Great Expectations (1974) (TV)

User Rating:

6.0/10   

Director:

Joseph Hardy

Writers:

Charles Dickens (novel)
Sherman Yellen (writer)

Release Date:

22 November 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Charles Dickens' classic tale of Pip, a poor orphan who befriends an escaped convict and who grows up in the company of a bitter old woman...

Plot Keywords:

Escaped Convict | Dickens | Charles Dickens | Remake | Great Expectations

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Michael York	...	Pip
Sarah Miles	...	Estella
James Mason	...	Magwitch
Margaret Leighton	...	Miss Havisham
Robert Morley	...	Uncle Pumblechook
Anthony Quayle	...	Jaggers
Joss Ackland	...	Joe Gargery
Rachel Roberts	...	Mrs. Gargery
Andrew Ray	...	Herbert Pocket
Heather Sears	...	Biddy
Simon Gipps-Kent	...	Young Pip
James Faulkner	...	Bentley Drummle
Peter Bull	...	Wemmick
Sam Kydd	...	Scarred Convict
John Clive	...	Mr. Wopsle

Runtime:

Netherlands:103 min | Peru:124 min | UK:124 min | USA:100 min

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:G | UK:U

Company:

Incorporated Television Company (ITC)

Trivia:

Filmed as a musical, but the songs were deleted prior to release.

Quotes:

Jaggers: [to Pip] For whose sake would you reveal this?...
Pip: For Estella's sake! If Drummle knew, he'd never marry her!
Jaggers: Ah, you'd save her, is that it? You'd drag her into disgrace after twenty years? She's chosen her own life and Drummle - remember that! Oh, if you must save someone, I think you might look a little closer to home.

Movie Connections:

Version of Great Expectations (1999) (TV)

Good adaptation of the Dickens classic

I got this film a tiny price in the Silver Classics series from Woolworths, at £2.79 cheaper than the local video shop (even if it were available, which is unlikely) and it surprised me.

Michael York as superb as the adult Pip, as is Joss Ackland as the humble Joe Gargery and Anthony Quayle as Jaggers, the rather cynical London lawyer. James Mason is good as the well-meaning convict, Abel Magwitch.

There don't appear to be any outside shots - all studio work - which is a shame, but the sets are brilliantly done, particularly the Blue Ball inn back by Romney and the marshes, and the stage coach office with its sign for 'Newhaven, Dartmouth, Plymouth'.

Of course, Sarah Miles has always been a remarkable beauty and she doesn't fail here either as Estella, boxed up in Satis House.

Overall, I would prefer the famous David Lean version, but this is still well worth watching.