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The Pickwick Papers

  • 1952
  • Approved
  • 1h 49m
IMDb RATING
6.9/10
682
YOUR RATING
The Pickwick Papers (1952)
Period DramaComedyDrama

Four wealthy Victorian gentlemen led by Samuel Pickwick set forth on an objective study of human behavior, thwarted by con artist Mr. Jingle and one of his schemes leading to Pickwick being ... Read allFour wealthy Victorian gentlemen led by Samuel Pickwick set forth on an objective study of human behavior, thwarted by con artist Mr. Jingle and one of his schemes leading to Pickwick being put on trial for breaking a promise to marry.Four wealthy Victorian gentlemen led by Samuel Pickwick set forth on an objective study of human behavior, thwarted by con artist Mr. Jingle and one of his schemes leading to Pickwick being put on trial for breaking a promise to marry.

  • Director
    • Noel Langley
  • Writers
    • Charles Dickens
    • Noel Langley
  • Stars
    • James Hayter
    • James Donald
    • Nigel Patrick
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.9/10
    682
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Noel Langley
    • Writers
      • Charles Dickens
      • Noel Langley
    • Stars
      • James Hayter
      • James Donald
      • Nigel Patrick
    • 23User reviews
    • 4Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 2 nominations total

    Photos207

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    Top cast51

    Edit
    James Hayter
    James Hayter
    • Samuel Pickwick
    James Donald
    James Donald
    • Nathaniel Winkle
    Nigel Patrick
    Nigel Patrick
    • Mr. Jingle
    Joyce Grenfell
    Joyce Grenfell
    • Mrs. Leo Hunter
    Hermione Gingold
    Hermione Gingold
    • Miss Tompkins
    Hermione Baddeley
    Hermione Baddeley
    • Mrs. Bardell
    Donald Wolfit
    Donald Wolfit
    • Sergeant Buzfuz
    Harry Fowler
    Harry Fowler
    • Sam Weller
    Kathleen Harrison
    Kathleen Harrison
    • Rachel Wardle
    Alexander Gauge
    Alexander Gauge
    • Tracy Tupman
    Lionel Murton
    Lionel Murton
    • Augustus Snodgrass
    Diane Hart
    Diane Hart
    • Emily Wardle
    Joan Heal
    • Isabella Wardle
    William Hartnell
    William Hartnell
    • Irate Cabman
    Athene Seyler
    Athene Seyler
    • Miss Witherfield
    Sam Costa
    • Job Trotter
    George Robey
    George Robey
    • Tony Weller
    Gerald Campion
    • Joe, the Fat Boy
    • Director
      • Noel Langley
    • Writers
      • Charles Dickens
      • Noel Langley
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews23

    6.9682
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    Featured reviews

    10barbara2

    Great movie, must see for fans of British films.

    I saw this movie many years ago when my literature teacher arranged for it to be shown at school. I loved the characters and thought the actors were wonderful in the roles. I finally had the chance to tape it and have brought my family in as fans of the movie. A must see for students of British films in that time period.
    mnkim

    The Joys Of Pickwick

    Pickwick Papers exemplifies the joys of the Dickens film series made by David Lean. While not the best it is thoroughly entertaining and the characters are marvellous. Childhood memories of those familiar faces among the actors who took part and appeared in so many other British classics. Last but not least the most wonderfully rich tones of James Hayter. His was a voice you heard and loved on TV and film and never forgot from the moment he spoke.If you have only heard about this film and never seen it then do you very best to obtain a copy (if possible) for it is in its own way a minor classic. For British TV followers who were children during the fifties another regular and lovable character is Harry Fowler.
    10clanciai

    Almost more Dickensian than Dickens in a highly inspired phantasmagoria of caricatures in a stew of Dickensian splendor

