Hamlet Trivia

1. Which role did Laurence Olivier play in the 1948 film "Hamlet"?

From Quiz Hamlet and the 1948 Movie

Answer: Hamlet

Not only did the exceptionally talented Laurence Olivier (1907-1989) play the leading role of Hamlet in this engrossing film, he was also its director as well. This earned him an Oscar for Best Actor, with the film also taking out an Oscar for Best Picture. "Hamlet" was the first film out of Britain to win a Best Picture Oscar, and the first sound production of the play as well - so it was a quadruple coup for the remarkable Olivier. "Hamlet" also won Oscars for Best Costume Design and Best Art Direction.

From Quiz Kenneth Branagh's "Hamlet"

Answer: It contains the full text of the play.

The film runs 242 minutes, just over four hours. Some viewers call it "The Eternity Version" in reference to its length. While a few of the speeches are slightly transposed, the film contains all of the scenes and lines of dialogue from the play.

From Quiz Hooray for Mel's "Hamlet"!

Answer: Franco Zeffirelli

Born in 1923 in Italy, Franco Zeffirelli has worked on films since the 1950s. He's filled many roles, from art director to producer, to costume designer, and to director!

From Quiz Hamlet and the 1948 Movie

Answer: Ophelia

Ophelia, the daughter of Polonius, and the rejected lover of Hamlet, is the tragic heroine in this tragedy. Events conspire to send her into the darkness of insanity, when she ultimately commits suicide by drowning. She was played in the famous 1948 film "Hamlet" by Jean Simmons, who was nominated for the award of Best Supporting Actress for her role. Jean Simmons was a British actress who lived from 1929 until 2010. She made more than 70 films in her long career.

From Quiz Hooray for Mel's "Hamlet"!

Answer: the war with Norway and the taking over of the Danish throne by Fortinbras

To make the film less lengthy (130 minutes - Branagh's later film, which included the entire play, was 242 minutes), this subplot of the problems with Norway was cut. In addition, the storyline involving pirates capturing Hamlet's ship to England was also cut from the Zeffirelli film.

From Quiz Hamlet and the 1948 Movie

Answer: Queen of Denmark

Queen Gertrude in "Hamlet" is the the unsuspecting widow of King Hamlet (Hamlet's father) - who has unwittingly married his killer. She cares deeply for her son, Hamlet, but is more than troubled by his increasingly erratic behaviour. In the 1948 film "Hamlet", she is played by Eileen Herlie, a Scottish-American actress who lived from 1918 until 2008. The role of Queen Gertrude, Hamlet's mother, was her big break into the movies. Interestingly though, Eileen, in real life, was actually 11 years younger than Laurence Olivier.

From Quiz Kenneth Branagh's "Hamlet"

Answer: Winter

A couple of scenes feature actual blizzards. Branagh wanted to shoot with real snow, so when a blizzard started one day, he hauled the actors out of their lunch break to shoot the scene where Horatio (Nicholas Farrell) gets the letter from Hamlet. The actors had to keep putting on more clothes because of the cold.

From Quiz Hooray for Mel's "Hamlet"!

Answer: Polonius, played by Ian Holm

An arras, or tapestry, was used quite often in Shakespearean plays for characters to hide behind and eavesdrop on conversations. Polonius, being rather a snoopy fellow, was the perfect character to be caught behind an arras!

From Quiz Hamlet and the 1948 Movie

Answer: The father of Hamlet

When we first meet Hamlet, he is in the depths of depression following the death of his father, and his mother's very hasty follow up marriage within a matter of weeks. The visitation of the ghost to Hamlet soon follows and that spiritual apparition informs the troubled prince that he was murdered. This sees the indecisive Hamlet eventually overtaken by the thirst for revenge at the cost of all else. The ghost in this film, or rather its voice, was provided by the multi-talented Olivier himself. He gave it the eerie effect it produced by recording the voice at a normal speed, and then having it played back at a slower speed in the movie.

From Quiz Kenneth Branagh's "Hamlet"

Answer: A forest

He speaks to Hamlet here, to tell his son to avenge his murder. The ghost, played by Brian Blessed, appears to Hamlet again in Gertrude's room after the play scene.

