I Watch Films: An Honourable Murder

 

An Honourable Murder

In London Julian Caesar, Chairman of Empire Petroleum, has negotiated a deal with Pompey Shipping so the two companies will merge. Everyone is happy with this. Everyone? Cassius has actually read the documents and more than a merger, it will make Caesar chair of both, so some of the current board members are redundant. He plots a way to oust him before the merger is approved.

His plot requires that the vote against Caesar be unanimous, and no more than one member must be absent. The two difficult votes are Brutus Smith, long time associate, and Mark Antony, Caesar’s protegee. Eventually they work it out, get rid of Caesar, who promptly has a heart attack and dies. At the shareholder’s meeting Brutus explains his position, then Antony replies with a barnstorming speech that has him made Chairman, and has the others fired. The film then sees the consequences for Antony and Brutus.

This is, of course, William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, transplanted into London offices. A curious adaption, with some famous lines and nods to the play’s blank verse, but mostly written in prose. Sadly it’s mostly uninspired. It does manage to introduce a third named female character, Paula, Caesar’s secretary, who is one of the people who unsuccessfully try to warn Caesar of the ambush at the board meeting.

Watch This: Curiosity of a b-movie moving a classic story into the (then) modern day
Don’t Watch This: Takes the bare bones of Julius Caesar and makes nothing of interest