YMMV / Hamlet (1948)

• Audience-Coloring Adaptation: For years, this was seen as the definitive version of Hamlet. The titular character has often been played by older actors, following the lead of Laurence Olivier - when the prince's age in the original text is vague but under thirty for sure.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Jean Simmons' heartbreaking performance as Ophelia got her a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the Oscars, and led to a very prolific career in Hollywood. She was mostly unknown at this point.
• Retroactive Recognition:
  • Both Christopher Lee and Peter Cushing have small roles in the film, and this marks their first collaboration together before The Curse of Frankenstein.
  • Patrick Troughton is the Player King.
  • A gravedigger is played by Stanley Holloway, who would later be best known for playing Alfred P. Doolittle in My Fair Lady.
• Squick: This version really plays up the Oedipus complex Hamlet has towards his mother, and the fact that the actress is actually younger just makes it more disturbing.
• They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: As noted above, cutting Rosencrantz and Guildernstern out of the story was met with criticism over the years. Laurence Olivier's defences that the story needed drastic cuts to shorten the run time were refuted when the Franco Zeffirelli 1990 version included them and remained a shorter length.
• Too Bleak, Stopped Caring: Critics over the years have slated the film for cutting Rosencrantz and Guildernstern, robbing the story of its comic relief and thereby making it a bit too dark and bleak.
• Tough Act to Follow: Believe it or not, some critics felt that while a good film, it didn't measure up to Laurence Olivier's adaptation of Henry V - which had come four years previously.

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