Hamlet (1948)

Directed by Laurence Olivier

Starring Laurence Olivier, Basil Sydney, Eileen Herlie, Jean Simmons, Norman Wooland, Felix Aylmer, Terence Morgan, Russell Thorndike, John Laurie, Esmond Knight, Anthony Quayle, Niall McGinnis, Harcourt Williams, Patrick Troughton, Tony Tarver, Peter Cushing, and Stanley Holloway

The plays of William Shakespeare have been made into a great many films, but this is the only one, as of 2009, that has won the Academy Award for Best Picture. This is a very well acted version of one of Shakespeare's most famous plays. Olivier made a career of bringing the Bard's works to the screen, much like Kenneth Branagh would do to a degree in the late 80s and 90s. Olivier made a wise decision in hiring theatre actors rather than movie stars, as a lot of celebrity cameos, like those in Branagh's Hamlet, can be very distracting. He makes appropriate cuts, as a film version of Shakespeare's entire play would run over four hours. In the end, it is probably not the best, but among the better, Shakespearean film adaptations.

Other nominees: Johnny Belinda (Jean Negulesco), The Red Shoes (Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger), The Snake Pit (Anatole Litvak), and The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (John Huston)