Hamlet

Synopsis

Fiction film. The first filmed version of Hamlet to be produced in England. For a detailed account of the complicated provenance of this film see Ball, especially pp.318-20.

Country

Great Britain

Medium

Film

Technical information

Black-and-white / Silent

Year of release

1910

Duration

c15; c1500 feet

Availability

A lost film.

Credits

Director

Will Barker

Cast

Charles Raymond

Hamlet

Additional Details

Production type

Fiction Films

Plays

Hamlet

Subjects

Drama

Keywords

Shakespeare, William (1564-1616)

Notes

General

Ball notes (p.78) ‘The casting was not based on professional ability. A tall man was picked to play the Ghost; the Ophelia was selected because she could swim’. The picture was shot in less than six hours; Barker has said that the total cost was £180 and he made £600 from the film.

Reviews

Ball, Robert Hamilton. Shakespeare on Silent Film: A Strange Eventful History. London: George Allen and Unwin, 1968 (pp77-8, 318-20).

Production Company

Name

Barker Motion Photography