''David Copperfield'' is a 1969 British-American

international co-production A co-production is a joint venture between two or more different production companies for the purpose of film production, television production, video game development, and so on. In the case of an international co-production, production companie ...

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

directed by

Delbert Mann Delbert Martin Mann Jr. (January 30, 1920 – November 11, 2007) was an American television and film director. He won the Academy Award for Best Director for the film '' Marty'' (1955), adapted from a 1953 teleplay of the same name which he ...

based on the 1850 novel of the same name by

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 ...

, adapted by

Jack Pulman Jack Pulman (11 July 1925 – 20 May 1979) was an award-winning British television screenwriter, most famous for the critically acclaimed 1976 BBC television series, ''I, Claudius'', based on the novels ''I, Claudius'' and ''Claudius the God' ...

. The film was released in the UK in 1970. It stars

Robin Phillips Robin Phillips OC (28 February 1940 – 25 July 2015) was an English actor and film director. Life He was born in Haslemere, Surrey in 1940 to Ellen Anne (née Barfoot) and James William Phillips. He trained at the Bristol Old Vic, where a c ...

in the title role and Ralph Richardson as Micawber, and features well-known actors Richard Attenborough, Laurence Olivier,

Susan Hampshire Susan Hampshire, Lady Kulukundis, (born 12 May 1937) is an English actress known for her many television and film roles. A three-time Emmy Award winner, she won for '' The Forsyte Saga'' in 1970, ''The First Churchills'' in 1969, and for ''Vani ...

Cyril Cusack Cyril James Cusack (26 November 1910 – 7 October 1993) was an Irish stage and screen actor with a career that spanned more than 70 years. During his lifetime, he was considered one of Ireland’s finest thespians, and was renowned for his in ...

Wendy Hiller Dame Wendy Margaret Hiller, (15 August 1912 – 14 May 2003) was an English film and stage actress who enjoyed a varied acting career that spanned nearly 60 years. Writer Joel Hirschorn, in his 1984 compilation ''Rating the Movie Stars'', desc ...

, Edith Evans,

Michael Redgrave Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave CBE (20 March 1908 – 21 March 1985) was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author. He received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''Mourning Becomes Elec ...

and

Ron Moody Ron Moody (born Ronald Moodnick; 8 January 1924 – 11 June 2015) was an English actor, composer, singer and writer. He was best known for his portrayal of Fagin in ''Oliver!'' (1968) and its 1983 Broadway revival. Moody earned a Golden Globe ...

Plot

Charles Dickens's story of a young man's journey to maturity. This version finds David Copperfield (Robin Phillips) as a young man, brooding on a deserted beach. In flashback, David remembers his life in 19th century England, as a young orphan, brought to London and passed around from relatives, to guardians, to boarding school. He relives his struggle to overcome the loss of his idyllic childhood and the torment inflicted by his hated stepfather after his mother's death. Then virtually abandoned on the streets of Victorian London, David Copperfield is flung into manhood and contends bravely with the perils of big-city corruption and vice; hardships which ultimately fuel his triumph as a talented and successful writer.

Cast

* Richard Attenborough as Mr. Tungay *

as Barkis * Edith Evans as Betsy Trotwood *

Pamela Franklin Pamela Franklin (born 3 February 1950) is a British former actress. She is best known for her role in the film '' The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie'' (1969), for which she won a NBR Award and received a BAFTA Award nomination. Franklin made her a ...

as Dora Spenlow *

Agnes Wickfield Agnes Wickfield is a character of ''David Copperfield'', the 1850 novel by Charles Dickens. She is a friend and confidante of David (the narrator and protagonist of this semi-autobiography) since his childhood and at the end of the novel, his secon ...

as Emma Micawber *

as Uriah Heep * Laurence Olivier as Mr. Creakle *Alistair Mackenzie as David Copperfield as a child. *

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield'' Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work, see is a novel in the bildungsroman genre by Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from inf ...

as Daniel Peggotty * Ralph Richardson as

Wilkins Micawber Wilkins Micawber is a clerk in Charles Dickens's 1850 novel ''David Copperfield''. He is traditionally identified with the optimistic belief that "something will turn up." His role in the story Micawber was incarcerated in debtors' prison (the ...

Emlyn Williams George Emlyn Williams, CBE (26 November 1905 – 25 September 1987) was a Welsh writer, dramatist and actor. Early life Williams was born into a Welsh-speaking, working class family at 1 Jones Terrace, Pen-y-ffordd, Ffynnongroyw, Flints ...

