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Hamlet ()

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Prince Hamlet struggles over whether or not he should kill his uncle, whom he suspects has murdered his father, the former king.
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Writers:
Stars:
Awards:
  • Won 4 Oscars. Another 12 wins & 6 nominations.
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Photos and Videos

80 photos | 1 video

Cast verified as complete

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Francisco
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Bernardo
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Marcellus
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Sea Captain
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First Player
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Player King
Tony Tarver ...
Player Queen
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Osric
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Gravedigger
Russell Thorndike ...
Priest
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Claudius, The King
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Gertrude, The Queen
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Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
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Horatio, His Friend
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Polonius, Lord Chamberlain
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Laertes, His Son
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Ophelia, and Daughter
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
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Undetermined Secondary Role (uncredited)
Patricia Davidson ...
Lady of the Court (uncredited)
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King Hamlet's Ghost (uncredited)
Doreen Lawrence ...
Extra (uncredited)
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Palace Guard (uncredited)
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Extra (uncredited)
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Extra (uncredited)
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Extra (uncredited)

Directed by

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Laurence Olivier

Written by

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William Shakespeare ... (by)
 
Laurence Olivier ... () (uncredited)

Produced by

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

Music by

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William Walton

Cinematography by

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Desmond Dickinson ... (photographer)

Editing by

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Helga Cranston

Editorial Department

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John Pomeroy ... second assistant editor (uncredited)
Richard Sidwell ... second assistant editor (uncredited)
Peter Taylor ... assistant editor (uncredited)

Casting By

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Maude Spector ... (uncredited)

Art Direction by

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Carmen Dillon

Costume Design by

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Elizabeth Hennings ... (uncredited)

Makeup Department

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Tony Sforzini ... makeup artist
Vivienne Walker ... hairdresser
Michael Morris ... makeup artist (uncredited)
Norbert A. Myles ... makeup artist (uncredited)
Basil Newall ... makeup artist (uncredited)
Geoffrey Rodway ... makeup supervisor (uncredited)
Ernest Westo ... makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management

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Filippo Del Giudice ... under the management of
John W. Gossage ... production manager (as John Gossage)
Phil C. Samuel ... production supervisor (as Phil.C.Samuel)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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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

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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)
Betty Pierce ... assistant art director (uncredited)

Sound Department

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Harry Miller ... sound editor
John W. Mitchell ... sound recorder
L.E. Overton ... sound recorder
Cyril Crowhurst ... sound supervisor: Denham Studios (uncredited)
Peter Davies ... sound maintenance (uncredited)
Desmond Dew ... sound recordist (uncredited)
Gus Lloyd ... assistant boom operator (uncredited)
Dudley Messenger ... boom operator (uncredited)
Ken Rawkins ... sound recordist (uncredited)
C.C. Stevens ... sound supervisor (uncredited)

Special Effects by

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Henry Harris ... special effects
Paul Sheriff ... special effects
Jack Whitehead ... special effects

Visual Effects by

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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

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Jack Keely ... stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department

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James Hamilton ... chief electrician
Ray Sturgess ... camera operator
Maurice Gillett ... electrician (uncredited)
Wilfrid Newton ... still photographer (uncredited)

Casting Department

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William Fleming ... crowd casting (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department

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Barbara Gillett ... wardrobe mistress (uncredited)
Elizabeth Hennings ... wardrobe supervisor (uncredited)

Music Department

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Muir Mathieson ... conductor
E.A. Drake ... music recordist (uncredited)
John Hollingsworth ... assistant conductor (uncredited)

Script and Continuity Department

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Elizabeth Everson ... continuity
Gladys Goldsmith ... assistant continuity (uncredited)

Additional Crew

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Alan Dent ... text editor
Alexander Korda ... Eileen Herlie by arrangement with (as Sir Alexander Korda)
Dennis Loraine ... sword play
Laurence Olivier ... presenter
David Paltenghi ... mime play
J. Arthur Rank ... presenter (as A J.Arthur Rank Enterprise)
Mollie Terraine ... dialogue coach
Anthony Bushell ... associate director (uncredited)
Ken Green ... press representative (uncredited)
Laurence Olivier ... voice: Ghost of Hamlet's Father (uncredited)
Myrtle Rowe ... stand-in: Eileen Herlie (uncredited)

Thanks

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Alexander Korda ... Eileen Herlie by arrangement with (as Sir Alexander Korda)
Crew verified as complete

Production Companies

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Distributors

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Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Storyline

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Plot Summary

William Shakespeare's tale of tragedy of murder and revenge in the royal halls of medieval Denmark. Claudius, brother to the King, conniving with the Queen, poisons the monarch and seizes the throne, taking the widowed Gertrude for his bride. Hamlet, son of the murdered King, mournful of his father's death and mother's hasty marriage, is confronted by the ghost of the late King who reveals the manner of his murder. Seeking revenge, Hamlet re-creates the monstrous deed in a play with the help of some travelling actors to torment the conscience of the evil Claudius. In a visit with his mother, Hamlet expresses his anger and disappointment concerning her swiftly untimed marriage. Thinking a concealed spy in his mother's chamber to be the lurking Claudius, he mistakenly kills the meddling counselor, Polonius, father of Ophelia and Laertes. Claudius, on the pretext that Hamlet will be endangered by his subjects for the murder of Polonius, sends the Prince to England. Written by alfiehitchie

Plot Keywords
Taglines The motion picture of all time...for all time! (Print ad for re-release 1954) See more »
Genres
Parents Guide View content advisory »
Certification

Additional Details

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Also Known As
  • 哈姆雷特 (China, Mandarin title)
  • Гамлет (Russia)
  • Amlet (Greece)
  • Гамлет (Soviet Union, Russian title)
  • Хамлет (Bulgaria, Bulgarian title)
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Runtime
  • 154 min
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Language
Color
Aspect Ratio
Sound Mix
Filming Locations

Box Office

Budget GBP500,000 (estimated)
Cumulative Worldwide Gross $8,211,562

Did You Know?

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Trivia When the movie was released, Sir Laurence Olivier said it had been filmed in black and white for artistic reasons. The true reason, as he later admitted, was that "I was in the middle of a furious row with Technicolor". See more »
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. See more »
Movie Connections Edited into Une vague nouvelle (1999). See more »
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. See more »
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.
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