With a poll being held on IMDbs Classic Film board for the best movies of 1934,I started to search around a DVD sellers website,and I was surprised to find that 1934 was the year which marked the first ever adaptation of Charles Dickens Great Expectations to be filmed with sound,which led to me getting ready to find out if my expectations could be met.
The plot:
Talking to his deceased parents in the grave yard, a young orphan boy called Pip runs into an on the run criminal called Abel Magwitch ,who is worn out.Desperate to help Magwitch out,Pip steals some food and drink from home.Passing the food,Magwitch tells Pip that he is grateful for Pip's kindness.Wanting home,Pip is suspected of stealing his sister & her husband Joe Gargery's pork pie.Getting into a fight with a fellow criminal,Magwitch gets arrested by the police.Spotting Pip's family,Magwitch covers the family's questioning of Pip,by saying that he stole the food.
With Joe Gargery having dreams of Pip following in his footsteps and becoming a blacksmith,Gargery is sad to find Pip getting forced to work as a servant for an elusive women called Miss Havisham.Whilst working for Miss Havisham,Pip finds himself becoming interested in Havisham's adopted daughter Estella.Nearing the completion of his job working for Havisham,Pip is suddenly told that a secret benefactor has come forward,who is going to fund Pip to be taken to London,in order to get transformed into a gentlemen.
View on the film:
For the first ever sound adaptation,the screenplay by Gladys Unger takes a frantic approach to the material,which whilst not allowing the viewer to fully experience the periods in Pip's life,offers a delightful taster to the story.With The Hays Code having recently arrived,Unger has to change Miss Havisham from being mental ill,to being a kooky eccentric.Despite the restrictions of the era,Unger does very well at breaking out and building a grim melodrama,with Unger showing that no matter how old Pip gets,everyone else believes that his views should be overlooked for what they feel is best for him.
Covering the film in a haunting mist,director Stuart Walker gives Pip's childhood an excellent,stylised appearance,with Walker brilliantly using overlaps to create a contrasting atmosphere,with images such as a "crucified" criminal,giving Walker the chance to release a nightmare mood.As Pip enters adulthood,Walker uses sharp,clear lights to make Pip feel that he has escaped from the darkness.Revealing Pip's benefactor,Walker slowly peels away the brightness of Pip's lifestyle,as a fire from hell is (literally!) splashed across the front of the screen,as Pip begins to discover his own great expectations.
The plot:
Talking to his deceased parents in the grave yard, a young orphan boy called Pip runs into an on the run criminal called Abel Magwitch ,who is worn out.Desperate to help Magwitch out,Pip steals some food and drink from home.Passing the food,Magwitch tells Pip that he is grateful for Pip's kindness.Wanting home,Pip is suspected of stealing his sister & her husband Joe Gargery's pork pie.Getting into a fight with a fellow criminal,Magwitch gets arrested by the police.Spotting Pip's family,Magwitch covers the family's questioning of Pip,by saying that he stole the food.
With Joe Gargery having dreams of Pip following in his footsteps and becoming a blacksmith,Gargery is sad to find Pip getting forced to work as a servant for an elusive women called Miss Havisham.Whilst working for Miss Havisham,Pip finds himself becoming interested in Havisham's adopted daughter Estella.Nearing the completion of his job working for Havisham,Pip is suddenly told that a secret benefactor has come forward,who is going to fund Pip to be taken to London,in order to get transformed into a gentlemen.
View on the film:
For the first ever sound adaptation,the screenplay by Gladys Unger takes a frantic approach to the material,which whilst not allowing the viewer to fully experience the periods in Pip's life,offers a delightful taster to the story.With The Hays Code having recently arrived,Unger has to change Miss Havisham from being mental ill,to being a kooky eccentric.Despite the restrictions of the era,Unger does very well at breaking out and building a grim melodrama,with Unger showing that no matter how old Pip gets,everyone else believes that his views should be overlooked for what they feel is best for him.
Covering the film in a haunting mist,director Stuart Walker gives Pip's childhood an excellent,stylised appearance,with Walker brilliantly using overlaps to create a contrasting atmosphere,with images such as a "crucified" criminal,giving Walker the chance to release a nightmare mood.As Pip enters adulthood,Walker uses sharp,clear lights to make Pip feel that he has escaped from the darkness.Revealing Pip's benefactor,Walker slowly peels away the brightness of Pip's lifestyle,as a fire from hell is (literally!) splashed across the front of the screen,as Pip begins to discover his own great expectations.