File:1921 Gade (film).jpg

{de} Hamlet / {en} Hamlet: The Drama of Vengeance [1] (Germany, 1921), directed by Svend Gade (with Heinz Schall), starring Asta Nielsen (Hamlet).

Abstract

As explained in the opening titles, in this interpretation, inspired by Edward P. Vining's book The Mystery of Hamlet: An Attempt to Solve an Old Problem (1881), Hamlet is born female and disguised as a male to preserve the lineage: "Hamlet is a woman!"

Asta Nielsen was not the first woman to play the role of Hamlet. Sarah Bernhardt, for example, played the role on both stage and in a 1900 short film, becoming the first person to ever play Hamlet on film. Other women to play the part on stage include Sarah Siddons, Julia Glover, Charlotte Cushman, and Alice Marriott.