The Pickwick Papers

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.

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.

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.

'The Pickwick Papers' is not one of my favourite Charles Dickens works, speaking as someone who appreciates him highly and completely understands his importance in literature. It is though a very colourful and entertaining read, one of Dickens' most accessible with a lighter tone than most of his work even if some of the story structure is sprawling in places, with some of the great man's most memorable characters.

Dickens has been variably adapted on film and television, though will say that even the misfires/disappointments (and there are nearly as many of those as there are classics) deserve a little credit for even taking on the challenge of adapting the work of one of the (from personal perspective) most difficult to adapt authors. This 1952 film version of 'The Pickwick Papers' may not be one of the definitive adaptations of any of Dickens' work, and there is a slight preference for the 1985 mini-series with Clive Swift and Patrick Malahide. It is though very, very good, with many great qualities, and as good a film version of this particular story as one can make do with. As an adaptation it is a very solid and respectful one, with the spirit certainly intact and lots of recognisable elements. There are omissions/abridgements, but they were tasteful and didn't affect the coherence of the storytelling at all and it is completely understandable as to why there would be some condensation with literature as lengthy and complicated as that of Dickens.

It, the film that is, may be on the slightly primitive side visually, though the production and particularly costume designs are handsome enough.

Some parts are played a little too broadly, such as the romantic misadventures.

However, as said, a nice job is done with the production design and the costumes. Antony Hopkins' music score has an appealing jauntiness that matches the atmosphere and spirit of the storytelling to a tee. 'The Pickwick Papers' is from start to finish directed with precision and class by Noel Langley, who allows the story to have plenty of momentum without rushing, letting parts breathe when necessary too without grinding things to a halt.

On a writing and acting level, 'The Pickwick Papers' is pretty much a triumph. A great job is done with the adapting of the material, it is episodic (so is the book) but it doesn't read too much of a series of highlights which can be a danger with Dickens. Another danger is keeping sprawling and complicated storytelling coherent and not disjointed or choppy, 'The Pickwick Papers' to me suffered from neither of those two things and had no issues following what was going on (one could argue though that familiarity with the source material may be in order). The script is literate and thought-provoking, as well as wonderfully witty, Dickens' prose really shines here. The script and film have been criticised for being talky and wordy, don't consider them fair criticisms as Dickens is talky and wordy and am not saying that in a bad way despite how that sounds.

James Hayter is the full embodiment of Pickwick, while Nigel Patrick is similarly on superb form as a deliciously rouguish Jingle. Harry Fowler is a memorable Weller, James Donald is appealing as Winkle and Kathleen Harrison is especially excellent of the female cast.

All in all, very good film and adaptation. 8/10 Bethany Cox

First off, let it be understood that this film is not a complete version of The Pickwick Papers. But then, nobody could possibly fit a novel of some 600 pages into a movie of less than 2 hours without making a considerable number of cuts. That being said, however, it is a very good condensation of Charles Dickens's first novel.

The Pickwick Papers was not only Dickens' first novel, it was among his lightest and funniest. Those who know Dickens only from his heavy, dark novels, such as of Oliver Twist and Nicholas Nickleby will find herein a much lighter and merrier Dickens, for The Pickwick Papers is very definitely a comedy

Nevertheless, however, Dickens' eye for characters and scenes is fully in evidence. Few novels can boast of so many memorable characters as The Pickwick Papers, and this film version certainly does them all justice. Nobody films Dickens like the British, and they've certainly done themselves proud here. The original Pickwick Papers was published as a magazine serial and came lavishly illustrates, and all of the actors have gone the extra mile to depict, as faithfully as possible, the characters as set down in the original novel.

The story is of a naive old gentleman who sets off to discover England, accompanied by three equally naive members if his club and his worldly Cockney valet. The misadventures of Mr. Pickwick and his friends, among the plethora of colorful characters whom they encounter, form the basis of the book. The production is not the most lavish, but the performance of every one of the large cast is spot-on perfect, and that more than makes up for a lack of budget. Those who have read the novel will love this version, even if is abridged. This who have not read the novel can still enjoy it for its many colorful characters and hilarious situations.