Nicholas Nickleby

Originaltitel: The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby

1947
Approved
1 Std. 48 Min.

IMDb-BEWERTUNG

IHRE BEWERTUNG

Cedric Hardwicke in Nicholas Nickleby (1947)

Füge eine Handlung in deiner Sprache hinzuA young, compassionate man struggles to save his family and friends from the abusive exploitation of his cold-hearted, grasping uncle.A young, compassionate man struggles to save his family and friends from the abusive exploitation of his cold-hearted, grasping uncle.A young, compassionate man struggles to save his family and friends from the abusive exploitation of his cold-hearted, grasping uncle.

Regie
- Alberto Cavalcanti
Drehbuch
- Charles Dickens
- John Dighton
Hauptbesetzung

Siehe Produktionsinformationen bei IMDbPro

IMDb-BEWERTUNG

6,9/10

1098

IHRE BEWERTUNG

Regie
- Alberto Cavalcanti
Drehbuch
- Charles Dickens
- John Dighton
Hauptbesetzung

Siehe Produktionsinformationen bei IMDbPro

Fotos76

+ 70

Benutzerrezensionen21

6,91K

Empfohlene Bewertungen

8TheLittleSongbird

Very good, one of the better adaptations of the book

Personally, there are only two that are better, the 1982 production with Alun Armstrong as Squeers and the 2002 James D'Arcy version, with the weakest being the 2002 feature film with Jim Broadbent and Christopher Plummer, the 2002 film was quite good in my view. But from personal perspective, none of them are bad. The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby(1947) has problems; an intrusive music score, Derek Bond's wooden Nicholas, Sally Ann Howes' over-simpering Kate and Mary Merrall playing Mrs Nickleby as too much of a silly caricature. The film is beautifully and expressively photographed and has an evocatively atmospheric setting. Alberto Cavalcanti does direct gracefully for one who is more of a surrealist director, while the dialogue is crisp and intelligent and the story draws you right in with little filler and delivers the narrative right to the point. Three performances may not have worked, but the others do. Coming off best is Cedric Hardwicke, by far and large the most evil of the Ralph Nicklebys of all the adaptations, truly diabolical. Alfred Drayton is loathsome and funny as Squeers, while Bernard Miles' Newman is appealing, Stanley Holloway is a sharp Crummles and the Smike of Aubrey Woods is very affecting. In conclusion, one of the better adaptations of the book and does a very good job on its own. 8/10 Bethany Cox

8richardchatten

Nicholas Nickleby

This version of Charles Dickens novel represented quite a departure for Ealing Studios; coming between David Lean's classic versions, between which the most obvious connection was the presence of Bernard Miles.

Directed by 'Cavalcanti', the title design alone demonstrated that Ealing were setting out to make a different type of production from their contemporary dramas and comedies, with Sally Anne Field making a memorable return from 'The Halfway House' and 'Dead of Night'. Aubrey Woods is a suitably lean and hungry Smike, with Alfred Drayton as Squeers rendered almost unrecognisable as a Dickens villain in the classic tradition.

jandesimpson

Uneven but worth a watch

To a certain extent the Ealing Studios version of "Nicholas Nickleby" was a victim of bad timing. How could it possibly compare with David Lean's superb adaptations of "Great Expectations" and "Oliver Twist" made around the same period. It was a fate that was later to befall Milos Forman's "Valmont" that unfortunately appeared at the same time as the Stephen Frears version of "Dangerous Liaisons". And yet Cavalcanti's foray into Dickens has partly itself to blame for its very unevenness. One can hardly blame the quality of the book, as some have done, when David Lean did such inspired things with a similarly lesser Dickens work such as "Oliver Twist". Admittedly "Nickleby" through its considerably greater length does pose problems of adaptation to the under two-hour format, but one can only admire just how much of the original narrative has been crammed in. As will by now be evident, this review is something of a mass of contradictions. On the one hand there are some scenes that work remarkably well, the early sequence at Dotheboys Hall for instance with the terrible Squeers menage all hamming it most entertainingly - Alfred Drayton and Sybil Thorndike could hardly be bettered. And there are others that quite frankly are something of a bore, many of the Nickleby family scenes where the acting ranging for Derek Bond's colourless Nicholas, Sally Ann Howes's simpering Kate and Mary Merrall's embarrassingly silly mother are the stuff of village hall rep. This is one of those films that both excite and annoy. However with so much that is forgettable there is one performance that remains quite unforgettable. Sir Cedric Hardwiche's Uncle Ralph is a beautifully controlled study of wickedness. His comeuppance at the end, when he is pursued by police to the upper floor of his house, brought out the very best in Cavalcanti. In a film where so much of the direction is flat and uninspired, this sequence with its camera virtuosity and expressionistic shadows is extraordinarily exciting. Although overall this version of "Nicholas Nickleby" ranks rather low in the Dickensian cinematic canon, it is not one to be overlooked entirely.

