane of Cawdor,” and say that he will “be King hereafter.” Macbeth is already the “Thane of Glamis,” but the other titles shock him to silence. Banquo asks about his future; he is told his descendants will be kings, but he won’t. The witches leave.
In the movie, the first time Rosie sees MacBeth, she greets him as Noble MacBeth. Rosie turns three Tarot cards. The first card is a Robber Baron. Joe dismisses this because he is already powerful. The second card is Lord of the Castle. This is the equivalent of gaining the title “Thane of Cawdor,” and receiving his castle. The final card is King of Darkness. She then says MacBeth, king of the city, essentially replacing Duke as Kingpin, as the play’s Macbeth replaces King Duncan.
In the play, after Joe sees the ghost of Banquo, he is visited by the witches again. First, they show a head wearing an armored helmet. They warn him to beware of Macduff. Macduff is loosely the Lennie character from the movie. Next, they show a bloody child and tell him that no one born of a woman will be able to harm him. This is not addressed in the movie. Finally, they tell that he is safe until the Great Birnam Wood comes to Dunsinane Hill. Macbeth feels safe.
On Rosie’s last visit, which happens before Joe sees the ghost of Banky, she has a crystal ball. She predicts that a death in the house will raise Joe, and he cannot stop it. She says the birds will all fly in one direction, which I assume means everyone will turn against Joe.
Lennie hides, but Joe’s goons kill his wife and child. While not predicted in the movie, this act breaks Lily’s spirit, and Joe loses his advisor.
World-Famous Short Summary – Ambition’s debt is paid. Julius Caesar Act 3, Scene 1
Beware the moors.
[1] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048230/
[2] Joe MacBeth | Rotten Tomatoes
[4] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048230/releaseinfo/
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