Great Expectations (1946)

Director:

David Lean

Writers:

Charles Dickens (by)
David Lean (adapted for the screen by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

26 December 1946 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Romance

Tagline:

From the Vivid Pages of Charles Dickens' Masterpiece !

Plot:

A humble orphan suddenly becomes a gentleman with the help of an unknown benefactor.

Plot Keywords:

Benefactor | Blacksmith | Orphan | Boy | Secret

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

John Mills	...	Pip
Tony Wager	...	Young Pip (as Anthony Wager)
Valerie Hobson	...	Estella
Jean Simmons	...	Young Estella
Bernard Miles	...	Joe Gargery
Francis L. Sullivan	...	Mr. Jaggers
Finlay Currie	...	Magwitch
Martita Hunt	...	Miss Havisham
Alec Guinness	...	Herbert Pocket
Ivor Barnard	...	Mr. Wemmick
Freda Jackson	...	Mrs.Joe
Eileen Erskine	...	Biddy
George Hayes	...	Convict
Hay Petrie	...	Uncle Pumblechook
John Forrest	...	The Pale Young Gentleman
Torin Thatcher	...	Bentley Drummle
O.B. Clarence	...	The Aged Parent (as O. B. Clarence)
John Burch	...	Mr. Wopsle
Richard George	...	The Sergeant
Grace Denbigh Russell	...	Mrs. Wopsle (as Grace Denbigh-Russell)
Everley Gregg	...	Sarah Pocket
Anne Holland	...	Relation
Frank Atkinson	...	Mike
Gordon Begg	...	Night Porter
Edie Martin	...	Mrs. Whimple
Walford Hyden	...	The Dancing Master
Roy Arthur	...	Galley Steersman
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Howard Lang	...	Man Sitting Next to Pip at Magwitch's Trial (uncredited)
Ernie Pratt	...	Police Officer in Boat (uncredited)

Directed by
David Lean

Writing credits
Charles Dickens		(by)
David Lean		(adapted for the screen by) &
Ronald Neame		(adapted for the screen by) &
Anthony Havelock-Allan		(adapted for the screen by) and
Kay Walsh		(adapted for the screen by) &
Cecil McGivern		(adapted for the screen by)

Produced by
Anthony Havelock-Allan	....	executive producer
Ronald Neame	....	producer

Original Music by
Walter Goehr

Cinematography by
Guy Green		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
Jack Harris

Casting by
Pat MacDonnell		(uncredited)
Adele Raymond		(uncredited)
Maude Spector		(uncredited)

Production Design by
John Bryan

Art Direction by
Wilfred Shingleton

Costume Design by
Sophie Devine		(costumes designed by) (as Sophia Harris of Motley)

Makeup Department
George Blackler	....	makeup artist (uncredited)
Ernest Gasser	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Norman Spencer	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
George Pollock	....	assistant director
Eric Braun	....	third assistant director (uncredited)
Philip Shipway	....	second assistant director (uncredited)
Victor Wark	....	second assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
John Elphick	....	chief assistant art director (uncredited)
T. Hopewell Ash	....	draughtsman (uncredited)
William Hutchinson	....	assistant art director (uncredited)

Sound Department
Stanley Lambourne	....	sound recordist
Gordon K. McCallum	....	sound recordist (as Gordon K.McCallum)
Winston Ryder	....	sound editor
Gerry Crampton	....	sound assistant (uncredited)
Bill Daniels	....	dubbing crew (uncredited)
John Dennis	....	production sound mixer (uncredited)
Desmond Dew	....	sound recordist (uncredited)
Charles Knott	....	maintenance engineer (uncredited)
Gordon K. McCallum	....	sound mixer (uncredited)
John W. Mitchell	....	sound effects recordist (uncredited)
George Paternoster	....	boom operator (uncredited)
Jack Slade	....	assistant sound editor (uncredited)
J.B. Smith	....	dubbing crew (uncredited)
C.C. Stevens	....	production sound mixer (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Les Bowie	....	matte painter (uncredited)
Syd Howell	....	back projection (uncredited)
Douglas Woolsey	....	models (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Robert Huke	....	camera operator (as Nigel Huke)
Jim Body	....	focus puller (uncredited)
Peter Davies	....	music sound camera (uncredited)
John Godar	....	focus puller (uncredited)
Tony Hermes	....	clapper loader (uncredited)
Alan Hume	....	second camera operator: second unit (uncredited)
Arthur Ibbetson	....	camera operator: second unit (uncredited)
Skeets Kelly	....	second camera operator (uncredited)
Robert Krasker	....	director of photography: second unit (uncredited)
Henry Slagter	....	clapper loader (uncredited)
Cyril Stanborough	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Ernest Steward	....	director of photography: second unit (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Margaret Furse	....	costumes designer: assisted by

