It's not a good idea to recreate this tragedy with only gangsters. I found no interest in cheering for any of them because they are all despicable. There are ways to lure the audience into the protagonist's mindset and demonstrate his internal conflicts. A few well known quotes from Shakespeare's doomed character would've developed this gangster version into a character worthy of pity. Allowing him to voice his feelings of regret with such paraphrases as "I've murdered sleep. I'll never rest easy again" would show that the character is troubled.
His last words in this version were the typical lines of a Hollywood gangster: Ending with "I'm the kingpin!" is pretty lame and made me think "Good riddance." How about showing the strength and determination of a once respected character with a revision of the original MacBeth's last words? Maybe something suitably corny for the times like "Try your best, Lennox; and let the first one who cries like a punk swim with the fishes."
In any case, this version needed a character worthy of the audience's sympathy. Without this critical element, Joe MacBeth does a disservice to the Shakespearean tragedy and is no more than a typical, empty Hollywood movie of the period.
His last words in this version were the typical lines of a Hollywood gangster: Ending with "I'm the kingpin!" is pretty lame and made me think "Good riddance." How about showing the strength and determination of a once respected character with a revision of the original MacBeth's last words? Maybe something suitably corny for the times like "Try your best, Lennox; and let the first one who cries like a punk swim with the fishes."
In any case, this version needed a character worthy of the audience's sympathy. Without this critical element, Joe MacBeth does a disservice to the Shakespearean tragedy and is no more than a typical, empty Hollywood movie of the period.