Hamlet (1948)

Director:

Laurence Olivier

Writer:

William Shakespeare (play)
(more)

Release Date:

12 August 1948 (Australia)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

William Shakespeare's tale of tragedy of murder and revenge in the royal halls of medieval Denmark. Claudius...

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Revenge | Poison | Prince | William Shakespeare

Awards:

Won 4 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Laurence Olivier	...	Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
Jean Simmons	...	Ophelia, Polonius's Daughter
Eileen Herlie	...	Gertrude, The Queen
Basil Sydney	...	Claudius, The King
Norman Wooland	...	Horatio, Hamlet's friend
Felix Aylmer	...	Polonius, Lord Chamberlain
Terence Morgan	...	Laertes, Polonius's Son
Anthony Quayle	...	Marcellus
Esmond Knight	...	Bernardo
John Laurie	...	Francisco
Niall MacGinnis	...	Sea Captain
Harcourt Williams	...	First Player
Patrick Troughton	...	Player King
Tony Tarver	...	Player Queen
Peter Cushing	...	Osric
Stanley Holloway	...	Gravedigger
Russell Thorndike	...	Priest
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Anthony Bushell	...	Bit Part (uncredited)
Patricia Davidson	...	Lady of the Court (uncredited)
Doreen Lawrence	...	Extra (uncredited)
Christopher Lee	...	Spear carrier (uncredited)
Desmond Llewelyn	...	Extra (uncredited)
Victor Lucas	...	Extra (uncredited)
Patrick Macnee	...	Extra (uncredited)

Directed by
Laurence Olivier

Writing credits
William Shakespeare		(play)
Laurence Olivier		uncredited

Produced by
Reginald Beck	....	associate producer
Anthony Bushell	....	assistant producer
Laurence Olivier	....	presents
Herbert Smith	....	executive producer in charge of production (uncredited)

Original Music by
William Walton

Cinematography by
Desmond Dickinson

Film Editing by
Helga Cranston

Casting by
Maude Spector		(uncredited)

Art Direction by
Carmen Dillon

Costume Design by
Elizabeth Hennings		(uncredited)

Makeup Department
Tony Sforzini	....	makeup artist
Vivienne Walker	....	hairdresser
Michael Morris	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Basil Newall	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Geoffrey Rodway	....	makeup supervisor (uncredited)

Production Management
Filippo Del Giudice	....	production manager
John W. Gossage	....	production manager (as John Gossage)
Phil C. Samuel	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Peter Bolton	....	assistant director
Frank Ernst	....	third assistant director (uncredited)
Cecil F. Ford	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Alec Gibb	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Laurie Knight	....	fourth assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Roger K. Furse	....	designer (as Roger Furse)
Roger Ramsdell	....	set dresser
William Bowden	....	draughtsman (uncredited)
Clément Hurel	....	poster artist (uncredited)
E. Lindegaard	....	scenic artist (uncredited)
E. Lindegarde	....	scenic artist (uncredited)
Betty Pierce	....	assistant art director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Harry Miller	....	sound editor
John W. Mitchell	....	sound recordist
L.E. Overton	....	sound recordist
Peter Davies	....	sound maintenance (uncredited)
Desmond Dew	....	sound recordist (uncredited)
Gus Lloyd	....	assistant boom operator (uncredited)
Dudley Messenger	....	boom operator (uncredited)
C.C. Stevens	....	sound supervisor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Henry Harris	....	special effects
Paul Sheriff	....	special effects
Jack Whitehead	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
George Blackwell	....	special processes (uncredited)
Francis Carver	....	special processes (uncredited)
Syd Howell	....	special processes (uncredited)
James Snow	....	special processes (uncredited)
Bill Warrington	....	special processes (uncredited)

Stunts
Jack Keely	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
James Hamilton	....	chief electrician
Ray Sturgess	....	camera operator
Maurice Gillett	....	electrician (uncredited)
Wilfrid Newton	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Barbara Gillett	....	wardrobe mistress (uncredited)
Elizabeth Hennings	....	wardrobe supervisor (uncredited)

Editorial Department
John Pomeroy	....	second assistant editor (uncredited)
Peter Taylor	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Muir Mathieson	....	conductor
E.A. Drake	....	music recordist (uncredited)
John Hollingsworth	....	assistant conductor (uncredited)

Other crew
Alan Dent	....	text editor
Elizabeth Everson	....	continuity
Alexander Korda	....	by arrangement with: Eileen Herlie (as Sir Alexander Korda)
Dennis Loraine	....	sword play
David Paltenghi	....	mime play
Anthony Bushell	....	associate director (uncredited)
Gladys Goldsmith	....	assistant continuity (uncredited)
Ken Green	....	press representative (uncredited)
Laurence Olivier	....	voice: Ghost of Hamlet's Father (uncredited)
Myrtle Rowe	....	stand-in: Eileen Herlie (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Two Cities Films

Distributors

• General Film Distributors (GFD) (1948) (UK) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures (1948) (USA) (theatrical)
• Jacon Film Distributors (1956) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Criterion Collection, The (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1956) (USA) (TV) (first telecast) (in two parts)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Elephant Films (2005) (France) (all media)
• ITV DVD (2009) (UK) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Paramount Home Video (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)

Other Companies

• Philharmonia Orchestra, The  music played by
• Universal International Pictures (UI)  us releasing agent

Runtime:

155 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

USA:Approved (PCA #12473) | UK:U | South Korea:12 (2002) | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-12 | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Denham Studios, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Two Cities Films

Trivia:

At $2 million, this was a very expensive production in its day.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: So oft it chances in particular men / That through some vicious mole of nature in them, / By the o'ergrowth of some complexion / Oft breaking down the pales and forts of reason, / Or by some habit grown too much; that these men - / Carrying, I say, the stamp of one defect, / Their virtues else - be they as pure as grace, / Shall in the general censure take corruption / From that particular fault... This is the tragedy of a man who could not make up his mind.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Animal Room (1995)

Memorable Acting by Olivier in Somewhat Slow-Paced Adaptation

This adaptation of "Hamlet" by Laurence Olivier (he both starred and directed) is a brooding, somewhat slow-moving, but also memorable version of Shakespeare's great play. Olivier's personal performance as the Danish prince is by far the strongest aspect of the picture.

Hamlet is one of the most complex and fascinating characters ever created, and no two great actors ever play him quite the same way. Olivier portrays him primarily as "a man who could not make up his mind", and his fine and often subtle acting brings to his role a deep understanding of his character's inner struggles and dilemmas, both moral and practical. He renders Hamlet's most famous lines in a distinctive way that reveal the many possible paths in Hamlet's future. It is a performance not to be forgotten.

If Olivier the actor is masterful, Olivier the director is good but not perfect. A great deal of Shakespeare's text was eliminated, getting the running time down to 2 1/2 hours, but even so there are times when the movie seems rather slow-moving, especially in the first hour or so. Most of the cuts involve interactions with the minor characters, and some of the original play's minor roles are cut completely out of the film. The result is to concentrate the emphasis even further on Hamlet himself and on his pessimistic meditations. While this enables Olivier's fine acting to become even more prominent, it does eliminate some very interesting portions of the story whose absence will be regretted by those viewers who love the play.

Olivier does add some good touches, though. He emphasizes the somber tone with numerous tracking shots of the castle's gloomy corridors and staircases. The filming of the famous sequence of events at the end is very good, and is much livelier than the rest.

While this is probably not the very best interpretation of the play "Hamlet", it is as good an interpretation of the character Hamlet as you will ever see. For that reason alone it is must viewing for any fan of Shakespeare or of Olivier.