SHAKESPEARE

Synopsis

Feature film western based loosely on the plot of Othello. Jubal Troop is found injured by rancher Shep Horgan and given a job as a cow-hand. Jubal soon finds himself admired by Mae, Shep’s wife. Mae has jilted her former lover, Pinkie, and Pinky is jealous of Jubal and insinuates to Shep that Mae and Jubal are lovers. One night, goaded by Pinky, Shep follows Jubal who is forced to kill him. Pinky tries to rape Mae and beats her to death but not before she has told the truth to the avenging posse.

Language

English

Country

United States

Medium

Film

Technical information

Colour / Sound

Year of release

1955

Duration

101 mins

Credits

Director

Delmer Daves

Producer

William Fadiman

Cinematographer

Charles, Jr Lawton

Screenplay

Delmer Daves; Russell S. Hughes

Music

David Raksin

Costume

Jean Louis

Art Direction

Carl Anderson

Cast

Ernest Borgnine	Shep Horgan (Othello)
Valerie French	Mae Horgan (Desdemona)
Rod Steiger	Pinky Pinkum (Iago)
Glenn Ford	Jubal Troop (Michael Cassio)

Additional Details

Production type

Fiction Films

Plays

Othello

Subjects

Drama

Keywords

Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); westerns

Notes

General

Tony Howard in his essay ‘Shakespeare’s Cinematic Offshoots’ in Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare on Film edited by Russell Jackson (Cambridge: CUP, 2000) argues for stronger parallels pointing out that Shep wooed Mae with tales that he was a Wyoming cattle king come to take her to his castle; his herd is besieged by mountain lions, and when he makes Jubal foreman a jealous ranch-hand (Steiger) claims Mae is Jubal’s mistress, But Daves makes one crucial reversal - Mae (Desdemona) really IS unfaithful. Howard also notes the crude paraphrasing ‘haply for I am black/And declined into the vale of years, but that’s not much’ becomes ‘I can’t change this ugly face none’.

Reviews

Willson, R.F., Jr. Shakespeare in Hollywood, 1929-1956, (C12), pp122-29.

Production Company

Name

Columbia Pictures