Hamlet (1948 film)

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Hamlet is a 1948 Oscar-winning British film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. It was directed by and starred Sir Laurence Olivier. It was Olivier's second film as director, and as such it was the second film of his Shakespeare trilogy.

It is the most honoured Shakespearean adaptation ever, winning the Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor. However, it was not so well received by Shakespearean purists, who felt that Olivier had butchered the play when he cut out two hours worth of content.

The film depicts the story of young Prince Hamlet, whose father, the King, has died under mysterious circumstances. The ghost of Hamlet's father appears to him and tells him that he (the father) was murdered by the King's own brother, Claudius (Hamlet's uncle), in order for Claudius to be able to usurp the throne and marry Hamlet's mother, Gertrude. Hamlet begins to feign madness so as to draw out the murderer. The film was shot in black & white, the only Olivier-directed film to be photographed so.

Production

Casting and Filming

Herlie, who plays Hamlet's mother, was 28 years old when the movie was filmed. Olivier, who plays her son, was 41.

Cinematography

Music

Synopsis

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. King Hamlet (Laurence Olivier), has died under mysterious circumstances. His wife, Gertrude (Eileen Herlie) has, within a month of the tragedy, married the late King's brother, Claudius (Basil Sydney). Young Prince Hamlet (Laurence Olivier), has been away during these mysterious events, and has now returned.

The film starts on the battlements of Elsinore Castle, the royal estate of the Danish monarchy, where a pair of senties, Bernado (Esmond Knight) and Fransisco (John Laurie) are met by a ghostly apparition of the late King Hamlet. Prince Hamlet's friend, Horatio (Norman Wooland), joins the sentries, and demands that the ghost speak. The ghost vanishes then, without a word.

Inside the Great Hall of the castle, the court is celebrating the marriage of Gertrude and Claudius. Hamlet sits alone, refusing to join in the celebration, despite the protests of the new King. When the court has left the Great Hall, Hamlet fumes over the hasty marriage, muttering to himself the words "and yet, within a month!" Soon, Horatio and the sentries enter telling Hamlet of the ghostly apparition of his father. Hamlet proceeds to investigate, and upon arriving on the battlements, sees the ghost. Noting that the ghost beckons him foward, Hamlet follows it up onto a tower, wherein it reveals its identity as the Ghost of Hamlet's father. He tells Hamlet that he was murdered, who did it, and how it was done. The audience then sees the murder re-enacted in a flashback as the ghost describes the deed - Claudius is seen pouring poison into the late King Hamlet's ear, thereby killing him. Hamlet does not at first accept this as the truth, and then prepares to feign madness, so as to test Claudius' concience, without jumping to conclusions.

This feigned insanity attracts the attention of Polonius (Felix Aylmer) who is completely convinced that Hamlet has gone mad. Polonius pushes this point with the King, claiming that it is derived from Hamlet's love for his daughter Ophelia (Jean Simmons). Claudius, however, is not fully convinced, and has Polonius set up a meeting between the two. Hamlet's "madness" is constant even in this exchange, and Claudius is convinced.

Hamlet then hires a group of wandering stage performers, requesting that they enact the play The Murder of Gonzago for the king. However, Hamlet makes a few alterations to the play, so as to make it mirror the circumstances of the late King's murder. Claudius, unable to watch the play, calls out for light, and retires to his room. Hamlet is now convinced of Claudius' treachery. He finds Claudius alone, and has ample opportunity to kill the villain. However, at this time, Claudius is praying, and Hamlet does not seek to send him to heaven, so, he waits, and bides his time.

He instead confronts Gertrude about the matter of his father's death and Claudius' treachery. During this confrontation, he hears a voice from the arras, and, believing that it was Claudius eavesdropping, plunges his dagger into the curtains. On discovering that he has in fact, killed the eavesdropping Polonius instead, Hamlet is only mildly upset, and he continues to confront his mother. He then sees the ghostly apparition of his father, and proceeds to converse with it. Gertrude, who cannot see the ghost, is now also convinced that Hamlet is mad.

