The Old Curiosity Shop (1934 film)

The Old Curiosity Shop is a 1934 British drama film directed by Thomas Bentley and starring Elaine Benson, Ben Webster and Hay Petrie.[1] It is an adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1841 novel The Old Curiosity Shop.

The Old Curiosity Shop
Directed byThomas Bentley
Written byCharles Dickens (novel)
Ralph Neale
Margaret Kennedy
Produced byWalter C. Mycroft
StarringElaine Benson
Ben Webster
Hay Petrie
Polly Ward
CinematographyClaude Friese-Greene
Edited byLeslie Norman
Music byHerman Finck
Production
company
Distributed byWardour Films
First Division Pictures (US)
Release date
14 December 1934
Running time
105 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Production

The film was produced by British International Pictures, one of the two most prominent British film studios of the time, at its base at Elstree Studios. 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 nightmare".[2]

Cast

References
  1. BFI.org
  2. Harper, p.41

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


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