Editorial Department
John Cook	....	second assistant editor (uncredited)
Margery Saunders	....	assistant editor (uncredited)

Music Department
Walter Goehr	....	conductor
Roy Douglas	....	additional orchestrator (uncredited)
John Huntley	....	music technician (uncredited)
Kenneth Pakeman	....	composer: additional music (uncredited)

Other crew
Suria Magito	....	dances arranged by
J. Arthur Rank	....	presenter (as J.Arthur Rank)
Maggie Unsworth	....	continuity (as Margaret Sibley)
John Alderson	....	location manager (uncredited)
Yvonne Axeworthy	....	script supervisor: second unit (uncredited)
Vicky Fuggle	....	production secretary (uncredited)
Martita Hunt	....	voice: cow (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Cineguild (as A Cineguild Production)

Distributors

• General Film Distributors (GFD) (1946) (USA) (theatrical) (released through) (as General Film Distributors Ltd.)
• Universal Pictures (1947) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1975) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• Paramount Pictures (1988) (USA) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (1995) (USA) (video) (laserdisc)
• Criterion Collection, The (1999) (USA) (DVD)
• Koch Media (2003) (Germany) (DVD)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• British Film Institute (BFI) (2006) (UK) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Modern Times (2009) (Greece) (DVD)
• Státní Pujcovna Filmu (194?) (Czechoslovakia) (theatrical)

Other Companies

• BFI National Archive  a restoration by (as the BFI National Archive)
• David Lean Foundation, The  a restoration funded by (as The David Lean Foundation)
• Granada International  a restoration by
• National Symphony Orchestra  music played by (as The National Symphony Orchestra)

Also Known As:

Runtime:

118 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Australia:G | Germany:16 | Sweden:15 | South Korea:15 (2003) | UK:A (original rating) (passed with cuts) | UK:PG (video rating) (1987) (1990) | UK:PG (tv rating) | Finland:K-16 | UK:PG (re-release) (2006)

Filming Locations:

Denham Studios, Denham, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Cineguild

Trivia:

During one scene where she had to carry a candle while walking up the stairs, Jean Simmons' apron caught fire.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: As Pip and Herbert Pocket navigate the rowboat carrying Magwitch to the buoy, its light blinks, signifying that it's electrical; electricity was not in use in early 19th century England.

Quotes:

Magwitch:Keep still, you young devil, or I'll slit your throat!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Good Eats: Crepe Expectations (#5.3)" (2001)

A great film

When David Lean directed Great Expectations, he used black and white, even though color was available. From the very first scene, you see that the black and white brings out a quality in the film, that wouldn't have been achieved with color. The black and white makes the film seem simpler than it really is. Great Expectations is a film, which ends very nicely for the characters, but their journeys throughout the film are not.

Pip sees himself for the rude snob he became, and Estella prides herself for being a heartless, ruthless bitch (for lack of a better word), and Miss Havisham is cold, and simply out to destroy men. The only person in this film who is not arrogant, or evil is the simple Joe.

I am far from a film expert. Infact, I only watched this movie because I am studying Great Expectations at school. However, after hours of in-depth discussion, there is so much more to this film than meets the eye. My favorite scenes are those in the first quarter of an hour. Lean's use of Silhouettes gives the search for the two escaped convicts a feel of war, and creates an atmosphere of tension very well. It also introduces the key characters in the story excellently.

As far as the story goes, I found it much easier on the head to watch than the book was to read. While it wasn't close in length to books i've read before (I think it's shorter than my little brother's "Harry Potter" books), it took me close to 30 hours to read. The movie compacts the majority of the book into 2 hours of film. The exclusion of characters like Orlick I have no problem with, as they are nearly completely irrelevant to the story. Lean explains the death of Pip's sister in less than 10 seconds, while the book takes somewhere in the region of 10 pages.

The acting is excellent. Alec Guinness was the only actor I had heard of, and that was only thanks to George Lucas. John Mills was interesting to watch, and after seeing the movie, I didn't know weather to like Pip for how he ended up, or to see him for the nasty person he had changed into (and come back from).

Only when watching it for the second time, did i realise the thought behind the direction. When Magwitch reappears, the atmosphere from their first meeting is created exactly; even the wind sounds the same. The sets were also incredible, and remade 19th century England perfectly. Ms. Havisham's `Statis House' was particularly memorable for me, as it is exactly how I pictured it from reading.

David Lean's Great Expectations set a benchmark in 1946 for great movies. It was nominated and won several Oscars, and is still enjoyed today. Every aspect of this film was enjoyable, it tells a great story, and if you look closer, you will appreciate the art of film making a little more, as I have.