Friday, October 27, 2006
CLASSIC COMIX
Today's NYTimes Best 1176 Film was
It is surprising how really good this film is.
It moves along, of course, reducing the original Dickens novel to its Cliff Notes or Classical Comics level of detail. The genius of the scriptwriting is that this doesn't seem to matter. The bits that are left out are inferred and clarified nicely and one doesn't mind the compression at all.
The cause for this might lie in the long winded Dickensian prose, but never mind.
The characters are all there and none is more surprising than W.C. Fields as Macawber. He does his stuff and stays in role at the same time. Amazing.
Freddy Bartholomew was a great child actor and I always enjoy Edna May Oliver as the tough aunt with a heart of gold.
There is little to cavil about.
I will give it a 4 out of Netflix5.
This is just out, incidentally, and it is a nice restoration.
