David Copperfield

• Director: Delbert Mann
• AMG Rating:
• Genre: Drama
• Movie Type: Childhood Drama, Period Film
• Themes: Down on Their Luck, Orphans
• Main Cast: Richard Attenborough, Cyril Cusack, Edith Evans, Pamela Franklin, Susan Hampshire
• Release Year: 1970
• Country: US/UK
• Run Time: 118 minutes

Plot

This lackluster 1970 version of Charles Dickens' classic novel, David Copperfield (made as a film twice before) turns Dickens' picaresque tale into an extended flashback, with David Copperfield (Robin Phillips) as a young man, brooding on a deserted beach, recalling his youth. The characters are all trotted out in choppy flashbacks as David remembers his life as a young orphan, brought to London and passed around from relatives, to guardians, to boarding school. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Cast

• Richard Attenborough - Mr. Tungay
• Cyril Cusack - Barkis
• Edith Evans - Betsy Trotwood
• Pamela Franklin - Dora Spenlow
• Susan Hampshire - Agnes Wickfield

Wendy Hiller - Mrs. Micawber; Ron Moody - Uriah Heep; Laurence Olivier - Mr. Creakle; Robin Phillips - David Copperfield; Michael Redgrave - Mr. Peggotty; Ralph Richardson - Micawber; Emlyn Williams - Mr. Dick; Sinéad Cusack - Emily; James Donald - Mr. Murdstone; Megs Jenkins - Clara Peggotty; Anna Massey - Jane Murdstone; Corin Redgrave - Steerforth; Andrew McCulloch - Ham; Alastair Mackenzie - Little David; Nicholas Pennell - Thomas Traddles; Isobel Black - Clara Copperfield; Liam Redmond - Mr. Quinion; Donald Layne-Smith - Mr. Wickfield; Christopher Moran - Boy Steerforth; Kim Craik - Child Emily; Helen Cotterill - Mary Ann; James Hayter - Porter; Gordon Rollings - Milkman; Anne Stallybrass - Martha; Brian Tipping - Boy; George Woodbridge - Vicar; Jeffrey Chandler - Boy Traddles

Credit

Alexander Vetchinsky - Art Director, Anthony Mendleson - Costume Designer, Dominic Fulford - First Assistant Director, Delbert Mann - Director, Peter Boita - Editor, Malcolm Arnold - Composer (Music Score), Ken Hodges - Cinematographer, Peter Manley - Production Manager, Frederick H. Brogger - Producer, Jack Pulman - Screenwriter, Charles Dickens - Book Author