Hamlet

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Laurence Olivier directs. Desmond Dickinson behind the camera. William Walton scores. Helga Cranston cuts. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1Clocks in at 153 minutes — on the longer side of feature-length cinema.
• 2Shot for just $0.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
• 378 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
• 4Directed by Laurence Olivier, shot by Desmond Dickinson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 5Original score by William Walton. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 6Editor Helga Cranston shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 7Laurence Olivier and Basil Sydney and Eileen Herlie carry the top of the cast.
• 8Marketing tagline: "The motion picture of all time ... for all time!".
• 9IMDB entry: tt0040416 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography

Desmond Dickinson

Original score

William Walton

Editing

Helga Cranston

Costume design

Roger K. Furse

Makeup / hair

Tony Sforzini

Runtime

153 min · 2h 33m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$750,000

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

NR

IMDB

Hamlet (1948) ↗

Also by

Laurence Olivier

• 
  Hindle Wakes

  1976 · ★ 8.5
• 
  Richard III

  1955 · ★ 7.2
• 
  Henry V

  1944 · ★ 6.7
• 
  The Prince and the Showgirl

  1957 · ★ 6.4
• 
  Uncle Vanya

  1963 · ★ 5.5
• 
  Three Sisters

  1970 · ★ 4.3

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Hamlet (1948) Original Trailer [FHD]

  Trailer
• 

  ▶
  Amleto di Laurence Olivier - Trailer originale

  Trailer · Official

Community reviews

What people are saying

• CinemaSerf2024-02-04
  ★ 7/10

  Did you ever notice how Laurence Olivier never looks to camera when he speaks in this film? Even during the most potent of his soliloquies, he always manages to avoid any direct eye contact with the audience! His "Hamlet", here, though, is the definitive representation of this troubled Shakespearian character and combined with an excellently selected cast, we are presented with quite a compelling 2½ hours of tautly directed and gloriously eerily lit tragic drama. His father has been slain and his mother "Gertrude" (Eileen Herlie) has remarried his brother, now the king, "Claudius" (Basil Sydney). "Hamlet" is suspicious that this man had a hand in that murder, quite possibly his mother did too - but he cannot prove anything. That's where his father's ghost helps out - he reveals the secrets of his assassination and his son decides to incorporate these deeds into a play that he hopes, will shame the murderers and torture their souls. Not quite, and an unfortunate altercation in his mother's chamber sees him despatched, formally, to England but en route he encounters some pirates who might just be able to return him home for a show-down with the conniving liars and schemers at court. Olivier's masterful interpretation of this troubled and vacillating character is probably as near to that intended by the playwright as it's possible to get. That said, it's still an abridged version he delivers (I saw this on stage at the RSC many years ago with Kenneth Branagh, and it came in at over four hours) so he does have to sacrifice some of the dialogue from this longest of his plays, but that isn't so important as the dark and gloomy photography does much of the supportive heavy lifting and we can actually see enough to compensate for the dispensing of some of the more descriptive narrative. Jean Simmons is remarkable as the young "Ophelia" - a woman in whom "Hamlet" has a romantic interest, but who has been sternly warned by father "Polonius" (Felix Aylmer) to stay away! That relationship is further compromised as she struggles, mentally, when her father is also a victim of murder most foul. Sydney is also quite effective here as the king gradually begins to struggle with the guilt of his crime - and as ever with this writer, that inevitable descension into madness is grippingly presented by a series of increasingly desperate monologues. The extended denouement is the literal epitome of tragedy and confusion - with poison abounding: but rarely does it go into the right mouth, and at the conclusion it falls to "Fortinbras" to promise to regale this story to any who will listen. A solid and engaging story, with twist, turns, treachery and duplicity, love, honour and betrayal - all of the ingredients for a great drama with an excellent cast that really does captivate the imagination.

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• TW

  Two Cities Films

  GB

• J.

  J. Arthur Rank Organisation

  GB

Key crew

• Associate ProducerReginald Beck
• Producer's AssistantAnthony Bushell
• ProducerLaurence Olivier
• Executive In Charge Of ProductionHerbert Smith
• Costume DesignRoger K. Furse
• EditorHelga Cranston
• Art DirectionCarmen Dillon
• Costume DesignElizabeth Hennings
• Makeup ArtistTony Sforzini
• Makeup ArtistMichael Morris
• Makeup ArtistNorbert A. Myles
• Makeup ArtistBasil Newall
• Makeup ArtistErnest Westo
• Sound EditorHarry Miller
• Sound RecordistJohn W. Mitchell
• Sound RecordistL.E. Overton
• Sound RecordistDesmond Dew
• Sound RecordistKen Rawkins
• Wardrobe MasterBarbara Gillett
• HairstylistVivienne Walker
• Assistant DirectorPeter Bolton
• Theatre PlayWilliam Shakespeare

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• father murder
• based on play or musical
• fratricide

Release history · US

When it landed

• Premiere1948-09-29NR· New York City, New York
• TV1956-03-11· NBC

Also known as

International titles

• 王子复仇记CN
• ХамлетBG
• ΆμλετGR
• AmletoIT
• ハムレットJP
• ГамлетRU
• 哈姆雷特CN