Alec-Guinness Movie Reviews

Great movie. If you like WWII documentaries and movies you should like this. Incredible performance by Alec Guiness. (Obi Wan himself!) Also see Bridge on the River Kwai for another greeat performance. Their is so much more to Alec than Star Wars. This movie claims to be based on an eyewitness account of Hitler's last 10 days in the bunker. I am a little suspicious of supposedly historial accurate movies. However, I believe this movie captures the spirit of Hitler if not his exact words. This guy was definitely the worlds biggest looney. In the end he seems more pathetic than menancing. Also features intercuts of actual WWII footage. Hitler is shown eating cake while the German people are cutting up a dead horse on the street to eat. Joseph Goebbels warns against white surrender flags while the actual footage shows white flags all over the ruined city. Anyone interested in Nazis or Hitler will like this. A character study of Hitler. (Freud would have had a field day with this guy!) I give it 4 stars because it ends to abruptly. What happens after Hitler shoots himself??? If I gave away the ending, get off your computer and study your history books! Filmed in England with all British actors.

So often Adolf Hitler has been portrayed in films as a raving psychotic, usually by actors physically unsuited for the part, with insultingly cheap stick-on mustaches. Finally Guinness delivers an accurate, temperate and sensible performance, giving viewers a glimpse of how Hitler really was. Guinness resembles Hitler to a reasonable degree and the script quotes from the Fuehrer's own table talk, so there is a degree of authenticity in the dialogue. The actress who portrays Eva Braun also comes up with a sober and fairly accurate portrayal of Hitler's mistress.

The plot is a bit plodding and the movie would be quite boring to anyone without a strong interest in WWII or the Third Reich. In addition, the ending of the movie is historically inaccurate and a trifle campy: Hitler and Eva never had an argument prior to their duel suicides.

Still, the reason for watching this movie is Alec Guinness' interesting performance as Hitler. Contrast his intelligent interpretation to the dozens of other inferior film Hitlers.

This vivid portrait of Hitler in his wanning days is nothing short of magnificent. This movie combines drama with documentry. Actually footage is cleverly interspaced during the movie to provide shocking reality checks to the bizarre events occuring in the bunker. In this movie we can see how Hitler became the victim of his own doomsday prophetcies. His cruelty remained with him to the last, and Guiness provides a emotional look at the last few days of his life. There will certainly be a debate over this movie and "The Bunker" with Anthony Hopkins. For me this was always the better film in terms of its intensity. The movie almost seems like a play and it moves along rapidly to its bitter finish. Some may think Guinness is too high strung in his Hitler, but his acting is nonetheless superb. Its seems almost like playing Hitler has become a main theatrical role to play. If so then Alec Guinness provides the leading example.

Since there is already an excellent plot synopsis, and good reviews, I have just a few comments. In selecting acting roles, Alec Guinness clearly felt that variety was the spice of life !
"The Man in the White Suit" is a brilliant, but very eccentric scientist, and Guinness is of course terrific in the lead. As always, Cecil Parker is fine in support, and Joan Greenwood, with her breathy, seductive voice, is wonderful. As other reviewers have noted, watch for Ernest Thesiger as "Sir John"--in just a few scenes he manages to convey pure evil and greed very convincingly.

While this film has humour, it is not quite a comedy in the usual sense. Its various themes and messages ring true even today. "Planned obsolescence" is as much a part of modern manufacturing as it has ever been. The possibility of a product that never wears out and will never need to be replaced is every big business' worst nightmare, and hardly good news for labour either. This comes across in the movie, and in 2003 I don't expect that the reaction would be any different. We have been hearing about engines that run on solar power or even water for years--guess how much "big oil" is going to let that happen ? !

The movie has a number of unforgettable scenes, including the climax where Guinness is cornered by the mob of workers and capitalists, united in their fear. The ending is as upbeat as one could expect, without compromising the seriousness of the theme.

The picture quality of the DVD is fine, especially for a 52-year old film.

If you like classic movies that are aimed at your brain, as well as your funny-bone, "The Man in the White Suit" fills the bill.

Putting together the information of the different reviews will give customers already a good idea about the plot of this very interesting movie. But I just wanted to add -I'm somewhat surprised that nobody made the comparison- that the sultry voice and some little feminine gestures of sensual Miss Joan Greenwood in this film bears quite some resemblance to Veronica Lake's. In fact, there was another thing that reminded me of a V.Lake/Alan Ladd movie: the character of the old boss of bosses of the textile industry somewhat resembles a catain pg industry, head of a dubious chemical plant in 'This gun for hire" 10 years earlier.
I guess the choice of "white" for the new product is not a coïncidence, being the complete opposite of the "black" city and the black cars and suits of the bosses.

