Hamlet

Forbes-Robertson was known by London's theatre critics as 'the supreme Hamlet of his time'. This film, made on location at a specially built castle on the Dorset coast under the auspices of producer Cecil Hepworth, attempts to preserve his stage performance, as in aspic. Featured alongside the actor-knight are his American wife Gertrude Elliott (Ophelia) and the rest of the cast from a famous Drury Lane production. It's fascinating to see Forbes-Robertson's mannered, gestural performance, but at 60, he was 35 years too old for the part. Shakespeare without sound: a typically quixotic endeavour from Britain's pioneer film-makers.