The Life And Adventures Of Nicholas Nickleby (1947)

After his father dies, a young man (Derek Bond) turns to his rich but cold hearted Uncle (Cedric Hardwicke) for assistance in supporting his sister (Sally Ann Howes) and mother (Mary Merrall). The uncle agrees to aid the women but arranges for a position as a tutor at a school for his nephew. But the school turns out to be nothing more than a brutal prison like atmosphere where the boys are abused. Based on the massive classic novel by Charles Dickens (previously filmed in 1903 and 1912 and again in 2002) and directed by Alberto Cavalcanti (DEAD OF NIGHT). Dickens' novel is almost a thousand pages long and the movie is only one hour and 48 minutes so much of the book has been jettisoned or rearranged. While Dickens purists may be upset, I found it a decent telling of the book although somewhat lacking in atmosphere and over exaggerated in its more dramatic moments. Unfortunately because of the editing of the novel, many characters aren't fleshed out. With Stanley Holloway, Bernard Miles, Sybil Thorndike, Athene Seyler, Fay Compton, Alfred Drayton and Cathleen Nesbitt.