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Hamlet

  • 19481948
  • ApprovedApproved
  • 2h 34m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
17K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Hamlet (1948)
Prince Hamlet struggles over whether or not he should kill his uncle, whom he suspects has murdered his father, the former king.
Play trailer2:21
1 Video
46 Photos
  • Drama
Prince Hamlet struggles over whether or not he should kill his uncle, whom he suspects has murdered his father, the former king.Prince Hamlet struggles over whether or not he should kill his uncle, whom he suspects has murdered his father, the former king.Prince Hamlet struggles over whether or not he should kill his uncle, whom he suspects has murdered his father, the former king.
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
17K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Laurence Olivier
  • Writers
    • William Shakespeare(by)
    • Laurence Olivier(uncredited)
  • Stars
    • Laurence Olivier
    • Jean Simmons
    • John Laurie
Top credits
  • Director
    • Laurence Olivier
  • Writers
    • William Shakespeare(by)
    • Laurence Olivier(uncredited)
  • Stars
    • Laurence Olivier
    • Jean Simmons
    • John Laurie
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 100User reviews
    • 55Critic reviews
    • 82Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Won 4 Oscars
      • 16 wins & 8 nominations total

    Videos1

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:21
    Trailer

    Photos46

    Laurence Olivier in Hamlet (1948)
    Laurence Olivier and Eileen Herlie in Hamlet (1948)
    Laurence Olivier, Eileen Herlie, Terence Morgan, and Basil Sydney in Hamlet (1948)
    Laurence Olivier in Hamlet (1948)
    Laurence Olivier, Eileen Herlie, Terence Morgan, Basil Sydney, and Norman Wooland in Hamlet (1948)
    Laurence Olivier and Jean Simmons in Hamlet (1948)
    Laurence Olivier and Terence Morgan in Hamlet (1948)
    Laurence Olivier in Hamlet (1948)
    Laurence Olivier and Jean Simmons in Hamlet (1948)
    Laurence Olivier in Hamlet (1948)
    Laurence Olivier, Peter Cushing, and Terence Morgan in Hamlet (1948)
    Laurence Olivier and Eileen Herlie in Hamlet (1948)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Laurence Olivier
    Laurence Olivier
    • Hamlet, Prince of Denmarkas Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
    Jean Simmons
    Jean Simmons
    • Ophelia, and Daughteras Ophelia, and Daughter
    John Laurie
    John Laurie
    • Franciscoas Francisco
    Esmond Knight
    Esmond Knight
    • Bernardoas Bernardo
    Anthony Quayle
    Anthony Quayle
    • Marcellusas Marcellus
    Niall MacGinnis
    Niall MacGinnis
    • Sea Captainas Sea Captain
    Harcourt Williams
    Harcourt Williams
    • First Playeras First Player
    Patrick Troughton
    Patrick Troughton
    • Player Kingas Player King
    Tony Tarver
    • Player Queenas Player Queen
    Peter Cushing
    Peter Cushing
    • Osricas Osric
    Stanley Holloway
    Stanley Holloway
    • Gravediggeras Gravedigger
    Russell Thorndike
    • Priestas Priest
    Basil Sydney
    Basil Sydney
    • Claudius, The Kingas Claudius, The King
    Eileen Herlie
    Eileen Herlie
    • Gertrude, The Queenas Gertrude, The Queen
    Norman Wooland
    Norman Wooland
    • Horatio, His Friendas Horatio, His Friend
    Felix Aylmer
    Felix Aylmer
    • Polonius, Lord Chamberlainas Polonius, Lord Chamberlain
    Terence Morgan
    Terence Morgan
    • Laertes, His Sonas Laertes, His Son
    Anthony Bushell
    Anthony Bushell
    • Undetermined Secondary Roleas Undetermined Secondary Role
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Laurence Olivier
    • Writers
      • William Shakespeare(by)
      • Laurence Olivier(uncredited)
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      One of the William Shakespeare purists who criticized this shorn-down version of the play was Ethel Barrymore, who complained that it wasn't as faithful as the stage version produced on Broadway in 1922, in which her brother John Barrymore played Hamlet. Ethel Barrymore was the presenter of the Best Picture Oscar at the Academy Awards that year and was visibly shaken when she read out Sir Laurence Olivier's name as the winner.
    • Goofs
      A clock is heard chiming the half-hour in Westminster chimes. If chiming clocks were invented at the time of the action they wouldn't sound the Westminster chimes which date only - as the name suggests - from the installation of the Big Ben clock in 1859.
    • Quotes