Hamlet is deported to England by Claudius, who has given orders for him to be killed once he reaches there. Fortunately, Hamlet's ship is attacked by pirates, and he is returned to Denmark. In his absence, however, Ophelia, goes mad over Hamlet's rejection and the idea that her own sweetheart has killed her father, and drowns, supposedly committing suicide. Laertes (Terence Morgan), Ophelia's brother, is driven to avenge her death, as well as his father's.

Claudius and Laertes learn of Hamlet's return, and prepare to have him killed. However, they plan to make it look like an accident. Claudius orders Laertes to challenge Hamlet to a duel, wherein Laertes will be given a poisoned blade that will kill with a bare touch. In case Laertes is unable to hit Hamlet, Claudius also prepares a poisoned drink.

Hamlet meets Laertes' challenge, and engages him in a duel. Hamlet wins the first two rounds, and Gertrude drinks from the cup, suspecting that it is poisoned. Whilst in-between bouts, Laertes rushes Hamlet, and strikes him on the arm, fatally poisoning him. Hamlet, not knowing this, continues to duel. Hamlet eventually disarms Laertes, and switches blades with him. Hamlet then strikes Laertes in the wrist, fatally wounding him. Gerturde then submits to the poison, and dies, warning Hamlet not to drink from the cup. Laertes, dying, confesses the whole plot to Hamlet, who flies at Claudius in a fit of rage, killing him, before finally expiring himself. Horatio, horrified by all this, orders that Hamlet be given a decent funeral, and the young prince's body is taken away, whilst the cannons of Elsinore fire off a peal of ordinance in respect.

Cast

Men At Arms

• John Laurie as Fransisco. Fransisco is a weary sentry, who is present when King Hamlet's ghost appears. John Laurie was a Scottish actor who appeared in all three of Olivier's Shakespeare films. Laurie would go on to earn fame as the undertaker in the popular sitcom Dad's Army.

• Esmond Knight as Bernardo. Bernado is a sentry who is sent to relieve Bernardo, however, in the process he sees the apparition of King Hamlet. Esmond Knight was a Britsh character actor who appeared in all three of Olivier's Shakespeare films, including his The Prince and the Showgirl.

• Anthony Quayle as Marcellus. Marcellus is a solider stationed at Elsinore. Anthony Quayle was an English actor who would go onto a highly successful film career, appearing in such classics as The Guns of Navarone and Lawrence of Arabia.

• Niall MacGinnis as Sea Captain. The Sea Captain is the captain of the ship that Hamlet sets out on for England. MacGinnis was an Irish actor who made many screen appearances.

Christopher Lee, who would go on to become a celebrated Horror actor, had an uncredited role as a spear carrier.

The Play Within The Play

• Harcourt Williams as First Player. The First Player is enlisted by Hamlet to alter their play to mirror his suspicions about Claudius. Harcourt Williams had appeared in Olivier's Henry V prior to this.

• Patrick Troughton as Player King. The Player King enacts a mimed play that echoes Claudius' treachery. Patrick Troughton was a British actor, who would go on to earn fame as the second Doctor in the popular series Doctor Who.

• Tony Tarver as Player Queen. The Player Queen is a satire of Gertrude, intended to catch the concience of Claudius. This was Tarver's only screen appearance.

Servants To The Court

• Peter Cushing as Osric. Osric is a foppish courtier who referees the duel between Hamlet and Laertes. This was Peter Cushing's first major role. He would go on to become a prolific actor for Hammer Films, and he would go on to earn mainstream fame for his performance as Grand Moff Tarkin in the highly successful film Star Wars.

• Stanley Holloway as Gravedigger. The Gravedigger is digging Ophelia's grave when Hamlet and Horatio come across him. Stanley Holloway was a British entertainer, who would later be most recognised for his role as Mr. Doolittle in My Fair Lady.

• Russell Thorndike as Priest. The Priest leads the funeral ceremony for Ophelia. Russell Thorndike was the sister of Dame Sybil Thorndike.

