Laurence Olivier wanted to follow up Henry V (1944) with a film version of "Macbeth", but decided against it because Orson Welles' version would reach theaters first. Olivier opted to make his film of Hamlet (1948) instead, which went on to win him Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor.
The original 107-minute version with Scottish accents was completely withdrawn after the disastrous world premiere and did not resurface again until the 1980s.
The dialog was pre-recorded, leaving the actors to mime their lines.
Although the film was a critical and commercial disaster in both the USA and England, it was a huge success in many non-English speaking countries, especially France, where critics could not understand how the American and British press failed to appreciate the highly stylized and surrealistic approach Orson Welles took to the play. Today it is very highly regarded in English-speaking countries.