I recently purchased The Horse's Mouth (1958) from Amazon as well as "The Alec Guinness Collection" which includes The Man in the White Suit (1951) plus four others: Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), The Captain's Paradise (1953), and The Ladykillers (1955). Frankly, I was amazed how well each of the six films has held up since I first saw it.

Directed by Alexander MacKendrick (who also directed The Ladykillers four years later), what we have in The Man in the White Suit is Guinness' own version of the naive, indeed eccentric visionary/inventor/humanitarian. Sidney Stratton's dream is to create a fabric which never wears out and cannot be soiled. Endless (sometimes explosive) experiments involving various gurgling contraptions prove unsuccessful. Meanwhile, Stratton is fired from his job in one research laboratory, continues his research in another, and eventually succeeds. Or so he thinks.

One of these film's several delights is Joan Greenwood's portrayal of Daphne Birnley, daughter of the owner of the company in whose laboratory Stratton finally discovers the correct formula for the miracle fabric. Her father is played with great style by Cecil Parker who is almost as eager to marry off his daughter as he is to save his company. Only a spoilsport would reveal the climax of this entertaining film, one which may surprise viewers as much as it does Stratton and Alan Birnley. Sadder but wiser, Stratton ambles (as only Guinness can) into an uncertain future. Nowhere else throughout the plot is the special soundtrack more effective than it is in this final scene.

Mute Witness is a film that makes me happy that independent filmmakers are still out there working hard to make the best films they can. Although its premise is not that unlike "Wait Until Dark," it winds the whole thing up in a new way to make the suspense even more unnerving.

Don't let the poster art mislead you. There is noone in this film with their lips sewn shut. The "mute" in this film is a female special effects expert on a low budget film. Having been born mute but not deaf, she can function almost perfectly in normal society. Of course we know that she is going to be delivered all sorts of frightful things, but what's the big deal? The big deal is she is part of a low budget film company shooting a horror film in Moscow...Russia. What if you were mute and couldn't convey your desires except in sign language?

Our lead (mute) character, Billie, witnesses a murder...and the murderer discovers this fact. The fact that Russia has long been a source of mystery to Americans, and represented a menacing presence to us, makes this suspense film all the more frightening.

With a cast of unknowns, Mute Witness delivers the frights and chills effectively. There isn't a single person who does a bad job of acting. The script is dynamite and so is everything else about this film.

This is the type of film that Hollywood should be making - but doesn't.

You'll love this film!

This film is a masterly piece of thriller cinema, unique for several reasons. First, it places a small, young American film crew in Moscow shooting a low-budget independent film--how many movies have that setting? Second, the protagonist, one of the crew, is a mute woman who serves various functions on the crew: props person, makeup artist, and others--and how many movies have that kind of protagonist? Third, it is the last appearance of Alec Guiness in a feature film.

The young woman accidentally witnesses a brutal murder by two Russian men of a Russian woman. The men hear something during the killing and chase her. What ensues is much more clever than a typical woman-in-jeopardy tale. The writer-director, Anthony Waller, does a superb job of throwing in unpredictable twists and turns at every bend in the road. The resolution is excellent and getting there is a whole lot of fun. It's great to see this top-notch suspense thriller finally coming out on DVD.

Upon release, this received excellent reviews from diverse publications. Highly recommended.

As far as directorial debuts are concerned, Anthony Waller's Mute Witness is a very impressive start indeed. It is the type of film that thanks to the boom in DVD market, have been unearthed by the studios from their vault that contains dozens of excellent little films yet waiting to go digital.
A mute American film technician working on a small horror slasher in Moscow accidentally witnesses a 'snuff' movie..this of course leads to edge-of-your-seat chases that are very well filmed, and to the conspiracy behind this gruesome affair, at the centre of which reigns the greatest of them all, Sir Alec Guiness in his last film for cinema before his death (in 2000).
The plot is not flawless of course,(there are just a few, especially in the second half),but the brilliant directing and the development of the plot will more than compensate for that.
Think of Afraid of Dark (the hugely underrated and excellent Brit independant film about a nearly blind boy who also witnesses a murder), and Halloween 2 with its non stop chases down hospital corridors,and you will probably have an idea about Mute Witness. Having said that, it is still an original film (Moscow setting, 'Snuff' movies', Alec Guiness..), and not your average commercial suspense movie the genre and like of which litter the market.
Good performances by all, excellent direction,nail biting scenes, these are all good enough reasons to make Mute Witness a fresh little movie that can be watched and enjoyed again and again.

