Hamlet, Prince of Denmark (Laurence Olivier), upset that his mother, Queen Gertrude (Eileen Herlie) has married his uncle Claudius (Basil Sydney) just two months after the death of the old king, is informed by his father’s ghost that Claudius murdered him. Hamlet vows revenge, but moves slowly, feigning madness, rejecting and abusing the young Ophelia (Jean Simmons), and confronting his mother.
This is Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet. Produced by Laurence Olivier. Directed by Laurence Olivier. Co-written by Laurence Olivier. Staring Laurence Olivier. And focusing almost exclusively on Laurence Olivier. If you’re a huge fan of Olivier, this should be a treat. If you’re a huge fan of Shakespeare, not so much.
Hamlet is a difficult play to perform, and I have seen more failures than successes. Still, from time to time there is a version that moves quickly, delves into the complexity of the characters and explains their actions, and highlights the beauty of the language. While lauded by critics at the time, and given the Oscar for best picture, this Hamlet does none of those things. But then, I’ve rarely found the Academy awards to indicate the best film of the year, nor do I expect those who vote for it to be familiar with Shakespeare.
Olivier has forged a plodding film, where his own frequent dramatic pauses and profile close-ups, as well as winding shots of the stairs, take precedence over the famous dialog. Substantial portions of the play have been cut, including all of the political intrigue, and the popular characters Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. With them, almost all of the lighter moments have also been removed. Since filmmakers in general have avoided a rapid-fire version, I cannot blame Olivier for making such severe chops. Although I find the loss of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern particularly unfortunate, I cannot think of a scene he left in that I would have removed to allow their return. However, before cutting important segments of the work, he should have first removed unnecessary silences and vanity shots.
Hamlet (the man in this case) is significantly simplified. Partly this is due to the missing text, but mainly it is how Olivier plays him. This Hamlet is never insane or even out of control. He is upset about his father’s death and his mother’s quick marriage. Toss in an out-of-place Oedipal complex, and you have the entire character. That’s as deep as it goes. There’s an added prolog that states that Hamlet was a “man who could not make up his mind.” OK, but it would be nice if there was an indication why he could not make up his mind. It’s pivotal to the play that the viewer understand why it takes him five acts to do anything, and even then it is only when he is forced to. Just saying he has problems making decisions puts Hamlet on par with a sitcom.
This is also an old Hamlet. The brash, spoiled, but thoughtful Prince of Denmark should be in his twenties. Olivier was forty-one. This produces the comical situation of Hamlet being older than his mother…by thirteen years. Ah, but that’s something you can ignore and… You know, you just can’t ignore a mom being thirteen years younger than her kid. Unfortunately, Olivier didn’t, giving us a long romantic mother-son kiss plus some random shots of the bed.
A poorly conceived Hamlet can be saved by an emotional delivery of the signature lines (and this is Hamlet, so there are a lot of them), but there is no salvation there. No one speaks; they recite speeches, with all the impact one would expect from a dry reading. Worse, the great soliloquies are presented in monotone voice-overs, removing the power and immediacy. In other cases, it sounds as if no one knew what the words meant. Shakespearian Primer time: the phrase “Get ye to a nunnery” means go to a brothel. Hamlet is telling Ophelia to become a whore, not a nun. That makes Ophelia’s reaction sensible (she becomes hysterical), but Olivier says the line as if he’s sweetly advising her to give her life to the church.
Almost any discussion of this Hamlet will bring up the impressive cinematography. The camera sweeps around like it is mounted on a large hawk. Now that’s skill. It’s also all wrong. Good camera work does not draw attention to itself. The viewer shouldn’t even notice it; rather, it should emphasize the story and characters. This time, it emphasizes acrobatics.
This Hamlet soured an entire generation on Shakespeare. I’ve heard classrooms of high school teens moaning as it played. Those same teens had previously cheered during Polanski’s Macbeth. Still, a Shakespeare fan can find something of value. The play has some of the greatest words ever written, and I can’t fault the enunciation. Outside of the mother-son relationship, this is a straightforward rendition, and while the themes and motivations may be lacking, the story is easy to follow. Think of it as a dated study-guide.