From Quiz Hooray for Mel's "Hamlet"!

Answer: Paul Scofield

Born David Paul Scofield in Sussex, England, Mr. Scofield has appeared in numerous films, including "A Man For All Seasons" in 1966, in which he portrayed Sir Thomas More. Scofield also played the title role in the 1971 movie version of "King Lear."

From Quiz Hamlet and the 1948 Movie

Answer: Uncle

Claudius was played by Basil Sydney (1894-1968) in Olivier's 1948 award winning production. He was a British actor with more than 50 films to his credit, of which his portrayal of Claudius was considered the best. Uncle Claudius, who becomes Hamlet's step-father as well, is the villain of the piece, who, according to the ghost of Hamlet's father, murdered him in order to gain the throne of Denmark. He then achieved a double coup by marrying the widow of the deceased as well. Both these events give seed to Hamlet's overwhelming desire for revenge. All of Shakespeare's great tragedies have the main character, usually an heroic figure, eventually overtaken by a serious character flaw. Macbeth's for example, was his powerful ambition. Hamlet's is the lust for revenge.

From Quiz Hooray for Mel's "Hamlet"!

Answer: the funeral of King Hamlet

Although not in the play, this opening physical scene in the movie set the stage, so to speak, for the tragedy to unfold. It provided a brief glimpse of Claudius, the new king, and his widowed sister-in-law, Gertrude. It even caused me to wonder how much Gertrude really knew about the death of her husband!

From Quiz Hamlet and the 1948 Movie

Answer: A spear carrier

All great actors have to start out somewhere. Christopher Lee was so unknown at this stage of his long, long career, that he had no dialogue. In fact, he wasn't even credited in the film at all. Yet there he is, fangs still undeveloped, in the role of spear holder in Laurence Olivier award-winning film. "Hamlet" was the third of Lee's astonishing record of 207 movies, but he fared rather better in his first movie. He was given one line of dialogue in that.

From Quiz Kenneth Branagh's "Hamlet"

Answer: Train

The miniature train that they arrive on is part of the setup at Blenheim Palace, where the exteriors for the film were shot. Timothy Spall and Reece Dinsdale play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.

From Quiz Hamlet and the 1948 Movie

Answer: A level headed friend

Horatio's role in "Hamlet" is that of Hamlet's calm and centred friend, and in that regard, he proves a perfect foil for Hamlet's frenetic, but assumed, descent into insanity. Played by German actor Norman Wooland (1910-1989), Horatio, as Hamlet's dependable confidante, enables Hamlet to speak indirectly to any audience to let them know of his real motivations and schemes. Wooland was noted for his fine Shakespearian acting, and, such was his love of the Bard's work, that he named each member of a herd of cows he owned after a character from Shakespeare's many plays. A true bovine tribute.

From Quiz Kenneth Branagh's "Hamlet"

Answer: Charlton Heston

Charlton Heston is known for starring in many epics, such as "Ben-hur", "El Cid" and "The Ten Commandements". His character recites part of the the story of Pyrrhus, Priam, and Hecuba during the Trojan War. He later acts in the play that Hamlet uses to determine whether or not his uncle murdered his father.

From Quiz Hamlet and the 1948 Movie

Answer: Ophelia

The gravedigger in "Hamlet" is busy at work preparing a new grave when Hamlet and Horatio pass by. They pause to discuss the nature of life and death, as a funeral procession begins to approach from afar. When it is revealed that it is Ophelia who is about to be buried, Hamlet throws off the cloak of his assumed madness and heart-brokenly declares how much he loved her after all. Not that this does him any good, for Ophelia's brother, Laertes, attempts to kill him on the spot, blaming him for the loss of his sister and his father. You may remember Stanley Holloway (1890-1982) for his role as Alfred Doolittle in the 1964 film "My Fair Lady". This great old comedian from stage and film could turn his hand to just about anything, including dancing, writing poetry and singing as well. In "Hamlet" he plays that small role of the gravedigger. In Shakespeare's play there are two gravediggers, but Olivier cut the second one from the film, along with many other drastic cuts he was forced to make to keep the film to a reasonable length - and for which he was later criticised. Even after that aggressive pruning, the film still ran for 155 minutes.

