Hamlet, Prinz von Dänemark (1961) (TV)

Director:

Franz Peter Wirth

Writers:

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

Release Date:

1 January 1961 (West Germany)

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:

Letter | Pearl | Knife | Incest | Hamlet

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
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)

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:

Riffed in Mystery Science Theater 3000, season 10, episode 9.

Movie Connections:

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

Murder, most foul.

You'd think that the immortal words of William Shakespeaere would be able to rise above just about anything, but alas bad acting and really bad sets will drag down even the most wonderful playwright. As usual, Hamlet broods over the death of his father. In this version, Elsinore is nothing more than some pillars, stairs, and a lot of black backgrounds. The fact that it's dubbed into English from German doesn't help this production. The actors seem to be forcing the lines from their mouths, and climatic battle between Laertes and Hamlet doesn't have the punch or tension that it should have. It was great seeing this on MST, their satiric tounges ripping into the acting and sets but sparing the dialouge. By the way, we're out of ear poison.