Great Expectations

19461946
GG
1h 58m

A humble orphan boy in 1810s Kent is given the opportunity to go to London and become a gentleman, with the help of an unknown benefactor.A humble orphan boy in 1810s Kent is given the opportunity to go to London and become a gentleman, with the help of an unknown benefactor.A humble orphan boy in 1810s Kent is given the opportunity to go to London and become a gentleman, with the help of an unknown benefactor.

7.8/10

23K

Director
- David Lean
Writers
- Charles Dickens(by)
- David Lean(adapted for the screen by)
- Ronald Neame(adapted for the screen by)
Stars

Top credits

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Won 2 Oscars
- 4 wins & 4 nominations total

Videos1

Trailer 3:01

Great Expectations (1947)

"Great Expectations" Jean Simmons, Martita Hunt 1946 Universal International **I.V.

"Great Expectations" John Mills 1946 Universal International / **I.V.

"Great Expectations" Alec Guinness 1946 Universal International **I.V.

Freda Jackson in Great Expectations (1946)

Martita Hunt and John Mills in Great Expectations (1946)

Alec Guinness and John Mills in Great Expectations (1946)

Valerie Hobson and John Mills in Great Expectations (1946)

Jean Simmons in Great Expectations (1946)

Director
- David Lean
Writers
- Charles Dickens(by)
- David Lean(adapted for the screen by)
- Ronald Neame(adapted for the screen by)
All cast & crew
See more cast details at IMDbPro

Pip, a good-natured, gullible young orphan, lives with kind blacksmith Joe Gargery and his bossy, abusive wife "Mrs. Joe". When the boy finds two hidden escaped galley convicts, he obeys under, probably unnecessary, threat of a horrible death to bring the criminals food. He must steal at peril of more caning from the battle-ax. Just when Pip fears to get it really good while they have guests, a soldier comes for Joe who takes Pip along as assistant to work on the chains of the escaped galley-convicts, who are soon caught. The better-natured one takes the blame for the stolen food. Later Pip is invited to became the playmate of Estella, the equally arrogant adoptive daughter of gloomy, filthy rich Miss Havisham at her estate, who actually has "permission" to break the kind kid's heart. Being the only pretty girl he ever saw, she wins his heart forever, even after a mysterious benefactor pays through a lawyer for his education and a rich allowance, so he can become a snob in London, by now "ashamed" of simple Joe. Only after years in idle wealth, Pip learns Havisham is not his benefactor as he assumed, and both her story and those of his real sponsor and Estella. —KGF Vissers

benefactor orphan snob convict lawyer 117 more

Taglines
- From the Vivid Pages of Charles Dickens' Masterpiece !
Genres
Certificate
- G
Parents guide

Trivia
John Mills, playing Pip from the age of 19 to 25, was 38 at the time of filming.

Goofs
At the end, when Pip is persuading Estella to leave Satis House with him, a 'Chad' is clearly visible drawn on the screen behind him (Chads were a popular form of graffiti in the 1940s - a character with a big nose looking over a wall). Chad is a British term; the American equivalent would be Kilroy, as in 'Kilroy was here'.

Quotes
Pip: [narrating] In trying to become a gentleman, I had succeeded in becoming a snob.

Crazy credits
The identity of the actress playing Molly is never revealed, because this would constitute a spoiler.

Alternate versions
In some prints, after the fifteen minute "convict episode" at the beginning of the film ends, a voice-over by the adult Pip (John Mills) says, "it was a year later", as Mrs. Joe arrives home in the carriage. As now usually shown, there is no voice-over in this sequence.

Connections
Featured in Moscow in Madrid (1965)

Top review

Great version of the Dickens novel...beautiful B&W photography...

The Dickens novel is given classic treatment in David Lean's "Great Expectations". The opening scene is so atmospheric it sets the tone for the convoluted story to follow. The earlier scenes with young Pip are the most enjoyable for me--especially those involving Estella (Jean Simmons) and Miss Havisham (Martita Hunt).

Brilliant performances from all concerned. John Mills is wholly satisfying as the adult Pip and Valerie Hobson as the adult Estella--but it is Martita Hunt's Miss Havisham, sitting among the ruined finery of a wedding that never took place, everything exactly the way it was on that fateful day--and waging war on men ever since--that lingers in the memory.

Some of the best black and white photography seen until that time and an absorbing story with twists and surprises that have logical explanations. Compares favorably with the other great British film, "Oliver Twist" and, by all means, recommended viewing.

Not only worthy of its Best Picture nomination, it should have won over "Gentleman's Agreement" which now seems preachy and artificial.

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