David Copperfield

Unlike other reviewers of this film I didn't feel that it was particularly dull; if anything, the way that it seemed to skim over many aspects of the story makes it seem like the cinematic equivalent of a Readers Digest condensed version. Characters such as Oliver and Attenborough's Creakle and Tungay make little more than cameo appearances, while the flashback structure of the film means that, for the first hour or so, the narrative flow is constantly interrupted by lingering shots of a maudlin Copperfield mooching about Yarmouth beach listening to memories of people he has known echoing in his head.

The cast reads like a who's who of British acting of the 60s and before. The likes of such heavyweights as Oliver, Attenborough, Michael Redgrave, Edith Evans, Ralph Richardson, Ron Moody, Cyril Cusack, Susan Hampshire et al makes the little-known Robin Phillips in the title role seem a little bland and insipid. Nevertheless, the story is entertaining enough - even if it doesn't match up to George Cukor's 1935 version.