PETER CUSHING: HAMLET : (1948)

Peter Cushing as the sinister Beau Brummell of the Danish Court 'Osric' with Terence Morgan as 'Laertes' in HAMLET (1948) directed by Laurence Olivier. Peter's brother-in-law Reginald Beck (who had edited Olivier's HENRY V) was associate producer.

Cushing said of Olivier: 'When the production started, Larry was a kind, considerate, patient director...but as time went by he became more and more autocratic...towards the end it was 'do it this way, do it that way, and don't argue, goddamit!' '. The film is beautifully shot in B&W and takes obvious visual cues from Orson Welles as well as Universal horror. Cushing also said: 'If Hamlet had been a Hammer film...they'd say 'This is disgusting! Dreadful! All these deaths. Think of the bodies littering the floor!' ' The film also features great genre actors Patrick Troughton and Niall MacGinnis, and uncredited extra work by Doreen Lawrence (Peter's first love and one-time fiancé), Desmond Llewelyn, Patrick Macnee and Christopher Lee (making this the first film Cushing and Lee ever appeared in together).