Macbeth

Macbeth (1948) is Orson Welles' lean, expressionistic take on Shakespeare's Scottish tragedy — watch online on iFILM. Welles handles both the camera and the title role: the Thane of Glamis who hears a three-witch prophecy and decides fate needs a hand.

Lady Macbeth — Jeanette Nolan — turns the prophecy into a murder plan. King Duncan is killed. The throne is taken. But power refuses to sit still, and every lord who might challenge Macbeth's claim becomes a fresh threat. Dan O'Herlihy plays Macduff, Roddy McDowall takes Malcolm; together they form the resistance that will eventually close in.

Shot at Republic Pictures in 23 days with minimal resources, the film turns necessity into a visual language: raw stone sets, deep shadows, and skewed angles that owe more to German expressionism than to period drama. Stream Macbeth (1948) online on iFILM.