Great Expectations (1946)

Directed by David Lean. Starring John Mills, Finlay Currie, Martita Hunt, Francis L. Sullivan, Alec Guinness, Valerie Hobson, Bernard Miles, Anthony Wager, Jean Simmons, Freda Jackson, Ivor Barnard, Eileen Erskine, John Forrest.

Classic film version of the Charles Dickens novel does what any great literary adaptation should do: bring the best aspects of the source material to life, excise the elements that are less successful or don’t translate as well. After coming of age, orphan “Pip” (Mills as an adult, Wager as a boy) becomes a “young gentleman of great expectations” thanks to a mysterious benefactor. Refined, vibrant treatment from director Lean; strong performances from most the cast (particularly Sullivan as the sonorous Mr. Jaggers, Hunt as the eccentric spinster Miss Havisham, and Guinness as the “pale young gentleman” Mr. Pocket). John Bryan and Wilfred Shingleton’s vivid set design (particularly Miss Havisham’s decrepit mansion) is stylishly photographed by Guy Green—all three won Oscars for their work. Only notable misstep: Hobson’s failure to fully realize the cold, heartless beauty that is the character of Estella. Simmons, who plays Estella as a girl, would play Miss Havisham in a miniseries adaptation more than forty years later.

90/100