- Danish silent movie-star Asta Nielsen formed her own production company to make this film, in which new elements are combined with features (and a few lines) familiar from Shakespeare's version of the legend. The most important of these changes sees Hamlet made into a female character - a princess forced to masquerade as a man by her scheming mother; from this follows Hamlet's secret passion for Horatio and rivalry with Ophelia for his love. Queen Gertrude is here presented as conspiring in her first husband's murder, and the old king's ghost does not appear - young Hamlet merely hears a voice from the tomb and (apparently) dreams of him. In addition, Hamlet now kills Claudius (in a fire) immediately upon returning from Norway with an army led by old school- friend Fortinbras, and it falls to Gertrude to engineer Hamlet's death in the fencing match as well as kill herself by accidentally drinking the poisoned wine.—Mark Doran <za13@dial.pipex.com>
- Old King Hamlet must have a son to be heir to his throne. After he goes off to war, his wife gives birth to a daughter. Knowing the king will be terribly disappointed, the queen decides to disguise the girl as a boy. Many years later, Hamlet, still pretending to be a young man, goes to university at Wittenberg where she falls in love with Horatio. Meanwhile, back at Elsinore, the Queen is actively plotting with Claudius to kill King Hamlet. Horatio returns to Elsinore for the kings funeral with Hamlet and falls in love with Ophelia. Hamlet courts Ophelia in order to keep Horatio for herself. Hamlet discovers her fathers murderer, accidentally kills Polonius, is sent off with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, is intercepted by her friend from university, Fortinbras of Norway, who obligingly does away with R & G for her. When she returns to Elsinore, she finds Claudius drunk and kills him. The queen then plots with Laertes to kill Hamlet. The queen accidentally drinks the poisoned wine. Hamlet is cut with the poisoned sword. Horatio, embracing Hamlet in death, discovers what no one else had known before: that there was more to Hamlet than meets the eye.
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