1001 Classic Movies: Shakespeare in Old Hollywood

Marlon Brando as Mark Antony in Julius Caesar (1953).

Throughout, April,  I commemorated the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare's death with a look at four bard-inspired films.

Julius Caesar (1953): Marlon Brando, James Mason and company get their togas on for this traditional adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy.

Kiss Me Kate (1953): Composer Cole Porter's musical adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew is one of the great American musicals.

Man of the West (1958): This psychological Western from director Anthony Mann stars Lee J. Cobb as a King Lear-like bandit.

To Be or Not to Be (1942): This sharp satire from director Ernst Lubitsch about a troupe of actors in Nazi-occupied Warsaw has many witty Shakespearean references.