Richard Burton’s Hamlet is a common name for both the Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

 production of William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...

's tragedy

Hamlet

The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...

 that played from April 9 through August 8 of 1964 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre

Lunt-Fontanne Theatre

The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 205 West 46th Street in midtown-Manhattan.Designed by the architectural firm of Carrere and Hastings, it was built by producer Charles Dillingham and opened as the Globe Theatre, in honor of London's Shakespearean playhouse, on...

, and for the filmed record of it that has been released theatrically and on home video.

Background

The production took place because of a lighthearted agreement between Richard Burton

Richard Burton

Richard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award, six of which were for Best Actor in a Leading Role , and was a recipient of BAFTA, Golden Globe and Tony Awards for Best Actor. Although never trained as an actor, Burton was, at one time, the highest-paid...

 and Peter O’Toole while they were filming Becket. O’Toole decreed that they should each play Hamlet

Hamlet

The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...

 afterwards under the direction of John Gielgud

John Gielgud

Sir Arthur John Gielgud, OM, CH was an English actor, director, and producer. A descendant of the renowned Terry acting family, he achieved early international acclaim for his youthful, emotionally expressive Hamlet which broke box office records on Broadway in 1937...

 and Laurence Olivier

Laurence Olivier

Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...

 in either London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 or New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, 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

Royal National Theatre

The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...

 later that year, and Burton approached producer Alexander H. Cohen

Alexander H. Cohen

Alexander H. Cohen was a prolific American theatrical producer who mounted more than one hundred productions on both sides of the Atlantic. He was the only American producer to maintain offices in the West End as well as on Broadway.-Personal life:Cohen was born in New York City...

 and Gielgud about mounting a New York production.

Concept

Because Burton disliked wearing period costumes, and for aesthetic reasons of his own, Gielgud conceived of a production performed in a “rehearsal” setting with an incomplete 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). 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 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 set by Maurice Evans

Maurice Evans (actor)

Maurice Herbert Evans was an English actor noted for his interpretations of Shakespearean characters. In terms of his screen roles, he is probably best known as Dr...

's GI Hamlet in the 1940s. The run's popularity was due in no small part to the attention Burton received for his romance with Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor

Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...

 (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. 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

Tony Award

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...

 nomination for his performance. Some thought the most distinguished aspect of the production was Hume Cronyn

Hume Cronyn

Hume Blake Cronyn, OC was a Canadian actor of stage and screen, who enjoyed a long career, often appearing professionally alongside his second wife, Jessica Tandy.-Early life:...

’s performance as a briefcase-bearing, pedantic but not altogether foolish Polonius

Polonius

Polonius is a character in William Shakespeare's Hamlet. He is King Claudius's chief counsellor, and the father of Ophelia and Laertes. Polonius connives with Claudius to spy on Hamlet...

, which won him the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play

Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play

This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for the Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play. The award has been presented since 1949.-1950s:* 1951: Eli Wallach – The Rose Tattoo* 1952: John Cromwell – Point of No Return...

. Eileen Herlie

Eileen Herlie

Eileen Herlie was a Scottish-American actress.-Life and career:Eileen Herlie was born Eileen Isobel Herlihy to a Catholic father and a Protestant mother in Glasgow, Scotland, and was one of five children. Herlie was trained as a theatre actress. Among her West End London theatre successes were The...

, who played Queen Gertrude, had already played the role in Laurence Olivier's Oscar-winning 1948 film version

Hamlet (1948 film)

Hamlet is a 1948 British film adaptation of William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, adapted and directed by and starring Sir Laurence Olivier. Hamlet was Olivier's second film as director, and also the second of the three Shakespeare films that he directed...

. Less favorably received were Linda Marsh

Linda Marsh

Linda Marsh, an American actress of film, stage, and television, was born in New York City on February 8, 1939. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Elia Kazan's 1963 film America, America...

 and Alfred Drake

Alfred Drake

Alfred Drake was an American actor and singer.-Biography:Born as Alfred Capurro in New York City, the son of parents emigrated from Recco, Genoa, Drake began his Broadway career while still a student at Brooklyn College...

, whom Gielgud had considered replacing with Sarah Miles

Sarah Miles

-Early life and career:Sarah Miles was born in the small town of Ingatestone, Essex, in South East England.She first attended Roedean but at the age of 15 she enrolled at RADA, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art...

 as Ophelia

Ophelia

Ophelia is a fictional character in the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes, and potential wife of Prince Hamlet.-Plot:...

 and either Harry Andrews

Harry Andrews

Harry Fleetwood Andrews, CBE was an English film actor known for his frequent portrayals of tough military officers. His performance as Sergeant Major Wilson in The Hill alongside Sean Connery earned Andrews the 1965 National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actor and a nomination for the...

 or himself as Claudius

Claudius

Claudius , was Roman Emperor from 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, he was the son of Drusus and Antonia Minor. He was born at Lugdunum in Gaul and was the first Roman Emperor to be born outside Italy...

 in rehearsals. Interest in the production was so great that it inspired books by cast members William Redfield

William Redfield (actor)

William Redfield was an American actor and author who appeared in numerous theatrical, film, radio, and television roles.-Acting career:...

 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).

Film

A filmed record was created by recording three live performances on camera from June 30 through July 1 using a process called Electronovision and then editing them into a single film.

Theatrical release

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.”

Home video

By contractual agreement, all prints of the film were to have been destroyed after its theatrical run. However, by chance, a single print was discovered in Richard Burton’s garage following his death, and his widow allowed it to be distributed on VHS, and later on DVD. The film was originally titled Hamlet, but the VHS and DVD covers read 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

Compact Disc

The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

. 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

George Rose (actor)

\...

Player King - George Voskovec

Voltemand - Philip Coolidge

Laertes - John Cullum

John Cullum

John Cullum is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in many stage musicals and dramas, including On the Twentieth Century and Shenandoah , winning the Tony Awards for Best Leading Actor in a Musical for each...

Francisco/ Fortinbras - Michael Ebert

Reynaldo/Osric - Dillon Evans

Rosencrantz - Clement Fowler

Lucianus - Geoff Garland

Marcellus/Priest - Barnard Hughes

Barnard Hughes

Bernard Aloysius Kiernan “Barnard” Hughes was an American actor of theater and film. Hughes became famous for a variety of roles; his most notable roles came after middle age, and he was often cast as a dithering authority figure or grandfatherly elder.-Personal life:Hughes was born in Bedford...

Ophelia - Linda Marsh

Linda Marsh

Linda Marsh, an American actress of film, stage, and television, was born in New York City on February 8, 1939. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Elia Kazan's 1963 film America, America...

Horatio - Robert Milli

Cornelius/ Second Gravedigger/ English Ambassador - Hugh Alexander

Bernardo/Ensemble - Robert Burr

Player Queen - Christopher Culkin

Kit Culkin

Christopher Cornelius "Kit" Culkin is an American stage actor, most famous for being the father of Macaulay Culkin, of Home Alone fame, as well as his productions on Broadway.-Life and career:...

Ensemble - Alex Giannini

Ghost - John Gielgud

Ensemble - Claude Harz

Player Prologue/Ensemble- John Hetherington

Ensemble - Gerome Ragni

Gerome Ragni

Gerome Bernard Ragni was an American actor, singer and songwriter, best known as the co-author of the groundbreaking 1960s Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical.-Early life:...

Ensemble - Linda Seff

Gentleman - Richard L. Sterne

Ensemble - Carol Teitel

Ensemble - Frederick Young