The Royal Court Of Denmark

• Basil Sydney as Claudius, The King. Claudius is the brother, and murderer of the late King Hamlet. Marrying his brother's widow to cement his claim to the throne, he now grows cautious of the young Prince Hamlet. Sydney was a British actor who made many screen appearances.

• Eileen Herlie as Gertrude, The Queen. Gertrude, now married to Claudius, does not suspect foul play, and fears for the health of her son. Herlie is a Scottish-American actress, who has gone on to a play a prolific role in the TV series All My Children. Herlie's role in this film was secured by arrangement with Sir Alexander Korda.

• Laurence Olivier as Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Hamlet is the conflicted son of the late King, who is now suspicious of his father's death. Hamlet now sets out to investigate his theory of Claudius, his step-father's, treachery. Olivier, considered by many to be the greatest actor of the 20th Century, had played this role numerous times on stage. This performance was the only one of Olivier's to win him the coveted Academy Award for Best Actor, despite three prior nominations, and five subsequent ones.

• Norman Wooland as Horatio, his (Hamlet's) Friend. Horatio is Hamlet's level headed friend, who appears to have no relation to the Royal Family. Wooland was a German born British actor, who later played another companion to Olivier's character in Richard III.

• Felix Aylmer as Polonius, Lord Chamberlain. Polonius is suspicious of Hamlet, and is convinced his insanity stems from the young princes' love for his daughter, Ophelia. Aylmer had worked with Olivier on his Henry V, and had also alongside him in As You Like It.

• Terence Morgan as Laertes, his (Polonius') son. Laertes, son of Polonius, arrives in Denmark to discover his father's death, and vows vengeance against Hamlet. Morgan was a British actor, who joined the Old Vic company in 1948.

• Jean Simmons as' Ophelia, and (Polonius') daughter. Ophelia is the daughter of Polonius, who is driven mad by his death, as well as Hamlet's rejection. Simmons' performance in this film won her a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at that year's Oscars.

Reception

Academy Awards

Award	Person
Best Actor in a Leading Role	Laurence Olivier
Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White	Roger K. Furse Carmen Dillon
Best Costume Design, Black-and-White	Roger K. Furse
Best Picture	Laurence Olivier
Nominated:
Best Actress in a Supporting Role	Jean Simmons
Best Score	William Walton
Best Director	Laurence Olivier

The 1948 Hamlet was the only film in which the leading actor has directed himself to an Oscar-winning performance, until 1997, when Roberto Benigni directed himself to an Oscar in Life is Beautiful.

Other Awards

Influence

In the past, the 1948 film was often considered to be the definitive cinematic rendition of Hamlet. Over the years, however, it has lost some of its status - especially in comparison to Olivier's versions of Henry V and Richard III, mostly because Olivier, according to some critics, overemphasized Hamlet's Oedipal fixation on his mother, and because Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two of the most important supporting characters in the play, were completely omitted from this film version, robbing the film of what could have been some of its best dramatic moments. In 1996, Kenneth Branagh's film version of the complete Hamlet brought out the faults of the Olivier Hamlet even more sharply, by including everything that Olivier had omitted, and by having what many say is a better supporting cast than the 1948 film. But despite all this, the performances, the photography, the art direction and the musical score of the Olivier Hamlet have always been very highly regarded. Olivier is still considered by many the definitive Hamlet, although many modern viewers consider Branagh's and even Mel Gibson's Hamlet definitive.

DVD Release

Notes and References

External links

• [Terrence Rafferty essay at criterionco.com]

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Laurence Olivier
Shakespearean Films	Henry V (1944) | Hamlet (1948) | Richard III (1955)
Other Films	The Prince and the Showgirl (1957) | Three Sisters (1970)
Productions	The Beggar's Opera (1953) | "Laurence Olivier Presents" (1976-78) (TV)
Books	[[Confessions of an Actor: An Autobiography]] (1985) | On Acting (1986)
See Also	Laurence Olivier Productions (L.O.P.) | Filmography and list of stage appearances

 

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