Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar is a 1953 adaptation of William Shakespeare's play about the conspiracy against the Roman leader. Caesar's accumulating power alarms his friend Brutus, and Cassius draws him into a plot to kill the dictator for the sake of the republic. The assassination goes ahead, but the conspirators misjudge the response of Mark Antony, whose speech to the Roman crowd turns public feeling against them.

Joseph L. Mankiewicz directed and wrote the screenplay, working from John Houseman's production. It was the seventh of the fourteen films Mankiewicz directed, coming after 5 Fingers in 1952 and before The Barefoot Contessa in 1954. Marlon Brando plays Mark Antony, with James Mason as Brutus, John Gielgud as Cassius, Louis Calhern as Caesar, Edmond O'Brien as Casca and Greer Garson as Calpurnia. The credited cast runs to ninety-six performers, supported by a crew of forty-four.

Made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer on a budget of two million dollars, the film took four million dollars at the box office, doubling its cost. Audiences rate it 7.1 out of 10 on TMDB from 243 votes, while critics rated it 7.8 out of 10 from 25 reviews, so professional reviewers received it more warmly than the general public.