Hamile

Alternative title
Tonga Hamlet, The
Synopsis
Film version of Hamlet of a stage production. It is spoken in English, and set among the Frafra people of northern Ghana. performed by students of the University of Ghana School of Music and Drama.
Language
English
Country
Ghana
Medium
Film
Technical information
Black-and-white / Sound
Year of release
1964
Duration
120 mins

Credits

Director
Terry Bishop
Producer
Sam Aryeetey
Cinematographer
R.O. Fenuku
Writer
William Shakespeare
Music
J.N. Nketia
Contributor
Joe De Graft
Cast
Kofi Middleton-MendsHamile (Hamlet)
Joe AkonorKing (Claudius)
Frances SeyQueen (Gertrude)
Ernest AbbequayeIbrahim (Polonius)
Mary YirenkiHabiba (Ophelia)
Auhofe OkuampaGravedigger (1)
Franklin AkrofiBanda (Barnardo)
Fred Akuffo-LarteyOsuru (Osric)
Gad GaduganAbdulai (Guildenstern)
Gad GaduganAbdulai (Rosencrantz)
Jacob GharbinMusa (Marcellus)
Kofi YirenkiLaitu (Laertes)
Martin OwusuHoratio
Samuel AdumuahAwudu (Reynaldo)
Sandy ArkhurstGhost
Shanco BruceGravedigger (2)

Additional Details

Production type
Fiction Films
Historical period
1960s
Plays
Hamlet
Subjects
Drama
Keywords
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); Black actors; Student productions

Notes

Notes
The BFI National Archive holds master preservation material (no viewing copy) of Reel 2 only (2005). Footage shows the entrance of Karim (Horatio), telling Hamile (Hamlet) about the ghost, to Ibrahim (Polonious) giving advice to Laitu (Laertes) and speaking to Habiba (Ophelia).

The Library of Congress holds master material only, no viewing copy (9/2007). The print is c120min.
General
Produced for stage by Joe De Graft.
History
Shown in Great Britain at the Commonwealth Film Festival 1965. The film was never released theatrically in the US but was shown on NET in January 1970. The LC copy comes from this transmission.
Textual information
`The text is unaltered except where it would not make sense in a Frafra community, or where an archaic word obscures the meaning’. (PR handout).
Reviews
Variety 20 October 1965. Holland, David. Films and Filming 12 (October 1965), p. 36-37.

Production Company

Name

Ghana Film Industry Corporation

Archive

Name

BFI National Archive

Web
http://www.bfi.org.uk/archive-collections/searching-access-collections/research-viewing-services External site opens in new window
Phone
020 7255 1444
Fax
020 7436 0165
Address
21 Stephen Street
London
W1T 1LN
Name

Library of Congress, Motion Picture, Broadcasting & Recorded Sound Division

Web
http://catalog.loc.gov/ External site opens in new window
Phone
(20) 707-8572
Fax
(20) 707-237’1
Address
Motion Picture & Television Reading Room
James Madison Building, LM 336
101 Independence Avenue, SE
Washington, D.C.
20540-4690
United States

How to cite this record

Shakespeare, "Hamile". https://learningonscreen.ac.uk/shakespeare/search/index.php/title/av36963 (Accessed 12 Nov 2024)