In the struggle that was British cinema in the late ‘40s/early ‘50s, a Golden Age of Dickens adaptations: David Lean astonishments GREAT EXPECTATIONS/’46 and OLIVER TWIST/’48; the Christmas Carol in SCROOGE/’51; and a darn good shot at THE PICKWICK PAPERS/’52. Plus, from little Ealing Studios, this overlooked NICHOLAS NICKLEBY. With a discursive storyline better served by mini-series (and there’ve since been many), this stripped to the bones version is brisk & bracing, even a bit brusque; but in a good way that doesn’t misrepresent this early novel. (PICKWICK hardly a novel at all, which makes NICKLEBY second only to OLIVER.) Unfortunately, lanky Derek Bond misses star quality as Nickleby, lad of little fortune & many a short term job; but every other piece of the casting puzzle spot on. Particularly the men, glowering Cedric Hardwicke’s saturnine Uncle/’Protector’; Bernard Miles as his revenge-minded clerk; Alfred Drayton’s terrifying Squeers with his sadistic private school and pudgy horror of a son; Stanley Holloway’s hammy theatrical benefactor (just not enough of him); not a weak link in here. And trimming the plot certainly helps tamp down any false sentimentality (Aubrey Woods’ tortured Smike less physically challenged than in other versions), though at this length, Dickens’ ‘rhymed’ plot devices & coincidences do topple onto each other. Still, this is the version to go for after you’ve read the book.
DOUBLE-BILL: Beautifully designed by Michael Relph just before he became an Ealing producer, it’s stylishly directed by Alberto Cavalcanti, who gets the most out of his small budget following his legendary contribution to DEAD OF NIGHT/’45 with Michael Redgrave’s ventriloquist losing himself to his ‘dummy.’ OR: Any of the Dickens films mentioned above.
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