10clanciai

Great dramatization of one of Dickens' greatest novels

It is difficult to dramatize this extensive novel involving so many characters and intrigues, but this has been a successful one, actually succeeding in condensing an unsurveyable human panorama into a fairly perspicuous form, but much of its high quality depends on the general excellent acting. This was both Derek Bond's and Aubrey Woods' greatest roles, but Aubrey Woods is the one who grips and stays in your heart. The film is much inferior to the great Shakespeare company production of 1982, where Roger Rees made the perfect Nicholas Nickleby, but here Smike is more human and natural without unnecessary exaggerations. Cedric Hardwicke is the perfect Ralph Nickleby, almost shockingly convincing in his cold cruelty, while Bernard Miles as Noggs also is a prize winner. Both versions deserve 10 points, but in its realism this film actually beats the 1982 theatre performance, maybe especially for its expert concentration of a vast human universe into just one film. The cinematography is also outstanding, and above all, in all its concise concentration, it has succeeded to remain very faithful to Dickens.

9Prismark10

The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby

Alberto Cavalcanti's has made a concise version of the story of Nicholas Nickleby for Ealing Studios.

Although Charles Dickens epic novel is judiciously pruned, the flavour and atmosphere remains.

This episodic film has greedy moneylender Ralph Nickleby (Cedric Hardwicke) reluctantly taking on his brother's family after his death in 1830.

Ralph quickly gets a job for nephew Nicholas Nickleby (Derek Bond) as a teacher working for Wackford Squeers. The school is a wretched place and Nicholas soon leaves when a young man Smike is being flogged.

Nicholas and Smike soon get in with theatrical producer Vincent Crummles (Stanley Holloway) and become actors.

Meanwhile Ralph also gets his niece working as a seamstress for low wages. Ralph also uses her to attract the attention of Lord Verisopht so he will borrow money from him.

Soon Nicholas gets wind of what Ralph has been up to. How some wealthy men plan to use and abuse his sister. So he comes to rescue his sister and mother.

Ralph also has a lusty eye for a pretty young woman Madeleine Bray (Jill Balcon) to be his bride. Her father is in debt to Ralph Nickleby. However Nicholas is also in love with her.

The film allows some of the actors to shine even in smaller roles. Stanley Holloway stands out as Crummles as well as Bernard Miles as the nice Newman Noggs. Cyril Fletcher more famous from the BBC television program That's Life is almost debauched as Mantalini.

Of course Cedric Hardwicke steals the film as the dastardly avaricious uncle Ralph. He does his duty to take care of his brother's family, he makes sure they all get to work.

Although the complexities of the novel and the various characters had to be reduced. This is an enjoyably brisk film which is not full of cloying sentimentality. It also shows the harshness and cruelty of life in that era.

Surprisingly this is the only British film version of Nicholas Nickleby made in the 20th century.

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Wissenswertes
On reading the script, Hollywood censor Joseph Breen objected to the use of the expression "dem'd", but said that "deshit" and "deshed" were allowed. Most importantly, a character could not be shown hanging himself in order to escape the police, but could if it was out of remorse.

Zitate
Ralph Nickleby: Noggs, take down this letter. "To Mr. Squeers, the Saracen's Head, Snow Hill. I have decided to finance any legal action you may care to take against my nephew."
Newman Noggs: Ho, ho, ho! He isn't there.
Ralph Nickleby: Who isn't?
Newman Noggs: Mr. Squeers. He's at Bow Street Police Station!
Ralph Nickleby: You're lying.
Newman Noggs: Ohhh no, I'm not. And Mr Squeers hasn't been lying either. Mr Squeers has confessed to conspiracy with regard to a birth certificate and certain letters purporting to prove that Mr Snawley was the father!
Ralph Nickleby: I don't know what you're talking about.
Newman Noggs: Don't you? Mr Squeers says otherwise. So does Mr Snawley. So do the police.
Ralph Nickleby: Hold your tongue, you treacherous, sneaking...!
Newman Noggs: I've held my tongue for 15 years! Stood by helpless while you've ruined many another as once you ruined me.
Ralph Nickleby: You ruined yourself. You'd sell your soul, if you had one, for a little gin.
Newman Noggs: But I wouldn't sell my own flesh and blood. And it's not only little Kate I'm thinking of. I've seen the boy, Smike, the living image of his mother, of your wife!
Ralph Nickleby: My wife?
Newman Noggs: Didn't know I knew that, did you, that you had a son? Your wife died, but the child lived. And you had to keep his birth a secret, or the money would have gone to him. You put him out with a poor family, didn't you, to bring him up as their own? You paid them well for it, haven't you, ever since? Well, they didn't keep the boy!
Ralph Nickleby: It isn't true.
Newman Noggs: They put him to school in Yorkshire. They put him in Dotheboys Hall!
Ralph Nickleby: They cheated me!
Newman Noggs: Yes. They cheated you. Just as you've cheated hundreds of others!
Ralph Nickleby: In the gutter for this! And I'll deal with you too!
Newman Noggs: Will you? Will you? I've waited all these years for a chance to settle our account. And now, at last, it's come. The police have been here, and I've told them everything. There'll be another charge against you now: depriving your own son of his birthright, robbing him of a fortune! They'll transport you for that, you know! Hahahahahaha! They'll confiscate every penny you've got! Hahahahahaha! You can't escape now! It doesn't matter where you go! Off to see a lawyer, is that it? See if he can help you! Or are you going to bring the boy home? Own him as your own son, give him back the money? No use! No good! Nothing can help you now, money or lawyers! It doesn't matter where you go! YOU'RE TOO LATE! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! TOO LATE! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!