Mute Witness is a film that makes me happy that independent filmmakers are still out there working hard to make the best films they can. Although its premise is not that unlike "Wait Until Dark," it winds the whole thing up in a new way to make the suspense even more unnerving.

Don't let the poster art mislead you. There is noone in this film with their lips sewn shut. The "mute" in this film is a female special effects expert on a low budget film. Having been born mute but not deaf, she can function almost perfectly in normal society. Of course we know that she is going to be delivered all sorts of frightful things, but what's the big deal? The big deal is she is part of a low budget film company shooting a horror film in Moscow...Russia. What if you were mute and couldn't convey your desires except in sign language?

Our lead (mute) character, Billie, witnesses a murder...and the murderer discovers this fact. The fact that Russia has long been a source of mystery to Americans, and represented a menacing presence to us, makes this suspense film all the more frightening.

With a cast of unknowns, Mute Witness delivers the frights and chills effectively. There isn't a single person who does a bad job of acting. The script is dynamite and so is everything else about this film.

This is the type of film that Hollywood should be making - but doesn't.

You'll love this film!

This film is a masterly piece of thriller cinema, unique for several reasons. First, it places a small, young American film crew in Moscow shooting a low-budget independent film--how many movies have that setting? Second, the protagonist, one of the crew, is a mute woman who serves various functions on the crew: props person, makeup artist, and others--and how many movies have that kind of protagonist? Third, it is the last appearance of Alec Guiness in a feature film.

The young woman accidentally witnesses a brutal murder by two Russian men of a Russian woman. The men hear something during the killing and chase her. What ensues is much more clever than a typical woman-in-jeopardy tale. The writer-director, Anthony Waller, does a superb job of throwing in unpredictable twists and turns at every bend in the road. The resolution is excellent and getting there is a whole lot of fun. It's great to see this top-notch suspense thriller finally coming out on DVD.

Upon release, this received excellent reviews from diverse publications. Highly recommended.

As far as directorial debuts are concerned, Anthony Waller's Mute Witness is a very impressive start indeed. It is the type of film that thanks to the boom in DVD market, have been unearthed by the studios from their vault that contains dozens of excellent little films yet waiting to go digital.
A mute American film technician working on a small horror slasher in Moscow accidentally witnesses a 'snuff' movie..this of course leads to edge-of-your-seat chases that are very well filmed, and to the conspiracy behind this gruesome affair, at the centre of which reigns the greatest of them all, Sir Alec Guiness in his last film for cinema before his death (in 2000).
The plot is not flawless of course,(there are just a few, especially in the second half),but the brilliant directing and the development of the plot will more than compensate for that.
Think of Afraid of Dark (the hugely underrated and excellent Brit independant film about a nearly blind boy who also witnesses a murder), and Halloween 2 with its non stop chases down hospital corridors,and you will probably have an idea about Mute Witness. Having said that, it is still an original film (Moscow setting, 'Snuff' movies', Alec Guiness..), and not your average commercial suspense movie the genre and like of which litter the market.
Good performances by all, excellent direction,nail biting scenes, these are all good enough reasons to make Mute Witness a fresh little movie that can be watched and enjoyed again and again.

This dramatization of Evelyn Waugh's novel is nicely done. The story concerns the marriage of Tony and Brenda Last, members of Britain's upper crust. From all outward appearances and, as far as the oblivious Tony is concerned the marriage is perfect. Brenda is bored and proceeds headlong into a destructive relationship with John Beaver, a man without personality or resources. Tony watches in denial and Brenda watches in self-absorption as their "perfect" world crumbles.

The dialogue in the film is remarkably faithful to the novel. With one notable exception, the actors quietly underplay the scenes, almost all of which involve tense and emotionally-wringing scenarios. This serves to underscore the absurdity of the "stiff upper lip" social mores of the time. The film stars James Wilby as Tony Last. Wilby is a dead ringer for the young Evelyn Waugh -- a nice touch given the story's autobiographical origins. Kristen Scott Thomas stars as Brenda.

About three-fourths of the film is set in London and rural Great Britain during the years between WWI and WWII. The remainder is set in the Amazon jungles. The film's score features native South American musical instruments throughout the scenes set in Great Britain which, again, serves to underscore the film's social themes.

