HALLMARK HALL OF FAME: WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE'S HAMLET (TV)
Summary
One in this series of dramas presented by Hallmark. Richard Chamberlain stars in this production of Shakespeare's "Hamlet," this version of which is set in the early 1800s. The tragedy concerns Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, whose dead father appears to him in the form of a ghost, urging him to avenge his murder at the hand of Hamlet's uncle, Claudius. Claudius is now king, having married Hamlet's mother, Queen Gertrude, only weeks after her husband's death. Hamlet's horror over his mother's speedy and incestuous remarriage is compounded by what he learns from his father's spirit, so the brooding prince feigns insanity as part of a plan to seek revenge upon his uncle. His adoption of an "antic disposition" provides Hamlet with a point of departure for a series of musings on time, suicide, and the futility of historical action. Includes some commercials and promos.
(This is a black-and-white copy of a color telecast.)
(This program contains minor technical problems.)
("Hallmark Hall of Fame" aired on NBC from 1952 to 1978; network affiliation varies after 1978.)
(Beginning with the live telecast of the opera "Amahl and the Night Visitors" on December 24, 1951, Hallmark has sponsored a series of dramatic specials which since 1952 have been titled "Hallmark Hall of Fame." From 1952 to 1955 Hallmark also presented "Hallmark Hall of Fame," a weekly half-hour dramatic anthology series hosted by Sarah Churchill. The first program, "Dr. Serocold," was televised in January 1952 under the title "Hallmark Television Theatre." This series also ran under the title "Hallmark Summer Theatre" in July and August 1952.)
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: November 17, 1970 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:49:43
- COLOR/B&W: B&W copy of a color telecast
- CATALOG ID: T:31586
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 1951-1978
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - "Hamlet" cast album (voice-over only)
- TV - Commercials - Hallmark Christmas party goods
- TV - Commercials - Hallmark cards
- TV - Promos - "Hallmark Hall of Fame: The Littlest Angel"
- TV - Promos - "Kraft Music Hall" (voice-over only)
CREDITS
- Cecil Clarke … Executive Producer
- George LeMaire … Producer
- Lorna Mason … Assistant Producer
- Peter Wood … Director
- John Barton … Adapted by
- William Shakespeare … Writer
- John Addison … Music by
- Wandsworth Boys' School Choir, The … Choir
- Richard Chamberlain … Cast, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
- Michael Redgrave … Cast, Polonius
- Margaret Leighton … Cast, Gertrude, Queen of Denmark
- Richard Johnson … Cast, Claudius, King of Denmark
- John Gielgud … Cast, the Ghost
- Ciaran Madden … Cast, Ophelia
- Nicholas Jones … Cast, Laertes
- Martin Shaw … Cast, Horatio
- Godfrey James … Cast, Marcellus
- Philip Brack … Cast, Barnardo
- Robert Oates … Cast, Francisco
- Nigel Stock … Cast, the First Player
- James Laurenson … Cast, Rosencrantz
- Desmond McNamara … Cast, Guildenstern
- Alan Bennett … Cast, Osric
- Norman Rossington … Cast, the Gravedigger
- Robert Coleby … Cast, Fortinbras
- Roger Green … Cast, the Captain
- Donald Layne-Smith … Cast, the Priest
- David Belcher … Cast, a Player
- Helen Bourne … Cast, a Player
- Alan Adams … Cast, a Player
- Stephen Williams … Cast, a Player
- Donald Barclay … Cast, a Player