Great Expectations (1934 film)

This article is about the 1934 film adaptation of Dickens' novel. For other uses, see Great Expectations (disambiguation).

Great Expectations
poster
Directed by	Stuart Walker
Written by	Gladys Unger
Based on	Great Expectations 1861 novel by Charles Dickens
Produced by	Stanley Bergerman
Starring	Phillips Holmes Jane Wyatt Florence Reed Francis L. Sullivan
Cinematography	George Robinson
Music by	Edward Ward
Production company	Universal Pictures
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	October 22, 1934 (1934-10-22)
Running time	100 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Great Expectations is a 1934 adaptation of the 1861 Charles Dickens novel of the same name. Filmed with mostly American actors, it was the first sound version of the novel and was produced in Hollywood by Universal Studios and directed by Stuart Walker. It stars Phillips Holmes as Pip, Jane Wyatt as Estella and Florence Reed as Miss Havisham.

Critics consider this 1934 version far inferior to the classic 1946 version, made in England and directed by David Lean. A notable link between the two movies is that Francis L. Sullivan played the role of Jaggers in both.

This film differs somewhat from the novel in making Miss Havisham more eccentric than insane. Unlike the novel, she does not wear her bridal veil constantly, does not seem to have really engineered all of Pip's misfortunes with Estella, and dies offscreen of natural causes rather than in a fire.

Cast

• Henry Hull as Abel Magwitch
• Phillips Holmes as Pip
• Jane Wyatt as Estella
• Florence Reed as Miss Havisham
• Alan Hale as Joe Gargery
• Rafaela Ottiano as Mrs. Joe Gargery
• George Barraud as Compeyson
• Francis L. Sullivan as Mr. Jaggers
• Douglas Wood as Wopsle
• Forrester Harvey as Uncle Pumblechook
• George P. Breakston as Pip, as a Child
• Harry Cording as Orlick
• Eily Malyon as Sarah Pocket (billed as Eily Malyan)
• Anne Howard as Estella, as a Child
• Walter Armitage as Herbert Pocket
• Walter Brennan as Prisoner on Ship (uncredited)

External links

• Great Expectations at IMDb
• Great Expectations at the TCM Movie Database
• Great Expectations at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films