Great Expectations

1946
Approved
1h 58m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Jean Simmons, Finlay Currie, Valerie Hobson, Martita Hunt, John Mills, and Tony Wager in Great Expectations (1946)

A humble orphan boy in 1810s Kent is given the opportunity to go to London and become a gentleman, with the help of an unknown benefactor.A humble orphan boy in 1810s Kent is given the opportunity to go to London and become a gentleman, with the help of an unknown benefactor.A humble orphan boy in 1810s Kent is given the opportunity to go to London and become a gentleman, with the help of an unknown benefactor.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.8/10

27K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Won 2 Oscars
- 4 wins & 4 nominations total

Videos1

Trailer 3:01

Watch Great Expectations (1947)

Photos41

+ 33

More like this

7.8

8.0

7.7

6.3

7.9

7.3

6.1

7.2

The Passionate Friends

6.8

7.2

7.4

7.2

Storyline

Edit

Did you know

Edit

Trivia
Director Sir David Lean wanted his movie to have a feeling of heightened realism. Working closely in conjunction with art director John Bryan and cinematographer Guy Green, he employed several tricks, such as forced perspective, to achieve this effect. The famous opening shot in the graveyard, for instance, features a brooding church in the background, which, in reality, was only three meters (9'10") high.

Goofs
At the end, when Pip is persuading Estella to leave Satis House with him, a 'Chad' is clearly visible drawn on the screen behind him (Chads were a popular form of graffiti in the 1940s - a character with a big nose looking over a wall). Chad is a British term; the American equivalent would be Kilroy, as in 'Kilroy was here'.

Quotes
Pip: [narrating] In trying to become a gentleman, I had succeeded in becoming a snob.

Crazy credits
The identity of the actress playing Molly is never revealed, because this would constitute a spoiler.

Alternate versions
In some prints, after the fifteen minute "convict episode" at the beginning of the film ends, a voice-over by the adult Pip (John Mills) says, "it was a year later", as Mrs. Joe arrives home in the carriage. As now usually shown, there is no voice-over in this sequence.

Connections
Featured in Moscow in Madrid (1965)

User reviews153

Review

Featured review

10/10

A true classic

The term 'classic' is often banded about with regard to films but I feel this one does warrant the term. A masterpiece of film-making by one of the best director's to take the chair. From the opening on the flat marshland framed by the hangman's gantry, this is wonderfully atmospheric storytelling of the highest quality which manages to capture the feel of the novel. The inspired touches with the cows muttering to Pip when he takes the stolen food to the convict and the howling wind over London as Pip's past is about to knock on his door, stay in the mind. This film is rich in character and detail. A sumptuous film that is a real treat. I can still, even today, taste the pork pie that Pip steals from the larder and feel his fear as Joe's wife goes to look for it and the sadness as the older Pip is embarrassed by Joe in his upmarket London surroundings and watches his old friend leave London from his living room window. An absolute masterpiece of cinema.