''Hamlet'', or ''Hamlet: The Drama of Vengeance'', is a 1921 German film adaptation of the

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

play ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'' starring and produced by

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

actress

Asta Nielsen The General Students' Committee (German: Allgemeiner Studierendenausschuss) or AStA, is the acting executive board and the external representing agency of the (constituted) student body at universities in most German states. It is therefore consid ...

. It was directed by

Svend Gade Svend Lauritz Gade (9 February 1877 – 25 June 1952) was a Danish theatre director, set designer, screenwriter and film director. He worked in America and Germany as well as his native country.Langman p.263 Selected filmography * ''The Maharaja's ...

and

Heinz Schall The H. J. Heinz Company is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. Heinz manufactures thousands of food products in plants on six contin ...

. The film was shot at the

Johannisthal Studios The Johannisthal Studios were film studios located in the Berlin area of Johannisthal. Founded in 1920 on the site of a former airfield, they were a centre of production during the Weimar and Nazi eras. Nearly four hundred films were made at Johan ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. In this interpretation, inspired by Edward P. Vining's book ''The Mystery of Hamlet'', Hamlet is born female and disguised as a male to preserve the lineage. The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' said the film "holds a secure place in class with the best."

Plot

The opening titles explain that this film is based on a theory from an American literary researcher: "Hamlet is a woman!" The prologue:

Queen Gertrude In William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet'', Gertrude is Hamlet's mother and Queen of Denmark. Her relationship with Hamlet is somewhat turbulent, since he resents her marrying her husband's brother Claudius after he murdered the king (young Hamle ...

of Denmark gives birth to a girl. When she hears that the king has been killed in a battle with Norway, she announces that she has given birth to a boy named Hamlet, as only males can inherent the crown. Then, to the queen's shock, the king comes back home alive. They decide they can't take back the queen's proclamation, and raise Hamlet as a boy. Part one: the solitary Prince Hamlet grows up, and attends the

University of Wittenberg Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg (german: Martin-Luther-Universität Halle-Wittenberg), also referred to as MLU, is a public, research-oriented university in the cities of Halle and Wittenberg and the largest and oldest university i ...

. Hamlet, wistful, stares out the window at people socializing, and an

intertitle In films, an intertitle, also known as a title card, is a piece of filmed, printed text edited into the midst of (i.e., ''inter-'') the photographed action at various points. Intertitles used to convey character dialogue are referred to as "dialo ...

describes the prince as having clipped wings. But Hamlet does make friends with

Horatio Horatio is an English male given name, an Italianized form of the ancient Roman Latin '' nomen'' (name) '' Horatius'', from the Roman '' gens'' (clan) '' Horatia''. The modern Italian form is ''Orazio'', the modern Spanish form ''Horacio''. It app ...

, whom Hamlet is visibly attracted to, and

Fortinbras Fortinbras is either of two minor fictional characters from William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Hamlet''. The more notable is a Norwegian crown prince with a few brief scenes in the play, who delivers the final lines that represent a hopeful future ...

from Norway. Meanwhile, the king's brother

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...

kills the king with a

venomous snake Venomous snakes are Species (biology), species of the Suborder (biology), suborder Snake, Serpentes that are capable of producing Snake venom, venom, which they use for killing prey, for defense, and to assist with digestion of their prey. The v ...

and inherits the crown. Part two: Hamlet returns home and is outraged to find that Claudius and Gertrude aren't mourning Hamlet's father, but instead are celebrating their upcoming marriage. Hamlet talks to the

groundskeeper Groundskeeping is the activity of tending an area of land for aesthetic or functional purposes, typically in an institutional setting. It includes mowing grass, trimming hedges, pulling weeds, planting flowers, etc. The U.S. Department of Labor e ...

who found the king's body, who reveals there was a snake from the castle

dungeon A dungeon is a room or cell in which prisoners are held, especially underground. Dungeons are generally associated with medieval castles, though their association with torture probably belongs more to the Renaissance period. An oubliette (from ...

nearby. Hamlet investigates the dungeon and finds Claudius's dagger. Hamlet decides to investigate further, and to feign madness so that Claudius won't consider the prince a threat. Acting mad, Hamlet carves a faux crown for Claudius, then makes it disappear with sleight of hand. Part three: Horatio lies with his head on Hamlet's lap. Horatio reveals that he's attracted to the noblewoman

Ophelia Ophelia () is a character in William Shakespeare's drama ''Hamlet'' (1599–1601). She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes and potential wife of Prince Hamlet, who, due to Hamlet's actions, ends up in ...

and Hamlet becomes jealous and decides to go woo Ophelia. Hamlet caresseses Ophelia and kisses her fingers and arm. Then, alone, Hamlet says: "Now, Horatio, you are mine". Part four: Hamlet's antagonistic feelings towards Ophelia leak out: the prince brushes her off in person and writes a letter calling her a numbskull. Hamlet's father urges the prince to avenge him in a dream. Hamlet doesn't have the will to kill, however, and instead considers suicide, before saying: "Too weak to kill, and too weak to take my own life!" To determine if Claudius is guilty, Hamlet has an acting troupe perform a play in which a king's brother kills a king. When the king stops the production, Hamlet is convinced, running to Claudius's room with a sword. But Hamlet finds Claudius praying, and decides not to kill him. Later, Hamlet visits the queen, and spots someone moving behind a curtain. Hamlet stabs and kills him, thinking it is Claudius, but it's Ophelia's father

Polonius Polonius is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet''. He is chief counsellor of the play's ultimate villain, Claudius, and the father of Laertes and Ophelia. Generally regarded as wrong in every judgment he makes over the course of ...