Sir Alec Guinness dominates the jungle scenes as the amoral Mr. Todd. He's the one actor in this film who doesn't underplay his role. In this film, Guinness is unwashed, unshaven, scheming, hateful and maniacal. In short, he becomes "The Man Who Liked Dickens". I felt that his performance here was one of the best I've seen.

I rated this film 4 stars rather than 5 because there are one or two scenes which are so underplayed I would have missed them entirely had I not read the novel beforehand and been on the lookout for them.

Overall, this is definitely worth watching.

Films haven't got much better than this recently. The jewel in inception and the making of this film which makes it is that the producers know the limitations of the "great" film and just how many ingredients of a great film, and also then elements of the stage, go into making this world-beating drama.

This is one of the most distinctive films which has been made therefore: a film which knows the entertainment context of film, drama, literature, the stage and then the television or movie-house film today. This is supreme entertainment.

In the same tradition and indeed category, without qualification or doubt, as the great pieces of cinema of old - "as Lawrence of Arabia" - this is a modern piece of dramatic art for the nineties and remains remarkably unchallenged in this decade. There are few films of the the last few decades which see so far ahead. Neither an enfant savage nor an enfant terrible - rather this film is as it knows these have been high or prevalent in the cultural climate, in the general cultural prescription. And these notions or identities are and have long been lurking in a culturally bound class (and country). This is embedded within the dramatisation of the tale. The compass of the film and of the story are great but limited.

I give it five stars because of the supreme, engaging and limited but total cinematic nature of this piece, which unexpectedly touches but also inspires the intellect with the emotions in making the story true by successfully refusing to explicate this human fantasy story in anyway; by its actual subtlety of treatment of the book; by giving the audience a direct light to see this literary tale.

And so also a more intellectual fable is given to the viewer on a silver platter, to indulge in without even a semblance of exertion.

Actually I would think it was a true story because of the devious, contextually ambiguous ending - which is not quite cunning. Should be seen and seen again and kept precious.

This is a brilliant adaptation of Waugh's sharply satirical novel "A Handful of Dust" (also worth reading). The pace is beautiful and I thought the casting was perfect. Kristin Scott Thomas is remote and succinct as Lady Brenda, James Wilby as her husband Tony is restrained panic. Giving Rupert Graves the part of near-sociopathic Mr Beaver was a stroke of genius. He is good-looking without being overly unctuous.

The story is set in England of the 1930's. Tony and Lady Brenda, and upper class couple who live mostly in the country, have been married for seven years when Tony invites a man from his club to come and stay, Mr Beaver. Brenda gets an odd hankering for their guest, even though Mr Beaver proves himself to have feet of clay over and over again - but then so does she. There is a slow decline in Tony and Brenda's relationship, the deterioration filtering through layers of genteel gossip and impeccably good manners. The ending has a marvellous twist to it also. The script retains some of the sharpness of the Waughs novel, and much of the humour.

LOVESICK is a movie that has only a small ration of wit. However, if you like to believe that schzophrenia describes split personality, the script that this film followed was schzophreniic. There were moments when it followed a comedy line, then split to drama--you were never quite sure which-- but it was rarely comedy funny and hardly ever dramatic suspenseful. You could call it a dull romance. Dudley Moore, psychiatrist, falls in love with his atttractive patient, Elizabeth Mc Govern. He develops some stupid, not funny, cupid induced behavior. The love fixation develops into a romance that overcomes some pesky obstacles. Those obstacles are an erstwhile Mc Govern boyfriend, and Moore's wife. But, love conquered: [1]Mc Govern didn't care much for her boyfriend, and [2] Moore's wife has been having an affair with an artist--she's quite willing to give up Moore. Some suspense, the chance that Moore would lose his license, is directed at him from the psychiatric psychoanalysis community, but it is simply not an awful threat to Moore nor his career. I caught only one memorable funny scene when Moore complained to Elizabeth that she failed to help him with a patient because she had penis envy. Let me paraphrase: "You say I did it because I was castrated?" Elizabeth asked. "Yes," replied Moore. "Well, doctor, they are going to come after you with a net." That scene is worth three stars. It made my wife laugh. I saw this movie because Moore was linked in the casting to Alec Guiness and Elizabeth Mc Govern. Their talents were wasted even though the underlying thesis of this movie is correct; viz., guys who are lovesick belong in the funny farm.

