A Literary Pursuit at Cinematheque

With a dozen films based on the works of Dickens, the American Cinematheque clearly has great ex-

pectations for the holidays.

“Great Expectations: Charles Dickens on Film,” beginning tonight at the Egyptian and continuing through Dec. 30, features 12 movies that run the gamut from such classics as David Lean’s “Great Expectations” and “Oliver Twist” and George Cukor’s “David Copperfield” to oddities such as a silent version of “A Tale of Two Cities.”

In fact, the festival features four rare silent adaptations of the English novelist’s works.

A double bill of silents screens Friday, beginning at 7 p.m. with “A Tale of Two Cities,” produced by Vitagraph Films. The movie stars the noted stage performer Maurice Costello as Sydney Carton and Florence Turner as Lucie Manette.

Sharing the bill is the entertaining 1922 version of “Oliver Twist,” starring Jackie Coogan, fresh from his success in “The Kid,” as the charming orphan and the Man of a Thousand Faces himself, Lon Chaney, excelling as the wily crook, Fagin.

The movie was a hit with audiences and critics alike: “The result is a motion picture thoroughly worthwhile and of a very definite appeal,” said the Exhibitors Trade Review. Directed by Englishman Frank Lloyd, who was a Dickens scholar, the film had been considered lost for many years until film historian and preservationist David Shepard found a print in Yugoslavia in 1975. Both films will feature musical accompaniment by Robert Israel.

Another all-silents night is scheduled for Wednesday at 7 p.m. First up is a 1913 version of “David Copperfield.” Directed by Thomas Bentley, this was the first full-length feature shot in England. Kenneth Ware, Dora Spenlow and H. Collins star. Also screening that evening is the 1923 adaptation of Dickens’ lesser-known “Cricket on the Hearth.” Fritzie Ridgeway, Josiah Tackleton, Paul Gerson and director Lorimer Johnston star. Both films will have musical accompaniment.

Lean’s early masterpiece, 1946’s “Great Expectations,” opens the festival this evening at 7 p.m. John Mills is top-notch as Pip, and he’s matched every step of the way by Jean Simmons, Alec Guinness, Francis L. Sullivan and Bernard Miles. Guy Green, who later became a director, supplies the lush, atmospheric black-and-white cinematography. The film was nominated for three Oscars, including best film, director and screenplay. A discussion will follow with Green.

The beloved 1935 adaptation of “David Copperfield” screens Friday at 9:15 p.m. George Cukor directed David O. Selznick’s lavish, literate adaptation of Dickens’ novel. Nominated for best film, “David Copperfield” stars enchanting child actor Freddie Bartholomew as the plucky orphan and an irresistible W.C. Fields as Micawber, the colorful spendthrift who befriends the young David. Basil Rathbone is perfectly cast as the chillingly evil Murdstone, and Edna Mae Oliver is a delight as David’s eccentric Aunt Betsey. Charles Laughton originally was cast as Micawber but left the production after a week’s worth of filming.

Two versions of “A Christmas Carol” are scheduled for Saturday. Screening at 5 p.m. is the underrated 1938 MGM adaptation that has been overshadowed by the 1951 British production.

The wonderful British character actor Reginald Owen hits all the right notes as the ultimate miser, Scrooge. Equally fine are Gene Lockhart and his real-life wife, Kathleen, as Bob and Mrs. Crachit. Their young daughter June makes her film debut as one of the Crachit children. Leo G. Carroll also is featured as Marley’s ghost. Directed by Edwin L. Marin. A discussion follows with June Lockhart.

The lavish 1970 musical version, “Scrooge,” screens at 7:15 p.m. Albert Finney is a kick as the miser, though he can’t sing his way out of a paper bag. (Remember “Annie”?) Ronald Neame, who produced Lean’s “Oliver Twist” and “Great Expectations,” directed this enjoyable musical, which features some toe-tapping tunes from Leslie Bricusse, including the Oscar-nominated “Thank You Very Much.” The supporting cast includes such veterans as Dame Edith Evans, Kenneth More and Guinness as a very creepy Jacob Marley. His sequence could scare the kiddies. A discussion with Neame will follow.

Lean’s respected 1948 version of “Oliver Twist” is on tap for Wednesday at 7 p.m. The film ran into controversy initially because the depiction of Fagin, who is a Jew, was considered too anti-Semitic. In fact, “Oliver Twist” was denounced by the League of the B’nai B’rith in Berlin, where it even caused riots. “Oliver Twist” wasn’t released in America until 1951, and even then, certain scenes involving Fagin were excised. It was some nearly 20 years later before the original version was seen in America.

John Howard Davies, who went on to be a TV producer, is a most adorable Oliver; Robert Newton sends chills up the spine as the evil Bill Sykes; and Guinness is a standout as Fagin. Look for Anthony Newley as the Artful Dodger. A discussion follows with cinematographer Green.

The 1935 thriller “The Mystery of Edwin Drood” is scheduled for Dec. 29 at 7 p.m. Based on Dickens’ last and unfinished novel, this unusual and spooky Universal production stars the always dependable Claude Rains as an opium-addicted choir director obsessed with a lovely young woman. Douglass Montgomery, Heather Angel and David Manners also star.

Following “Drood” is Ealing Studio’s handsome 1947 production of “Nicholas Nickleby,” directed by the great Alberto Cavalcanti (“Dead of Night”). Derek Bond plays the poor but resourceful Nick and Cedric Hardwicke is his evil uncle, Ralph. Bernard Miles, Sally Ann Howes and Sybil Thorndike also star.

Ronald Colman appears without his trademark mustache in David O. Selznick’s tasteful 1935 production of “A Tale of Two Cities,” screening Dec. 30 at 5 p.m. Colman plays Sydney Carton, a wastrel and cynic who poses as the husband of the woman he secretly loves so the man will be saved from the guillotine during the French Revolution. Directed by Jack Conway, the drama also stars Basil Rathbone, Elizabeth Allan (Elizabeth Montgomery’s mother) and Edna May Olivier. The storming of the Bastille sequence was actually directed (uncredited) by Val Lewton and Jacques Tourneur.

Rounding out the festival is the 1968 Oscar-winning musical “Oliver!,” screeningSaturday at 7:30 p.m. Based on Lionel Bart’s London and Broadway hit, “Oliver!” was directed by Sir Carol Reed, who was best known for such thrillers as “The Third Man” and “Odd Man Out.” He won his only Oscar for his work on this lavish, old-fashioned film. Ron Moody is a hoot as Fagin, and Mark Lester is all sweetness and light as Oliver. Jack Wild is a joyful Artful Dodger, and Oliver Reed is terrifying as Bill Sykes. A discussion follows with Shani Wallis, who played the ill-fated Nancy, and choreographer Onna White.

* “Great Expectations: Charles Dickens on Film” screens today through Dec. 30 at the Lloyd E. Rigler Theater at the Egyptian, 6712 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Admission is $7 for the general public; $5 for members. For information call (323) 466-FILM or go to https://www.egyptiantheatre.com