Le duel d’Hamlet
(1900) French
B&W : [?] 174 feet?
Directed by (unknown)

Cast: Sarah Bernhardt [Hamlet], Pierre Magnier [Laertes]

Produced by Clément-Maurice Gratioulet. From the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. / [?] 35mm spherical format? Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre sound-on-cylinder sound system. / Bernhardt’s film debut. While other Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre films featured a prerecorded synchronized soundtrack on Lioretographe sound cylinders, this film was shot silent, without any spoken dialogue, and presented only with live sound effects of swords clashing. The film was distributed in France after 1907 by Urban Eclipse. The film was released in the USA (at 174 feet) by Kleine Optical Company in 1908. / Silent film.

Drama: Historical.

Survival Status: Print exists in the Filmmuseum Berlin Deutsch Kinemathek film archive : A print may exist in the Cinémathèque Française film archive.

Keywords: Authors: William Shakespeare (1564?-1616)

Listing updated: 3 October 2009.

References: Ball-Shakespeare pp. 64a, 386; Bardèche-History p. 45; Barry-Griffith p. 8; Card-Seductive p. 25; Geduld-Birth p. 53; Kerr-Silent p. 7; Menefee-Bernhardt pp. 89-90, 91, 92, 96-97, 151, 153; Shipman-Cinema p. 38; Thompson-Lost p. ix.