From his very humble beginnings, Charles Dickens came to be regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era. From the frail little orphan Oliver Twist to mean and miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, he is famed for creating some of the world’s best-known literary characters. Dickens’ stories were incredibly popular during his lifetime and are still widely appreciated today, with his 1843 novella A Christmas Carol being the inspiration for film adaptations for more than a century.
After being a victim of poverty himself, Dickens was a champion of social reform and children’s rights, themes which can be found throughout his works. Modest ’til the end, he wanted to be buried in a small cemetery in Kent, England, but the nation wouldn’t hear of it, opting instead to lay him to rest in Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey, London. His tombstone reads ‘..and by his death, one of England’s greatest writers is lost to the world’, but fortunately for the world, Dickens’s works continue to live on through his books and the film adaptations, which are a fitting tribute to his narrative prowess.
9 ‘The Old Curiosity Shop’ (2007)
Directed by Brian Percival
Young Nell (Sophie Vavasseur) lives with her grandfather (Derek Jacobi), above The Old Curiosity Shop he owns in London. Unfortunately, the old man is prone to a bit of gambling and falls into debt with the vicious and unscrupulous Daniel Quilp (Toby Jones). Despite being married, Quilp has his eye on Nell and works with his lawyer to seize her Grandfather’s assets, but the two of them manage to escape and flee to the countryside. With scoundrels hot on their heels, Nell and her grandfather’s struggle for survival begins to take its toll.
Jacobi, who will be reappearing as Senator Gracchus in the soon-to-be released Gladiator 2, shows his decades of acting expertise as the bumbling Grandfather in this entertaining adaptation of The Old Curiosity Shop. Jones is equally entertaining as Quilp and a little easier on the eye than the ill-tempered and grotesque dwarf Dickens imagined in his original novel.
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8 ‘The Pickwick Papers’ (1952)
Directed by Noel Langley
The Pickwick Papers is a wonderfully written comedy of errors which finds the jovial Mr. Pickwick (James Hayter) and his friends traveling across England in search of interesting things to report on. While awaiting the coach’s departure, they meet Mr. Jingle (Nigel Patrick), a rather charming charlatan, who manages to tag along with the group, causing trouble at every turn. Poor Mr. Pickwick becomes the fall guy in a series of unfortunate mishaps that land him in a debtors’ prison.
The Pickwick Papers, which was originally published in a series of nineteen issues, was Dickens’ first novel and a huge commercial success, particularly after the introduction of Sam Weller, the cheeky cockney chappie, expertly played by Harry Fowler in this adaptation. The other leading roles are also a really well cast set of Dickensian caricatures, from the hysterical women to the pompous rotund gents.
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7 ‘Nicholas Nickleby’ (2002)
Directed by Douglas McGrath
After his father suddenly dies and leaves the family penniless, young Nicholas Nickleby (Charlie Hunnam) heads to London with his sister and mother to ask for help from their Uncle Ralph (Christopher Plummer). Unfortunately, the cold-hearted businessman has no sympathy for his relative’s plight and forces Nicholas to take a low-paying assistant job at a school in Yorkshire. The school is a sham run by an abusive tyrant by the name of Mr. Squeers (Jim Broadbent), so Nicholas runs away with his schoolmate Smike (Jamie Bell), in the hopes of being reunited with his family.
This Nicholas Nickleby is the best adaptation of Dickens’ third novel to date, with no small thanks to the stellar cast. Broadbent’s portrayal of the grotesque and nasty Mr. Squeers is particularly unsettling and Hunnam, who’s about to lead a ‘Criminal’ life in a new Amazon series, is easy on the ear and the eye as the loyal and earnest Nicholas. The choice of filming locations in the UK also gives the film a really authentic feel, making it a must-see for Dickens fans who want to know more about the life and times the author lived in.
6 ‘The Muppet Christmas Carol’ (2009)
Directed by Brian Henson
While Dickens definitely didn’t envisage his work ever being performed by a cast of lively puppets, audiences can’t fail to be charmed by Henson’s take on this Christmas classic. The Muppet Christmas Carol is a magical tale about a miserable miser, Ebenezer Scrooge (Michael Caine), who is visited by the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future in the hope he will see the error of his ways. Narrated by Gonzo and Rizzo the Rat and featuring all The Muppets audiences know and love, including Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy as the Cratchits and Fozzie Bear as Mr Fozziwig, this adaptation embodies the true meaning of Christmas.
The Muppet Christmas Carol turns Dickens into a slapstick comedy, but this only adds to the entertainment value, including the musical numbers that can’t help but draw a smile. That being said, Caine and his puppet cast members play their roles with every bit of seriousness, sincerity and joy intended by this moralistic story. This is one movie that should be on everyone’s Christmas watch list.