. Part five: Claudius realizes Hamlet intended to kill him, and sends Hamlet to Norway with two companions to see Fortinbras. Claudius gives the companions a secret letter instructing Fortinbras to have Hamlet beheaded. Hamlet, however, discovers the note, and cleverly changes it. When, ultimately, Fortinbras reads the note and has Hamlet's shocked traveling companions dragged away to be beheaded, Hamlet smiles. Hamlet tells Fortinbras about Claudius's misdeeds and Fortinbras vows to help usurp Claudius. Part six: Ophelia has gone mad after her father's death. She drowns herself, devastating her brother

Laertes In Greek mythology, Laertes (; grc, Λαέρτης, Laértēs ; also spelled Laërtes) was the king of the Cephallenians, an ethnic group who lived both on the Ionian islands and on the mainland, which he presumably inherited from his father A ...

and Horatio. Later, Claudius is drinking merrily when, to his shock, Hamlet appears. Hamlet encourages the king and his companions to keep drinking, until they are in a drunken slumber. Hamlet sets fire to the room. Claudius wakes and fights with Hamlet. Hamlet escapes and leaves Claudius and his associates to die. When Gertrude discovers what happened, she conspires with Laertes to get revenge. She sets up a duel between the two, and poisons both Laertes's sword and a drink intended for Hamlet. During the duel, the queen accidentally drinks the poisoned drink. She calls out, and Hamlet turns. Laertes stabs Hamlet in the chest. Horatio goes to the prince and starts to unbutton Hamlet's top, but Hamlet stops him. Hamlet collapses in Horatio's arms, and dies. Horatio, caressing Hamlet, realizes Hamlet has breasts. "Only in death is your secret revealed!" and "Too late, my love, too late!" Horatio kisses Hamlet's lips and cries. Then, he covers Hamlet's body. Fortinbras arrives, and is saddened, describing Hamlet as having broken wings. His men bear Hamlet's body away.

Cast

Prince Hamlet A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

Paul Conradi Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

King Hamlet The ghost of Hamlet's father is a character from William Shakespeare's play ''Hamlet''. In the stage directions he is referred to as "Ghost". His name is also Hamlet, and he is referred to as ''King'' Hamlet to distinguish him from the Prince, ...

* Mathilde Brandt as

Eduard von Winterstein Eduard Clemens Franz Anna Freiherr von Wangenheim (1 August 1871 – 22 July 1961), known as Eduard von Winterstein, was an Austrian-German film actor who appeared in over one hundred fifty German films during the silent and sound eras. He was ...

King Claudius King Claudius is a fictional character and the main antagonist of William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Hamlet''. He is the brother to King Hamlet, second husband to Gertrude and uncle and later stepfather to Prince Hamlet. He obtained the throne of ...

Heinz Stieda The H. J. Heinz Company is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The company was founded by Henry J. Heinz in 1869. Heinz manufactures thousands of food products in plants on six conti ...

Hans Junkermann Hennes "Hans" Junkermann (6 May 1934 – 11 April 2022) was a German professional racing cyclist who won 35 road races in 18 seasons from 1956 to 1973. He won the German National Road Race in 1959, 1960, and 1961. Biography Junkermann was bor ...

*Anton De Verdier as

*Lilly Jacobson as

Fritz Achterberg Fritz Achterberg (2 November 1880 – 12 October 1971) was a German stage and film actor. Selected filmography * '' Rose on the Heath'' (1916) * '' Augen'' (1919) * '' The Swabian Maiden'' (1919) * ''Anna Karenina'' (1919) * ''Bettler GmbH'' (19 ...

Background

Asta Nielsen was not the first woman to play the role of Hamlet.

Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 or 23 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including '' La Dame Aux Camel ...

, for example, played the role on both stage and in a 1900 short film, becoming the first person to ever play Hamlet on film. Other women to play the part on stage include

Sarah Siddons Sarah Siddons (''née'' Kemble; 5 July 1755 – 8 June 1831) was a Welsh actress, the best-known tragedienne of the 18th century. Contemporaneous critic William Hazlitt dubbed Siddons as "tragedy personified". She was the elder sister of John ...

Julia Glover Julia Betterton Glover (8 January 1779 – 16 July 1850) was an Irish-born stage actress well known for her comic roles in the late 18th and 19th centuries. Biography Glover was born Julia Butterton in 1779 or 1781 in Newry, Ireland. In Lo ...

Charlotte Cushman Charlotte Saunders Cushman (July 23, 1816 – February 18, 1876) was an American stage actress. Her voice was noted for its full contralto register, and she was able to play both male and female parts. She lived intermittently in Rome, in an expa ...

, and

Alice Marriott Alice Sheets Marriott (October 19, 1907 – April 17, 2000) was an American entrepreneur and philanthropist. She was married to J. Willard Marriott, founder of the hospitality company Marriott Corp. Early life and career Marriott was born in ...

. The film was inspired by the 1881 book ''The Mystery of Hamlet: An Attempt to Solve an Old Problem'' by American writer Edward P. Vining, who argues that Prince Hamlet is a fundamentally feminine character and best conceived as being secretly a woman.

Reception

''The New York Times'', in a contemporaneous review, called it an "extraordinary work", said "It holds a secure place in the class with the best", and praised Asta Nielsen's performance. The ''Times'' also called it one of the 10 best films of the year.

Notes

References

External links

Full film
on Youtube with improvised soundtrack
Full film
on MIT's Global Shakespeares Video and Performance Archive

- an examination of the idea of Hamlet as a woman, with a focus on this film * {{Authority control Films based on Hamlet 1921 films 1921 drama films German silent feature films Films of the Weimar Republic German black-and-white films German films based on plays Films shot at Johannisthal Studios German drama films Cross-dressing in film Fratricide in fiction Silent drama films 1920s German films