Hamlet, Prinz von Dänemark (1961) (TV)

User Rating:

2.3/10   

Director:

Franz Peter Wirth

Writers:

William Shakespeare (play)
A.W. von Schlegel (translation)
(more)

Release Date:

1962 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery

Plot:

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, returns home to find his father murdered and his mother remarrying the murderer, his uncle.

Plot Keywords:

Hamlet | Uncle | Poison | Denmark | Play

Cast

Maximilian Schell	...	Hamlet
Hans Caninenberg	...	Claudius
Wanda Rotha	...	Gertrude
Dunja Movar	...	Ophelia
Franz Schafheitlin	...	Polonius
Dieter Kirchlechner	...	Laertes
Karl Michael Vogler	...	Horatio
Eckart Dux	...	Rosencrantz (as Eckard Dux)
Herbert Bötticher	...	Guildenstern
Karl Lieffen	...	Osric
Rolf Boysen	...	Bernardo
Michael Paryla	...	Francisco
Alexander Engel	...	The Ghost
Adolf Gerstung	...	1st Player
Paul Verhoeven	...	Gravedigger #1
Johannes Buzalski	...	Gravedigger #2 (as Horst Budzalski)
Ursula Wolff
Günter Becker
Werner Heyking
Uli Steigberg
Paul Stieber-Walter
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
John Banner	...	Polonius (voice: English version) (uncredited)
Ricardo Montalban	...	Claudius (voice: English version) (uncredited)

Directed by
Franz Peter Wirth

Writing credits
William Shakespeare		(play "The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark")
A.W. von Schlegel		(translation) (as A.W. v. Schlegel)
Franz Peter Wirth		(written for television by)

Produced by
Hans Gottschalk	....	producer
Weiler	....	producer

Original Music by
Rolf Unkel

Cinematography by
Kurt Gewissen
Boris Goriup
Hermann Gruber
Rudolf H. Jakob

Film Editing by
Adolf Schlyssleder

Costume Design by
Gerd Richter

Production Management
Lutz Hengst	....	production manager
Helmut Ringelmann	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Frank Guthke	....	assistant director

Art Department
Gerd Richter	....	scenic designer

Sound Department
Fred J. Brown	....	sound editor: English version (as Fred Brown)
Rudolf Möller	....	sound
Edward Dmytryk	....	dubbing supervisor (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Bavaria Atelier

Distributors

• Emerson Film Enterprises (1968) (USA) (dubbed)
• Nord- und Westdeutscher Rundfunkverband (NWRV) (1961) (West Germany) (TV)

Also Known As:

Hamlet (USA)

Runtime:

152 min

Country:

West Germany

Language:

German

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:K-12

Company:

Bavaria Atelier

Trivia:

This film version was largely unknown in the U.S, and did not have the atrocious reputation it now has until it was riffed on "Mystery Science Theater 3000".

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Laertes has a zipper down the back of his costume.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Hamlet (#11.9)" (1999)

C'mon, everyone - what's wrong with this one?

"Hamlet" by William ("We all make his praise") Shakspeare is arguably the greatest play ever written - in fact, it's possibly the greatest work of literature ever written in the English language. Given these facts, imagine my surprise when Mystery Science Theater 3000 (the recently defunct TV show in which bad movies are goofed on by a janitor and his two robots) decided to give this their special treatment.

Specifically, they did this 1960 production for German Television, featuring the highly respected Maximilian Schell in the title role. Now laugh I as I did along with the jokes made at the movie's expense, I really can't see too much wrong with the movie. Herr Schell is more than credible as the Melancholy Dane, and the dark dreary scenery only serve to underscore the mood of the play and its characters. As for dialogue, well how could you possibly go wrong?

As for complaints that much of the play was missing, it must be remembered that our friends at Best Brains had to edit the movie (which as I understand, ran for about 3 hours) to fit their little TV show, which ran for 2 hours, including commercials.

I, for one, am inclined to cut this movie a good bit of slack.