Mr. Dick Mr. Dick, whose full name is Richard Babley, is a character in the Charles Dickens novel ''David Copperfield'' and its many adaptions. His main role in the story is as a wise fool – amiable and innocent but also perceptive and effective. M ...

Sinéad Cusack Sinéad Moira Cusack ( ) is an Irish actress. Her first acting roles were at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, before moving to London in 1969 to join the Royal Shakespeare Company. She has won the Critics' Circle and ''Evening Standard'' Awards f ...

as Emily *

James Donald James Donald (18 May 1917 – 3 August 1993) was a Scottish actor. Tall and thin, he specialised in playing authority figures, particularly military doctors. Early life Donald was born in Aberdeen, the fourth son of a Scottish Presbyterian m ...

Edward Murdstone Edward Murdstone (commonly known as Mr. Murdstone) is a fictional character and the primary antagonist in the first part of the Charles Dickens 1850 novel ''David Copperfield'', secondary to Uriah Heep in the second part. Fictional character bi ...

* James Hayter as Porter *

Megs Jenkins Muguette Mary "Megs" Jenkins (21 April 1917 – 5 October 1998) was an English character actress who appeared in British films and television programmes. Life and career Jenkins was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, the daughter of a construction ...

as Clara Peggotty *

Anna Massey Anna Raymond Massey (11 August 19373 July 2011) was an English actress. She won a BAFTA Award for the role of Edith Hope in the 1986 TV adaptation of Anita Brookner's novel ''Hotel du Lac'', a role that one of her co-stars, Julia McKenzie, h ...

as Jane Murdstone *

Andrew McCulloch Andrew McCulloch may refer to: *Andrew McCulloch (civil engineer) (1864–1945), Chief Engineer of the Kettle Valley Railway in Canada *Sir Andrew McCulloch (British Army officer) (1876–1960), commander of 52nd Lowland Division from 1934&ndas ...

as Ham Peggotty *

Nicholas Pennell Nicholas Pennell (19 November 1938 – 22 February 1995) was an English actor who appeared frequently on film and television in the 1960s. He emigrated to Stratford, Ontario, Canada, where he became a stalwart of the Stratford Festival. Penne ...

as Thomas Traddles *

Corin Redgrave Corin William Redgrave (16 July 19396 April 2010) was an English actor and left-wing socialist activist. Early life Redgrave was born on 16 July 1939 in Marylebone, London, the only son and middle child of actors Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kem ...

James Steerforth James Steerforth is a character in the 1850 novel ''David Copperfield'' by Charles Dickens. He is a handsome young man noted for his wit and romantic charm. Though he is well liked by his friends, he proves himself to be condescending and lacking ...

Isobel Black Isobel Anne Gatward ( Black; born 15 December 1942), known professionally as Isobel Black, is a British actress. She is the daughter of the screenwriter Ian Stuart Black. Isobel Black attended Queen Elizabeth's Girls’ Grammar School in Barn ...

as Clara Copperfield *

Liam Redmond Liam Redmond (27 July 1913 – 28 October 1989) was an Irish character actor known for his stage, film and television roles. Early life Redmond was one of four children born to cabinet-maker Thomas and Eileen Redmond. Educated at the Christ ...

as Mr. Quinion

Production

It was made in the UK for

20th Century Fox Television 20th Television (formerly 20th Century Fox Television, 20th Century-Fox Television, and TCF Television Productions, Inc.) is an American television production company that is a division of Disney Television Studios, part of The Walt Disney Co ...

with some exteriors filmed in Suffolk, and interior scenes filmed at The Swan Hotel in

Southwold Southwold is a seaside town and civil parish on the English North Sea coast in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk. It lies at the mouth of the River Blyth within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town is ...

. The music score was the last Malcolm Arnold wrote for a film.

Release

The film was made to be shown on television in the United States, but was released to cinemas in the United Kingdom and elsewhere. The film had its premiere at the Carlton Haymarket in London on 2 January 1970. It opened at Studio One and on the

Rank Organisation The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment conglomerate founded by industrialist J. Arthur Rank in April 1937. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the United Kingdom, owning production, distrib ...

's circuit in North London on 4 January 1970.

DVD release

The film is available on a variety of budget label DVDs, but all of them are very poor-quality transfers.

References

External links

* 1969 films 1969 television films 1969 drama films British drama films Television shows based on David Copperfield Films based on David Copperfield Films shot at Pinewood Studios Films directed by Delbert Mann Films scored by Malcolm Arnold 20th Century Fox Television films 1960s English-language films 1960s British films {{tv-drama-film-stub