      Hamlet, Prince of Denmark: To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, Or to take arms against a sea of troubles, And by opposing end them? To die: to sleep; No more; and by a sleep to say we end The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks That flesh is heir to, 'tis a consummation Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep; To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there's the rub; For in that sleep of death what dreams may come When we have shuffled off this mortal coil, Must give us pause: there's the respect That makes calamity of so long life; For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, The oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely, The pangs of despised love, the law's delay, The insolence of office and the spurns That patient merit of the unworthy takes, When he himself might his quietus make With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear, To grunt and sweat under a weary life, But that the dread of something after death, The undiscover'd country from whose bourn No traveller returns, puzzles the will And makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of? Thus conscience does make cowards of us all; And thus the native hue of resolution Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought, And enterprises of great pith and moment With this regard their currents turn awry, And lose the name of action.

    • Crazy credits
      Opening credits prologue:

      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.
    • Connections
      Edited into Histoire(s) du cinéma: Une vague nouvelle (1999)

    User reviews100

    Review
    Top review
    A Few Gems Here
    Any film based on Shakespeare is worth seeing because the scaffolding is so rich that even a failure is interesting. And in the case of Hamlets, we have several to compare. Here we have the celebrated Olivier Hamlet, much celebrated.

    I see a few very strong elements with some blots, and I suppose these have both become amplified with the passage of 50 years.

    First, the blots:

    -- Every actor but Olivier is of lesser caliber. I suspect that some of this is what he had to work with, and some apparent clumsiness results from the then standard rendering of the Bard's works as speechifying.

    -- The women, especially Ophelia are dreadful, absolutely dreadful -- Ophelia's only present because she screwed the boss.

    -- The score was so heavy, so dated and so hard to ignore it almost made me turn away, regardless of the balancing strengths.

    -- Hamlet's text presents problems. The best choice in my opinion is to keep it all as Branagh has. But the standard wisdom is that audiences won't sit through 4 hours, no matter how engaging. Then, the question is what to cut. One often keeps the well-known speeches and cuts into the plot about ideas. So here we lose Fortinbras, Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern, together with some rather lovely related language and notions. Too bad because there is a development in the logic of metaphor in the later, longer version of the play, and this is totally lost here.

    -- Olivier insists on including the notion of Oedipus and Gertrude, absolutely not supported by the text, and only inferred if you don't understand that Hamlet's initial distress is because his succession has been interrupted (not that his access to his Mother has been interrupted).

    -- Worse, Olivier not only believes Hamlet is a 'man that couldn't make up his mind' but tells us so at the beginning! Does he not get it? Does he not understand the complexities of reason? This is not a play about doubt, but about reasoning.

    Now the gems:

    -- Even though Olivier gets the character wrong, and has cut some good lines, he has a natural talent for living well in the language. Even though he's coming from the wrong place, and overly postures, his rendering of the lines comes from a rare genius. Worth experiencing, despite the surrounding distractions.

    -- The costumes are too lush for my tastes, but they fit the set. And my, what a set it is. Except for the cheesy painted sky, this castle is pretty wonderful: lots of colonnaded corridors, mezzanines, stairs, aligned archways. Olivier may be trying to top archrival Orson Wells, but I think he has done very well in using the building to frame the action in a way that is fully cinematic, transcending the stage. The only effect that jarred was the thrice-done long pullback when Claudius conspires with Laertes.

    --The film is in Black and White. Olivier had no choice of course, but it is a happy accident. Allows the photography to be more artistic, better lit, more abstract, just as the mood of the play would have it.

    Bottom line: This is worth seeing to discuss, but the Branagh version is more true and has many fewer distracting blots.
    helpful•27
    19
    • tedg
    • Jun 12, 2000

    FAQ4

    • Why does Hamlet have an incest theme?
    • This version cut the play down from four hours to two-and-a-half. What was the biggest cut?
    • Which of Hamlet's soliloquies have been cut?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 11, 1948 (Australia)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Гамлет
    • Filming locations
      • D&P Studios, Denham Studios, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK
    • Production company
      • Two Cities Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • £500,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 34 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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