| Richard Burton’s Hamlet | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Bill Colleran John Gielgud |
| Produced by | Alexander Cohen Alfred W. Crown John Heyman |
| Written by | William Shakespeare |
| Starring | Richard Burton Hume Cronyn Eileen Herlie Alfred Drake |
| Cinematography | Nobby Cross |
| Distributed by | Theatrofilm Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 23 September 1964 |
| Running time | 191 min. |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
Richard Burton’s Hamlet is a 1964 filmed record of the Broadway production of William Shakespeare's tragedy that played from April 9 through August 8 of that year at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. It is a literal filmed record of the stage production in which three performances were recorded by cameras from June 30 through July 1[1] using a process called Electronovision[2] and then edited into a single film.
Contents |
Background
The production took place because of a lighthearted agreement between Richard Burton and Peter O’Toole while they were filming Becket. O’Toole decreed that they should each play Hamlet afterwards under the direction of John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier in either London or New York, with a coin toss deciding who would be assigned which director and which city. O’Toole won London and Olivier in the toss, with Burton being assigned Gielgud and New York. O’Toole kept his part of the agreement, appearing as Hamlet under Olivier's direction in the premiere production of the Royal National Theatre later that year, and Burton approached producer Alexander H. Cohen and Gielgud about mounting a New York production.[3]
Concept
To pacify Burton's dislike of wearing period costumes and for aesthetic reasons of his own, Gielgud conceived of a production performed in a “rehearsal” setting with an uncompleted set and the actors wearing what appeared to be street clothes (although the costumes were actually the result of continuous trial-and-error in rehearsals, with the actors bringing in countless variations of attire for Gielgud to consider).[4] Gielgud also opted to depict the Ghost as a shadow against the back of the stage wall, voicing the character himself on tape (since he was unavailable while the production was actually in performance).
Reception
The production was a financial smash, achieving the longest run for the play in Broadway history at 137 performances, which broke the previous record which had been set by Maurice Evans's GI Hamlet in the 1940's. The run's popularity was due in no small part to the attention Burton received for his romance with Elizabeth Taylor (whom he married while the production was in tryouts in Toronto), and crowds gathered outside the New York theatre just to get a glimpse of Burton, and sometimes Taylor, after the show.[5] Burton was passionate, virile and scathingly sardonic in the role, varying his interpretation throughout the run, giving free rein to his magnificent voice, and wearing a v-necked black sweater and simple slacks. Burton's reviews in the title role were largely favorable and he received a Tony Award nomination for his performance. Some thought the most distinguished aspect of the production was Hume Cronyn’s performance as a briefcase-bearing, pedantic but not altogether foolish Polonius, which won him the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play. Eileen Herlie, who played Queen Gertrude, had already played the role in Laurence Olivier's Oscar-winning 1948 film version. Less favorably received were Linda Marsh and Alfred Drake, whom Gielgud had considered replacing with Sarah Miles as Ophelia and either Harry Andrews or himself as Claudius in rehearsals.[6] Interest in the production was so great that it inspired books by cast members William Redfield and Richard L. Sterne (who went to the lengths of hiding a tape recorder in a briefcase at rehearsals to get accurate transcriptions of what was said).[7]
The film in theatres
The film played for only a single week in theatres to lukewarm reviews. William Redfield wrote that “the film version played four performances in a thousand theatres and has grossed (to date) a total of $4,000,000. The financial details of this venture involved a mass screwing of the acting company so excruciatingly delicious that only a separate letter could do the tale justice.”[8]
DVD release
By contractual agreement, all prints of the film were to have been destroyed after its theatrical run. But by chance, a single print was discovered in Richard Burton’s garage following his death, and his widow allowed it to be distributed on DVD.[9] The film was originally titled Hamlet, but the DVD cover reads Richard Burton's Hamlet.
Columbia Masterworks LP
A four-record Columbia Masterworks LP album set of the production was made in 1964, with its original cast. However, the recording was not made directly from the soundtrack of the film. The production's cast recorded it in the recording studio, and the album was released in both mono and stereo, but has so far not appeared on compact disc. The film, by contrast, was released only in mono sound.
After the film's release on DVD, a true soundtrack album of the motion picture actually was issued, but it remained in print for an extremely short time.
Cast
Hamlet - Richard Burton
Polonius - Hume Cronyn
Claudius - Alfred Drake
Gertrude - Eileen Herlie
Guildenstern - William Redfield
First Gravedigger - George Rose
Player King - George Voskovec
Voltemand - Philip Coolidge
Laertes - John Cullum
Francisco/ Fortinbras - Michael Ebert
Reynaldo/Osric - Dillon Evans
Rosencrantz - Clement Fowler
Lucianus - Geoff Garland
Marcellus/Priest - Barnard Hughes
Ophelia - Linda Marsh
Horatio - Robert Milli
Cornelius/ Second Gravedigger/ English Ambassador - Hugh Alexander
Bernardo/Ensemble - Robert Burr
Player Queen - Christopher Culkin
Ensemble - Alex Giannini
Ghost - John Gielgud
Ensemble - Claude Harz
Player Prologue/Ensemble- John Hetherington
Ensemble - Gerome Ragni
Ensemble - Linda Seff
Gentleman - Richard L. Sterne
Ensemble - Carol Teitel
Ensemble - Frederick Young
References
- ^ John Gielgud Directs Richard Burton in Hamlet by Richard L. Sterne, Random House. 1967 pg. 127
- ^ The Warner Bros. Story by Clive Hirschorn, Crown Publishers, Inc. 1979 pg. 363
- ^ Girlgud: A Theatrical Life 1904-2000 by Jonathan Croall, Continuum, 2001
- ^ Letters from an Actor by William Redfield, Limelight Editions, 1966
- ^ Letters from an Actor by William Redfield, Limelight Editions, 1966
- ^ John Gielgud: A life in Letters edited by Richard Mangan, Arcade Publishing, 2004
- ^ John Gielgud Directs Richard Burton in Hamlet by Richard L. Sterne, Random House. 1967
- ^ Letters from an Actor by William Redfield, Limelight Editions, 1966 page 240
- ^ Hamlet (1964/I) - Trivia
External links
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