Hamlet (1948) - Olivier's overrated drama prince

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Laurence Olivier's name almost looms larger than the title on this old-fashioned, classical poster for Laurence Olivier's Hamlet

The prince of Denmark sees the ghost of his late father and is obsessed with the urge to find the one guilty of his murder in order to exact revenge.

 

Hamlet is written, produced and directed by English master filmmaker Laurence Olivier (Henry V (1944)), who also stars as the title character and whose 2nd film it was as a filmmaker. It is, of course, an adaptation of William Shakespeare's (Othello (1603)) same-titled 1599/1601 play.

Though widely celebrated, I find Olivier stiff and affected in Hamlet in a theatrical and dated version of the great play, which also has a problematic Gertrud, the queen and Hamlet's mother, as Eileen Herlie (Freud (1962)) was 11 years younger than Olivier. Though often criticized for its omissions, the film is still long, and I think overlong - and too wordy. 

Still, Olivier's Hamlet is without reservations a handsomely produced and pictorially well composed picture, (cinematography by Desmond Dickinson (Cairo (1963))). As a film, however, Franco Zeffirelli's 1990 version with Mel Gibson is far superior.

 

Related posts:

 

Laurence Olivier: Dracula (1979) - Badham's sensuous, exceptional adaptation (actor)

The Boys From Brazil (1978) or, The Last Nazi Command (co-star)

 

Watch a 2-minute clip from the film here

 

Cost: 527k £, approximately 662k $

Box office: 3.25 mil. $ (North American rentals alone); projected gross of 8-10 mil. $

= Uncertain, but likely a mega-hit (projected return between 12.08-15.1 times the cost)

[Hamlet premiered 6 May (London) and runs 155 minutes. Olivier was paid 50k £ for his work on the film. Shooting took place from April - November 1947 in England. The film's gross details are regrettably not found online; only small snippets such as that it reportedly made 779k £ in profits in the UK alone, which would mean that it was a tremendous hit there, and 3.25 mil. $ in North American rentals, which is also very impressive. The global final gross seems likely to have gone as high as 8-10 mil. $. The film was nominated for 7 Oscars, winning 4: Best Picture (the first non-American film to do so), Actor (Olivier), Art Direction-Set Decoration B/W and Costumes B/W. It lost Best Supporting Actress (Jean Simmons (The Dawning (1988))) to Claire Trevor for Key Largo, Director to John Huston for The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and Score - Drama/Comedy (William Walton (As You Like It (1936))) to Brian Easdale for The Red Shoes. It also won 1/2 BAFTA nominations, 2 Golden Globes, a National Board of Review award and many other honors. Olivier returned with Richard III (1955) as a filmmaker and in The Magic Box (1951) as an actor. Hamlet is certified fresh at 95 % with an 8.50/10 critical average at Rotten Tomatoes.]

 

What do you think of Hamlet?