From Quiz Kenneth Branagh's "Hamlet"

Answer: Looking at himself in a mirror

The mirror is a two-way mirror; Claudius and Polonius are on the other side, ready to observe the encounter between Hamlet and Ophelia. The 1990 film version of "Hamlet", with Mel Gibson in the title role, has Hamlet walking through a crypt while reciting the monologue.

From Quiz Hooray for Mel's "Hamlet"!

Answer: the play

In one of the most famous lines in all of Shakespeare, Hamlet declares the play, performed by a troupe of traveling players, to be the way in which he'll trap the king into admitting his own guilt for the murder of Hamlet's father.

From Quiz Hamlet and the 1948 Movie

Answer: Stabbed by Hamlet

Polonius is the Lord Chamberlain in "Hamlet" and the father of both Laertes and Ophelia. He disapproves of Ophelia's love for Hamlet and is altogether very suspicious of the young prince. While hiding behind a curtain and eavesdropping on a very heated argument between Queen Gertrude and Hamlet, he is mistakenly stabbed through the curtain and murdered by Hamlet who thinks he is King Claudius. That death and the death of Ophelia are the motive for Laertes to seek revenge on Hamlet, thus mirroring Hamlet's desire for revenge for the murder of his father. Polonius is played by Felix Aylmer (1889-1979) in the 1948 movie "Hamlet". Aylmer was a noted English stage actor who crossed over to appear in movies and television as well. He appeared in more than 130 movies over his long life. He worked with Olivier on "Henry V" (1944) and "As You Like It" (1936) as well.

From Quiz Kenneth Branagh's "Hamlet"

Answer: Recorder

He breaks off his friendship with them in this scene, one of my favorites from the play and the film. His old school friends have been spying on him for the king and queen and he lets them know that he doesn't appreciate it. Later, he has them unknowingly deliver their own death warrants to the King of England.

From Quiz Hamlet and the 1948 Movie

Answer: Referee of the tragic duel

The famous Peter Cushing (1913-1994), noted for his many appearances of Sherlock Holmes, as well as a host of other engrossing characters, plays the role of the rather dandified courtier Osric in "Hamlet". Only a small role at that stage in his later long and very impressive career, but he played it to perfection. It is Osric who "referees" the duel between Hamlet and Laertes (Ophelia's grief-stricken brother, and the son of Polonius) at the close of the film. This is the climax of the entire story when everything is brought to a close. Laertes, played ably by Terence Morgan (1921-2005), and urged on by Hamlet's murderous uncle, Claudius, has dipped his sword in poison, and, though himself killed by Hamlet, manages to cut Hamlet's arm with it before dying. In fact, most of the main actors die in this dramatic scene, leaving only Horatio to mourn his troubled friend, Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark.

From Quiz Hooray for Mel's "Hamlet"!

Answer: Ennio Morricone

One of my favorite soundtrack composers, Ennio Morricone also did the great music for Kevin Costner's "The Untouchables", and has composed for over 500 films!

From Quiz Kenneth Branagh's "Hamlet"

Answer: Imaginary flowers

Most productions have Ophelia giving out real flowers, but imaginary flowers also work to display her madness. Kate Winslet plays Ophelia and Michael Maloney plays her brother, Laertes.

From Quiz Kenneth Branagh's "Hamlet"

Answer: She may have committed suicide.

Suicide does not warrant a Christian burial, so the priest has reservations about burying Ophelia this way. It's still arguable whether Ophelia drowns herself on purpose, drowns by accident, or if she falls into the water and decides not to try to save herself. However, Laertes insists on her virgin rites and a Christian burial.

From Quiz Kenneth Branagh's "Hamlet"

Answer: Fortinbras

By the time Fortinbras (Rufus Sewell) arrives, the entire royal family of Denmark is dead. As Fortinbras also has a claim to the throne, he takes it, and so Denmark is not left without a king at the end.

From Quiz Kenneth Branagh's "Hamlet"

Answer: The tearing down of the statue of old Hamlet

As the Player King might say, we end where we began. The first thing we see in the movie is the name "Hamlet" engraved in stone, under a statue of old Hamlet. Fortinbras' soldiers tear it down at the end.

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