    Splendid adaptation of Dickens at his most hilarious, a kaleidoscopic odyssey around old England with a potpourri of intrigue and adventure squeezed into 100 minutes of virtuoso entertainment of English theatrical art at its best. Every single character is absolutely perfectly Dickensian and convincing as such, and it's a miracle to observe how such an extensive novel of so many characters and complicated intricacies of unexpected turns of events at every corner has been so successfully concentrated in Dickensian essence, which will certainly keep you busy through every minute of it, with even some human pathos to it - the prison scene with Mr. Jingle's change of fortune is perhaps the most impressive part. It's even impossible to say who is the best of all these acting paragons of excellence, but dominating are certainly James Hayter as Mr. Pickwick, Nigel Patrick as Mr. Jingle, James Donald as the besotted Mr. Winkle and Harry Fowler as Sam Weller, the most pleasurable character of them all, but Donald Wolfit crowns them all as Sergeant Buzfuz. It's as superb as a Dickensian entertainment as it was 65 years ago, it hasn't grown one day older but instantly established itself in the timeless zone of cinematic literary classics. It was about 50 years since I last saw it, and although I remembered it well, it was all perfectly fresh again as if it was an entirely new movie. These films cannot age.
    8tparis-2

    A superior movie version of the comic Dickens novel

    I remember this movie with great affection from the days of my childhood when it was broadcast several times on the CBC. When it became available on DVD I had to purchase it if only to mark Dickens bicentennial year of 2012. All the major comic episodes of the novel are covered with the exception of the Eatanswill election and the cricket match between Dingley Dell and All-Muggleston. As noted by another reviewer the movie by necessity omits the rather gloomy moral tales that Dickens chose to insert at intervals. The movie is further enlivened by the presence of a roster of great British character actors - Hattie Jacques, Hermione Gingold and James Hayter as Mr. Pickwick. Canadians will know him best as Mr. Tebbs, the senior salesman in the Mens Department, on the sitcom Are You Being Served. I notice that the actor who played Sam Weller died in January 2012 just a few days before I purchased the DVD - he was the last survivor among core cast.
    6Prismark10

    Tavern Tales

    I saw The Pickwick Papers on television some decades ago as a child and recently encountered a poor colourized version of the film. They should had kept the film in black and white.

    This film is adapted from the Dicken's source novel and restricts itself to some of the best sequences from the long tome.

    You have the caddish Mr Jingle getting others in all sorts of scrapes including getting Mr Winkle involved in a duel. There are scenes of elopements and nearly elopements again with Mr Jingle trying to get away with the loot.

    A misunderstanding leads to a court case involving a supposed broken promise of a marriage leading Dickens to have a swipe at lawyers and a sequence in a debtor's prison which suddenly switches the film from its comic mode to serious social issues of Victorian Britain.

    James Hayter is very good as Pickwick, Nigel Patrick is a hoot as Jingle, Harry Fowler is memorable as Weller.

    It is not the best adaptation of a Dickens novel from that era being rather low budget but amusing enough.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Although the film was released in England in 1952 and opened in New York in 1954, it was not nominated for Oscars until 1956, due to its not having played in Los Angeles until then.
    • Goofs
      The pony trap shown outside the coach-house is not the same pony trap that Mr Pickwick and others are seen riding on in the next scene.
    • Quotes

      Nathaniel Winkle: Gentlemen, Mr. Jingle is the viper in our midst.

      Samuel Pickwick: Viper?

      Nathaniel Winkle: Viper, sir.

      Tracy Tupman: Nonsense, Winkle.

      Samuel Pickwick: Nonsense, Winkle.

      Augustus Snodgrass: N-nonsense, Winkle.

      Nathaniel Winkle: Very well, then... we shall see.

    • Crazy credits
      Closing credits finish with The End of The Pickwick Papers
    • Alternate versions
      Also available in a colorized version.
    • Connections
      Featured in Arena: Dickens on Film (2012)

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    FAQ15

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • May 5, 1954 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Die wunderlichen Erlebnisse des Mr. Pickwick
    • Filming locations
      • Nettlefold Studios, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England, UK(studio: produced at)
    • Production company
      • George Minter Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 49 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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