Hamlet (1948)

Director:

Laurence Olivier

Writer:

William Shakespeare (by)
(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 | Ghost | Poison | Denmark

Awards:

Won 4 Oscars. Another 14 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

John Laurie	...	Francisco
Esmond Knight	...	Bernardo
Anthony Quayle	...	Marcellus
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
Basil Sydney	...	Claudius - The King
Eileen Herlie	...	Gertrude - The Queen
Laurence Olivier	...	Hamlet - Prince of Denmark
Norman Wooland	...	Horatio - His Friend
Felix Aylmer	...	Polonius - Lord Chamberlain
Terence Morgan	...	Laertes - His Son
Jean Simmons	...	Ophelia - His Daughter
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		(by)
Laurence Olivier		uncredited

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

Original Music by
William Walton		(music by)

Cinematography by
Desmond Dickinson		(photographer)

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

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 recorder
L.E. Overton	....	sound recorder
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
Dennis Loraine	....	sword play
Laurence Olivier	....	presents
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)

Thanks
Alexander Korda	....	acknowledgement: Eileen Herlie appears courtesy of (as Sir Alexander Korda)

Production Companies

• Two Cities Films (copyright holder) (A J. Arthur Rank Enterprise)

Distributors

• General Film Distributors (GFD) (1948) (UK) (theatrical)
• Universal Pictures (1948) (USA) (theatrical)
• Jacon Film Distributors (1956) (USA) (theatrical) (re-release)
• American Broadcasting Company (ABC) (1956) (USA) (TV) (first telecast) (in two parts)
• VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb (1959) (East Germany) (theatrical)
• Paramount Pictures (1989) (USA) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Elephant Films (2005) (France) (all media)
• ITV DVD (2009) (UK) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Schoenfeld Film Distributing Corporation (????) (USA) (theatrical)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• J. Arthur Rank Organisation (????) (USA) (TV) (as J. Arthur Rank Enterprise)
• New KSM (2011) (Germany) (DVD)
• Paramount Home Video (????) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)

Other Companies

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

Also Known As:

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) | West Germany:12 | USA:Unrated | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-12 | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Denham Studios, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Two Cities Films

Trivia:

Laurence Olivier played the voice of Hamlet's father's ghost himself by recording the dialog and playing it back at a reduced speed, giving it a macabre quality. The role is often erroneously reported as being performed by Sir John Gielgud, perhaps because it does sound vaguely like him, but it has been said that Olivier actually disliked working with Gielgud in William Shakespeare films, and turned down his request to play the Chorus in Henry V (1944). If Gielgud had played the Ghost in Hamlet (1948), it would have been the first of three appearances (so to speak) as the character: Gielgud played the Ghost in Hamlet (1964/I) and "ITV Saturday Night Theatre: Hamlet (#3.30)" (1971).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Anthony Quayle plays the guard Marcellus in the film; yet, during part of the first scene on the castle ramparts, the actor playing Marcellus does not resemble Quayle at all - he looks more like a stand-in. (This may be an illusion caused by the photography.)

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:

Spoofed in "The Carol Burnett Show: Episode #9.17" (1976)

Dust Up on Your Shakespeare.

The titled melancholy Danish prince (Oscar-winner Laurence Olivier) seeks to avenge those involved with his father's death. It seems that Olivier's father (voiced by John Gielgud) still roams the Earth as a spirit that walks around aimlessly, unable to find Heaven or Hell (Purgatory for the most part). Gielgud makes it clear that his brother (Basil Sydney) was the culprit in his death and Olivier becomes enraged. The fact that Sydney has become king by marrying the titled character's mother (Eileen Herlie) just makes the tension build. Herlie and Olivier's relationship pushes the envelope hard on a typical mother-son bond (there are incestuous tones abound here). Oscar-nominee Jean Simmons appears to be Olivier's one true love, but after a terrible tragedy she falls down a path of mental anguish. It appears that the only logical conclusion for Shakespeare's famed character is to have that famous sword fight dual with Simmons' brother (Terence Morgan). Of course you know that not everything is the way it seems, right? "Hamlet" was a surprising success in 1948. Produced in Britain (and strictly a British project for all intensive purposes), the film became a runaway hit with most all audiences and critics (becoming the year's Best Picture Oscar winner). Shakespeare's plays have never really warranted excellence on the silver screen, but this adaptation (also by Olivier) is about as close as we have seen thus far. The movie runs nearly three hours and I was about to fall asleep after the first 60 minutes (the film is almost dragging to a crawl by that point), but after the set-up the movie soars very high. Lots of data that is somewhat confusing hogs up a little too much time when the pacing could have been much crisper. Olivier's spin on the timeless classic is truly uncanny nonetheless. His direction (he was Oscar-nominated in the category) and vision are something to behold. The production values are strong and I ended up enjoying the movie for what it is and what it ultimately wanted to be. Olivier became the first of only two people presently to direct himself to an Oscar victory (Roberto Benigni duplicated the feat with 1998's "Life Is Beautiful"). 4.5 out of 5 stars.