Hamlet at Elsinore (Film TV - 1964)

Hamlet at Elsinore is a 1964 television version of the c. 1600 play by William Shakespeare. Directed by Philip Saville, with Christopher Plummer, Robert Shaw, Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland and Jo Maxwell.

Produced by the BBC in association with Danish Radio, it was shown in the U.S. on NET. Winning wide acclaim both for its performances and for being shot entirely at Helsingør (Elsinore in English), in the castle in which the play is set. It is the only version (with sound) of the play to have actually been shot at Elsinore Castle. This programme was recorded and edited on video tape (2" quadruplex) and not 'filmed'. It was the longest version of the play telecast in one evening up to that time, running nearly three hours.

The Canadian actor Christopher Plummer took the lead role as Hamlet and earned an Emmy Award nomination for his performance. In supporting roles were Robert Shaw as Claudius, Donald Sutherland as Fortinbras, Roy Kinnear as the Gravedigger and Michael Caine, in his only Shakespearean performance, as Horatio. Sutherland, Caine and Shaw were, at the time, almost completely unknown to American audiences, and just before the presentation's first U.S. telecast, Plummer began to gain popularity in the U.S. because of his appearance in the 1965 musical film The Sound of Music.

The production was originated by Danish television, which lacked the financial resources to realize the project and turned to the BBC for help. Videotaped at Kronborg Castle in Elsinore, Denmark, in September 1963 by a Danish crew with the director and actors supplied by the BBC, it represents a technical milestone for the BBC as a full-length play had never been videotaped on-location before. The producer, Peter Luke, deliberately cast lesser-known actors as it was felt using major stars would prove a distraction. Plummer, Shaw and particularly Caine would become stars within a year to two of the original broadcast, and Sutherland would become a star in 1970 after the release of the film MASH. Jo Maxwell Muller, who was only 18 years old, was cast as Ophelia on the insistence of Plummer.

Cast & Characters:
Christopher Plummer as Hamlet
Robert Shaw as Claudius, King of Denmark
Alec Clunes as Polonius
Michael Caine as Horatio
June Tobin as Gertrude, Queen of Denmark
Jo Maxwell Muller as Ophelia
Dyson Lovell as Laertes
Donald Sutherland as Fortinbras
Roy Kinnear as the Gravedigger

Horatio is, so far, the only classical role played by Michael Caine, who had never received dramatic training.