5 ‘Oliver!’ (1968)
Directed by Carol Reed
‘Please sir, can I have some more’ were the words that sealed the fate of poor little orphan Oliver (Mark Lester). Outraged by his audacity, the master of the orphanage sells him to a local undertaker, but Oliver runs away to London. There he meets the Artful Dodger (Jack Wild), who introduces him to the ‘onorable profession of pickpocketing under the guidance of Fagin (Ron Moody), a purveyor of liberated wares. When a kindly gentleman takes pity on Oliver, one of Fagin’s violent associates, Bill Sikes (Oliver Reed), is worried the boy might spill the beans and land them all in prison, which puts his life in danger.
Despite being a musical adaptation, Oliver! surprisingly maintains all the rather dark elements of Dickens’s original story. Moody and Reed were inspired bad-guy choices, with both eliciting disgust and terror in equal measure. Oliver! is one of several musicals that won an Oscar for Best Picture and although it is rather grim in parts, the light-hearted numbers will leave viewers wanting more.
4 ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ (1935)
Directed by Jack Conway and Robert Z. Leonard
‘It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.’ What could be a more fitting opening to describe the mood of the nation in England and France in the midst of the French Revolution? The words can also be attributed to the love triangle at the heart of the story between lawyer Sydney Carton (Ronald Colman), accused traitor Charles Darnay (Donald Woods) and the lovely Lucie Manette (Elizabeth Allen). Despite his faults, Carton truly loves Lucie and is prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice to ensure her future happiness.
A Tale of Two Cities is an adaptation of Dickens’s best-known historical fiction, and is a riveting story of love born in a time of tyranny. The film does well to extract the essence of the original epic novel, which was delivered in three parts. Fans of Dickens may be surprised to learn that the over-arching theme of self-sacrifice in A Tale of Two Cities was also the inspiration behind The Dark Knight Rises.
3 ‘David Copperfield’ (1935)
Directed by George Cukor
After his mother dies, young David Copperfield’s (Freddie Bartholomew) spiteful stepfather sends him to work in London. There he lodges with the cheerful Mr. Micawber (W.C. Fields) and his family, who show him the kindness he’s been lacking. Sadly, Mr. Micawber is forced to leave town, so David makes his way to Dover to find his aunt, who is firm but fair and sends him to a private school. While at school, the now older David (Frank Lawton) lodges with Mr. Wickfield (Lewis Stone) and befriends his daughter and also makes the acquaintance of his treacherous clerk, Uriah Heep (Roland Young). David falls in love and marries Dora (Maureen O’Sullivan), but their happiness is short-lived and David is left once again struggling to find his place in the world.
This adaptation of David Copperfield was the first time the saga made it to the screen, and when it did, the trailer boasted a cast of 65 superb artists and rightly so. The film is a very fitting tribute to Dickens, who favored this semi-autobiographical tale above all his others. Even the name of the main character was inspired by reversing the authors own initials. For viewers interested in learning as much about Dickens the man as Dickens the writer, David Copperfield is a must-see.
2 ‘Great Expectations’ (1946)
Directed by David Lean
Young orphan Pip’s (Tony Wager) early life is marked by three unusual encounters. The first is an escaped convict by the name of Magwitch (Finlay Currie), the second, the eccentric and wealthy spinster Miss Havisham (Martita Hunt), and the third, Miss Havisham’s ward, Estella (Jean Simmons). Years later, the young man, Pip (John Mills), receives news that an unknown benefactor is sending him to London to become a gentleman, of ‘Great Expectations‘. Pip naturally assumes Miss Havisham is behind his reversal of fortune, but he couldn’t be further from the truth. As he grows up, the people of his past come back into Pip’s life and not in the ways he could have ever imagined.
Great Expectations was Dickens’s penultimate completed novel and has every hallmark of a writer at the pinnacle of his game. As the film’s trailer states, no one but Dickens could more faithfully portray the hopes and doubts in the heart of a boy. This was also one of director David Lean’s best movies as he did his utmost to ensure a heightened sense of realism using cinematic tricks like forced perspective, to great effect.
1 ‘A Christmas Carol’ (1951)
Directed by Brian Desmond Hurst
Humbug! is how Ebenezer Scrooge (Alastair Sims) describes the festive season and anything else that does not fit with his cynical view of the world. It takes a haunting visit from an old friend and from the spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Future to finally make him see how bitter and empty his life has become and what he has to do to change it. The hardest of hearts can’t help but be softened by the mean old man who became ‘…as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew…‘
Of all the adaptations of A Christmas Carol, this 1951 version is the most brilliant. Sims is the very embodiment of the Scrooge Dickens describes in his book and almost every actor or animated character since has attempted to replicate this style. Despite its age and the fact that it’s black and white, this classic movie continues to edge out other remakes in regard to authenticity and pure Dickensian magic.