One of the first cinematic adaptations of Charles Dickens’ classic novel and to many critics it is also the finest. A young orphan boy comes into money but has no idea of the identity of his benefactor.
Young Pip lives on the Kent Marshes with his older sister and her husband Joe, the local blacksmith. Helping an escaped convict one winter’s morning is to have massive repercussions. But the help he gives is of little importance to Pip – the man is recaptured and he is invited to become the playmate of Estella (a young Jean Simmons), ward of the strange Miss Favisham (Martita Hunt). Jilted at the aisle, Favisham has raised Estella to break the hearts of all men. But the young Pip remains besotted with her.
Years pass until the arrival at the smithy of London lawyer Mr Jaggers (Francis L. Sullivan) with news that Pip (John Mills) is to move to London immediately and live a life of a gentleman. Jaggers refuses to provide him with the name but Pip assumes it to be Miss Favisham and with the hope he is to be betrothed to Estella (Valerie Hobson). But the young gentleman is wrong in his assumptions and finds himself not only on the margins of Estella’s romantic interests but also plotting to break the law as the real indentity of his benefactor is revealed.
Early scenes are atmospherically shot in stark black and white as director David Lean looks to intense realism of life on the Kent Marshes in the early 1800s. The narrative is at it strongest in these early scenes of fog and the decay of Miss Favisham’s home. But as the narrative moves into the older Pip’s narrative, it frustratingly slips into a heavily edited melodrama to achieve a two hour running time. It’s beautiful to look at (cinematographer Guy Green) and has plenty of thrills – with the result that Lean’s film would have benefitted from an extra 20-30 minutes (a lesson he learned for future adaptations of classic novels).
Nominated for 5 Oscars in 1948 including best film, director & screenplay, won 2 for cinematography and art/set design.
Rating: 64%
Director: David Lean (A Passage to India, Brief Encounter)
Writer: David Lean (A Passage to India, Brief Encounter), Ronald Neame (Blithe Spirit, This Happy Breed), Anthony Havelock-Allan (Blithe Spirit, This Happy Breed) – adapted from the novel by Charles Dickens
Main cast: John Mills (Ryan’s Daughter, The Family Way), Valerie Hobson (Kind Hearts and Coronets, Bride of Frankenstein), Francis L. Sullivan (Oliver Twist, Joan of Arc)
Cinematographer: Guy Green (Oliver Twist, Captain Horatio Hornblower)
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