''The Old Curiosity Shop'' is a 1934 British

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by

Thomas Bentley Thomas Bentley (23 February 1884 – 23 December 1966) was a British film director. He directed 68 films between 1912 and 1941. He directed three films in the early DeForest Phonofilm sound-on-film process, ''The Man in the Street'' (1926), '' ...

and starring Elaine Benson,

Ben Webster Benjamin Francis Webster (March 27, 1909 – September 20, 1973) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Career Early life and career A native of Kansas City, Missouri, he studied violin, learned how to play blues on the piano from ...

and

Hay Petrie David Hay Petrie (16 July 1895 – 30 July 1948) was a Scottish actor noted for playing eccentric characters, among them Quilp in ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' (1934), the McLaggen in '' The Ghost Goes West'' (1935) and Uncle Pumblechook in ''Great ...

. It is an adaptation of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

' 1841 novel ''

The Old Curiosity Shop ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' is one of two novels (the other being ''Barnaby Rudge'') which Charles Dickens published along with short stories in his weekly serial ''Master Humphrey's Clock'', from 1840 to 1841. It was so popular that New York r ...

''.

Production

The film was produced by

British International Pictures Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), originally British International Pictures (BIP), was a British film production, distribution and exhibition company active from 1927 until 1970 when it was absorbed into EMI. ABPC also owned appr ...

, one of the two most prominent British film studios of the time, at its base at

Elstree Studios Elstree Studios is a generic term which can refer to several current and demolished British film studios and television studios based in or around the town of Borehamwood and village of Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. Production studios ha ...

. Bentley was a well-established director who worked on several of the company's presigous historical films during the decade. He had previously directed a number of Dickens adaptations during the silent era, but this was his only Dickens talkie. The film sought to achieve a " painterly" effect in its interpretation of the original work. The recreation of the grotesque elements of Dickens' novel has led to it being described as an "

expressionist Expressionism is a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it rad ...

nightmare".Harper, p.41

Cast

* Elaine Benson as Nell *

as The Grandfather *

as Quilp * Beatrix Thomson as Quilp's Wife *

Gibb McLaughlin George McLoughlin (19 July 1879 – 30 June 1961), known professionally as Gibb McLaughlin, was an English film and stage actor. Early days McLaughlin was born in Sunderland, County Durham, England in 1879. For about 10 years he was a sales ...

Sampson Brass Sampson Brass is a fictional character in the 1841 novel ''The Old Curiosity Shop'' by Charles Dickens. He is a corrupt attorney who affects feeling for his clients, whom he then cheats. Among his clients is the villainous Daniel Quilp, the novel' ...

* Lily Long as Sally Brass *

Reginald Purdell Reginald Purdell (4 November 1896 – 22 April 1953) was an English actor and screenwriter who appeared in over 40 films between 1930 and 1951. During the same period he also contributed to the screenplays of 15 feature films, such as '' Th ...

Dick Swiveller Richard 'Dick' Swiveller is a fictional character in the 1841 novel '' The Old Curiosity Shop'' by Charles Dickens. Initially a comical accessory to the antagonists in the novel, he undergoes a transformation, becoming a key helpmate bridging the ...

Polly Ward Polly Ward (born Byno Poluski; 30 June 1912–23 February 1987) was a British singer and actress. Filmography * '' The Marriage Business'' (1927) * '' Alf's Button'' (1930) * '' Harmony Heaven'' (1930) * '' His Lordship'' (1932) * '' Kentucky Mi ...

as The Marchioness *

James Harcourt James Harcourt (20 April 187318 February 1951) was an English character actor. Harcourt was born in Headingley, Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire. He started work as a cabinet maker, and drifted into amateur dramatics. He appeared as a stage act ...

as The Single Gentleman * J. Fisher White as The Schoolmaster * Dick Tubb as Codin *

Roddy Hughes Rhodri Henry Hughes (19 June 1891 – 22 February 1970) was a Welsh theatre, film and television actor, who appeared in over 80 films between 1932 and 1961. Selected filmography * ''Mr. Bill the Conqueror'' (1932) * '' Reunion'' (1932) * '' Say ...

as Short *

Amy Veness Amy Veness (26 February 1876 – 22 September 1960) was an English film actress. She played the role of Grandma Huggett in ''The Huggetts Trilogy'' and was sometimes credited as Amy Van Ness. Veness was born Amy Clarice Beart in Aldeburgh, Suf ...

as Mrs. Jarley * Peter Penrose as Kit * Vic Filmer as Tom Scott

References

Bibliography

* Harper, Sue. ''Picturing the Past: The Rise and Fall of the British Costume Film''. British Film Institute, 1994.

External links

* * 1934 films 1934 drama films Films shot at British International Pictures Studios 1930s English-language films Films based on The Old Curiosity Shop Films directed by Thomas Bentley Films set in England Films set in the 1840s British drama films British black-and-white films 1930s British films {{1930s-UK-film-stub