HAMLET (1956) The first broadcast of a Shakespeare play on British commercial television (ITV). Details are in an article by Olwen Terris, "The Forgotten Hamlet" which appeared in the "Shakespeare Bulletin," v. 25,#2, Summer 2007, pages 35-37.
The British Universities Film and Video Council web site has a fascinating account of how this broadcast scandalized the public because it was bookended by --horror of horrors-- commercial announcements.
Dir: Peter Brook Cast: Paul Scofield, Mary Ure, Diana Wynyard, Alec Clunes, Ernest Thesinger, others.