David Copperfield

Generations continue to read Dickens' best works, David Copperfield among them, because he created unforgettable characters through their language. Granted, the characters are often exaggerated or simplified, but they are nonetheless memorable, and often very lovable.

That's what makes so much of this movie so good. MGM lavished on it their best character actors, and the result is often magical. Edna May Oliver as Betsey Trotwood, Jessie Ralph as Peggotty, Basil Rathbone as Murdstone, Herbert Mundin as Barkis (yes, "Barkis is willin'"), Una O'Connor as Mrs. Gummidge, Lionel Barrymore as Dan Peggotty, Violet Kemble Cooper as Jane Murdstone, W. C. Fields as Micawber, the sadly forgotten Lennox Pawle unforgettable as Mr. Dick, the versatile Roland Young remarkable as Uriah Heep. These actors and actresses all create vivid characters, sometimes with very little screen time. They make Dickens come alive before our eyes.

The only weak spot, to me, is the cypher Elisabeth Allen as David's mother. For me, she is a zero in several otherwise very good MGM movies from this period. She conveys no personality. I do not understand why she was given one major role after the next. She is forgettable in all of them. The thought that she was originally contracted to appear opposite Robert Donat in one of my favorite movies, Goodbye Mr. Chips, is chilling. She was replaced by Greer Garson, who was great in that movie and helped make it the masterpiece it is. Elisabeth Allan would have made it a much inferior movie, despite Donat's deservedly Academy Award-winning performance as Chips.

Freddie Bartholomew is fine as the young David, but Cukor directed him to be far too emotional for my tastes. (You can see in the trailer that "tears" were intended here.) He is much better in films like Captains Courageous, made two years later and directed by Victor Fleming.

The only problem with this movie, for me, is that, while the script is good, it sometimes radically abbreviates major moments. (In the edition I read, the novel has 848 pages. Reducing that to a 2-hour movie is a real challenge.) Just as one example: during the storm that is wrecking the ship on which Steerforth is returning to England, Ham, from whom Steerforth seduced Little Emily only to abandon her later, swims out to the ship in order to save the crew. He climbs on board and sees Steerforth, who sees him. There is the potential for a great, elemental confrontation scene there, set against the wild storm, but it is passed over almost immediately to the next scene, where the two men's lifeless bodies are dragged up on shore.

Even the great scene near the end where Micawber denounces Uriah Heep, one of the great moments in the novel, could have been given more time to build, though its still very good. (With this cast, how could it not have been?)

Definitely worth a watch.

This version of David Copperfield is a little disappointing in that the lead characters (David, Agnes, Steerforth, Little Em'ly) are somewhat bland and don't reveal their depth of feeling or passion. But the actors who play the supporting characters are so superb that this version is worth seeking out for those who love Dickens' work. Aunt Betsy, Uriah Heep, Mr. Dick, Mr. Micawber, Dan Peggotty and Ham are fleshed out by actors who have true spark and understand that their characters are supposed to be a little larger than life.

W.C. Fields can act- he's not just playing himself here. Although Mr. Micawber is a somewhat Fields-ish fellow, Fields adds a touching sincerity to Micawber's belief that he will come out ahead someday to everyone's benefit. Micawber's denunciation of Uriah Heep is both fun and close to what one can picture from the novel.

A lot of plot is left out, since you can't really cram an epic like that into a 2 hour film- the BBC miniseries is better for depth of character and filling in plot holes- but this 1935 version can be considered a classic for those looking for a nice large-screen adaptation with some incredibly good character actors.

I've read "David Copperfield" at least a half dozen times. If it's not the greatest novel in the English language, then it's darned close to it. Like any Dickens work, there are plots within plots and scores of major and minor character. With the exception of excluding poor Traddles, this film catches the essence of the story better than any since--and I defy anyone to cite a better movie for casting the right actor with the right character. Of course, W.C. Fields' Mr. McCawber was superb and has been cited time and again as a great characterization, but it's also difficult to fault Basil Rathbone's Mr. Murdstone, Edna may Oliver's Aunt Betsy, Roland Young's Uriah Heep, Freddy Bartholomew's young David, Lionel Barrymore's Mr. Peggoty or Maureen O'Sullivan's Dora Spenlow. As well, George Cukor's direction and period details are top-notch, as is the screen adoption of a very complicated novel. It's simply one of the greatest movies ever made.

This version of David COPPERFIELD is quite a good one, in that it does trim the 800 plus page novel down to reasonable coherence. There are some characters that one misses, but they are understandably cut due to length considerations. While Steerforth and his betrayal of the Peggoty Family is in the film (including the dual tragedy at it's conclusion), the sub-story of Little Em'ly's friend Martha and the business regarding Steerforth's mother, Rosa Dartle, and Mrs. Mowcher were dumped (Mrs. Mowcher would have been hard to cast). Pity, Mrs. Mowcher's famous speech to David about not confusing her physical attributes with her mental ones is missing. Also Steerforth's butler Littimer appears once, but the film does not get into the ironic coda of his imprisonment. While Uriah Heep's villainy against Mr. Wickfield and his clients is shown, his willingness to dig up dirt against other "enemies" is not shown. In particular his treatment of Dr. Strong (David's second schoolmaster), his young wife, and Jack Dalton is not developed (which is sad as it proves Mr. Dick is not simple minded).

But those are minor points really. The best jobs in the film are the work of the performers under George Cukor's direction: Edna Mae Oliver as the crusty, wise Aunt Betsy; Roland Young as the evil, greasy Uriah Heep (his best villain part); and W.C.Fields as Wilkins McCawber (Dicken's tribute to his lovable but improvident father) is superb - the one time his comic personae met the proper dramatic role; and Lionel Barrymore as Dan Pegotty determined to find his lost, ruined niece. Freddy Bartholemew's performance as young David is wonderful. But I must admit that Frank Lawson is a trifle colorless as the grown up David (although he has a funny moment at a dinner that Dora (Maureen O'Sullivan) tries to prepare). It is a weakness but a small weakness in a nearly perfect film.

This film is not just "okay", its a masterful adaptation of one of the world's great novels. Whatever shortcomings it may have for modern audiences due to its age and the technical limitations of the time are more than compensated for by the immense care and effort lavished on the production and a cast that is impeccably "right". Truly, this is one of the finest jobs of casting you could imagine, as MGM was blessed at this time to have a slate of brilliant and irreplacable character actors. My favorites: W.C. Fields at his peak, born to play Micawber; the inimitable and wonderful Edna May Oliver, Betsy Trotwood to a T; and Lennox Pawle, unforgettable as Mr. Dick. And if I wanted to be really tiresome, I could probably name 8 others. Dickens would have been pleased!