The Pickwick Papers (1952)

The Pickwick Club sends Mr. Pickwick and a group of friends to travel across England and to report back on the interesting things they find. In the course of their travels, they repeatedly ... See full summary »

Director:

Noel Langley

Writers:

Charles Dickens (novel), Noel Langley

Stars:

James Hayter, James Donald, Nigel Patrick

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
James Hayter	...	Samuel Pickwick
James Donald	...	Nathaniel Winkle
Nigel Patrick	...	Mr. Jingle
Joyce Grenfell	...	Mrs. Leo Hunter
Hermione Gingold	...	Miss Tompkins
Hermione Baddeley	...	Mrs. Bardell
Donald Wolfit	...	Sergeant Buzfuz
Harry Fowler	...	Sam Weller
Kathleen Harrison	...	Rachel Wardle
Alexander Gauge	...	Tracy Tupman
Lionel Murton	...	Augustus Snodgrass
Diane Hart	...	Emily Wardle
Joan Heal	...	Isabella Wardle
William Hartnell	...	Irate Cabman
Athene Seyler	...	Miss Witherfield

Storyline

The Pickwick Club sends Mr. Pickwick and a group of friends to travel across England and to report back on the interesting things they find. In the course of their travels, they repeatedly encounter the friendly but disreputable Mr. Jingle, who becomes a continual source of trouble for all who know him. Pickwick himself is the victim of a number of misunderstandings that bring him both embarrassment and problems with the law.

---

Plot Keywords:

charles dickens | based on novel

---

Taglines:

Triumphantly brought to the screen for the first time! Another Dickens treasure springs to life in the rich traditions of "David Copperfield", "A Tale of Two Cities", "Great Expectations", and "Oliver Twist" !

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 May 1954 (USA)

Also Known As:

As Aventuras de Pickwick

Filming Locations:

Nettlefold Studios, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

George Minter Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first film of June Thorburn.

---

Quotes

Samuel Pickwick: [to Mr. Jingle] Sir! I have only this to say to you, sir: I might have taken a greater avenge for the indignities which I suffered at your hands; but I will content myself with exposing you, sir - which is a duty I feel I owe to society.
Mr. Jingle: [to the others present] Good fellow, Pickwick... fine heart... a stout old boy... but a little odd... slightly eccentric.
Samuel Pickwick: I will add this, sir: I consider you to be a ruffian, sir. And a rascal, sir. And worse than any man I've ever seen... or even heard of!
Mr. Nupkins: Sir!...
[...]

---

Connections

Referenced in Whose Line Is It Anyway?: Episode #3.8 (1991)

User Reviews

A Good Adaptation

Although he wrote "Sketches By Boz" (hence his lifelong nickname) before this novel, "Pickwick Papers" was the work which grounded Dickens reputation. His third book "Oliver Twist" cemented it - by showing him a perceptive social critic and serious (rather than comic) novelist. George Orwell, in his essay on Charles Dickens, says that many people regretted he never could have continued writing the pure comic novels like "Pickwick", but Orwell pointed out that no serious novelist can do that if they wish to show growth. It's true, although some (P.G.Wodehouse, for example) could continue to turn out successfully funny books all the time. But we would have missed "David Copperfield", "A Tale of Two Cities", and "Great Expectations" if Dickens just remained a funny writer.

"Pickwick" is about 850 pages long, and has a shaggy dog construction. Dickens wrote a picaresque novel here, with the Pickwick Club members exploring England, and falling into many misadventures. They are supposed to be sending papers back to their club about their adventures, for they are a learned society. In one great moment in the novel (but not in the movie, unfortunately), they think they find a curiosity - a stone with the words "Bilst umpshi mark +). Their paper on this gains them immense public adulation for their scholarship, but one critic (who is kicked out of the Pickwick Club) investigates and says it should say "Bill Stumps, his mark "+". Nobody cares about the nay-sayer.

One aspect of the novel that is not in the film was Dickens addition of about seven or eight short stories the group hears or reads while on their tours. Dickens wanted to vary his novel, and he would do this again in "Nicholas Nickleby" briefly at the start of that novel. In 1841 Dickens began a large scale literary project called "Master Humphrey's Clock" in which Master Humphrey and his friends (including Samuel Pickwick, Sam Weller, and Tony Weller) tell stories, but two of the stories expanded into full scale novels: "The Old Curiosity Shop" and "Barnaby Rudge". After "Master Humphrey's Clock" Dickens never again wrote a book of just short stories (his "Christmas Novels" were not written and published together but over the years). An occasional short story like "Hunted Down" was published on its own.

The film is a nice distillation of the best sequences in the novel, such as the great lawsuit of "Bardell v. Pickwick" (Dickens first magnificent swipe at British law). Of particular notice in the film is the performances of Nigel Patrick as the trouble making scamp Jingle, and James Hayter as Pickwick (his only real starring role). Jingle (who's dialog looks like a telegram in the novel)is played as a charming rogue by Patrick. When he nearly gets Mr. Winkle (James Douglas) into a duel with two dyspeptic military doctors (with the immortal names of "Dr. Payne" and "Dr. Slammer"), after one diatribe from them Patrick riffles a deck of cards like a "Bronx Cheer". Hayter, a popular character actor in British film and television, had a smooth and warm sounding voice, and (in observing prison conditions) makes the phrase "How pitiable" actually sound correct for the first time. It is not the complete novel - which you should read and enjoy - but it is a nice introduction to it.