This is a subtle, low key but very funny and wise film. Great showcase for Dudley Moore. Beautiful, sophisticated music score as well!

According to Leonard Maltin, this is a 2 star movie. And I can agree with that on most counts. What makes this movie a 5 star film is the special magic it casts upon the viewer - I mean me.

How can you put magic into words? Impossible.

I can only say this...there is a special magic about Moore falling for McGovern. You can see it happening - hell, I could see it on their faces. It's that knock-down-drag-me-out kind of love that defies emotional definition. It has happened to us all - at least I hope it has, for this kind of love is worth experiencing at least once.

What makes this film magical is the fact that it all works out. In real life there are too many variables that inevitably screw everything up. But in this movie, everything worked out perfectly. Only in Hollywood.

I would be greatly remiss if I didn't give special kudos to Peter Gabriel, whose beautiful music perfectly captured the beauty of the scenes. This music worked to enhance the magic still further. I only wish it were on CD! I'm a 56 year old male who still feels a tear when the last scene lifts to a panoramic view of Central Park and the music takes you away.

Last and not least, the actors collected for this enterprise are of noteworthy status...Moore, McGovern, Ron Silver, John Huston, David Strathairn, Alec Guinness, Alan King, Selma Diamond, and my favorite, Wallace Shawn. Quite a cast for a 2 star movie.

If you're not a romantic, you won't have the foggiest notion of what I'm talking about. But then, this movie is not for non-romantic people.

Forget "reality". Just watch this movie and let it take you away!!!!

In some ways, this is a charming but minor British comedy, most memorable for yet another in a seemingly infinite collection of excellent
comedic performances by Alec Guinness and for the opportunity to see a couple of great character actors in unusual roles : Bernard Lee (M in
the Bond Movies), as a police inspector and Peter Finch (of Network fame) as the debonair thief, Flambeau. You can take it for just that and
enjoy the film thoroughly.

But, on another level, the movie offers a relatively rare instance of cinema taking religious ideas seriously. The more obvious concept that
plays out here is that of redemption. Father Brown (Guinness) is not just another in the long line of British amateur sleuths who solves crimes
as a hobby, he's also a priest, concerned with saving the malefactors' souls. For those of us raised on Dirty Harry movies, the very notion that
criminals have souls is disturbing enough. But there's an even grander idea at play here; for Father Brown believes--quite rightly--that his life
as a priest, rather than insulating him from the rough and tumble of the "real" world makes him uniquely qualified to understand it and to
comprehend the darkest parts of the human heart. He explains to Flambeau that he hears things in the confessional that reveal all our faults and
failings and :

The more you learn about other people, the more you understand yourself;
and the more you understand yourself, the more you understand other people.

In fact, part of Father Brown's technique is a kind of early form of profiling; time and again he places himself in the criminal's mind and works
out how he might be thinking. And this is fitting because it is the signal insight of Judeo-Christianity, specifically, and, thereby, of
conservatism generally, that lurking within even the best of us (like a Father Brown) is all of the capacity and desire for sin that defines the
worst of us. The film has great fun with this as Father Brown enacts or reenacts the very crimes he's supposed to be investigating, and as it
does we see the thin line that separates him, or any of us, from the heinous.

As always, Alec Guinness inhabits his role to almost supernatural perfection--he's every bit the pudgy, too clever, cleric, managing to be both
endearingly sweet and scampishly wise in the ways of the world. Watching him perform one of these trademark screen transformations, I'm
always reminded of the line from Leonard Maltin's review of The Ladykillers "even his teeth are funny!" Unfortunately the story meanders a
little bit--G. K. Chesterton's original Father Brown adventures are just short stories, perhaps for good reason--and certain actions of the good
Father are difficult to reconcile with his character (like fooling the police into arresting an innocent man). Still and all, it's a good deal of fun
and the moral issues it addresses give it an unexpected, but welcome, gravity.

GRADE : B

Alec Guinness gives a wonderful performance as the priest-turned-sleuth in 'The Detective', called 'Father Brown' in the UK. Guinness is fairly young in this film, and it is wonderful for any fan of his other work ('Kind Hearts and Coronets' and 'Captain's Paradise' come to mind as earlier examples, or later work when he had become more well-known here in America,) to see him as a younger man. He is also accompanied by a marvellous cast, with Joan Greenwood and Peter Finch. The plot line is not complex, it is a classic sleuth sort of film, with an art thief (played by Finch) whom Father Brown is determined to catch, not only to bring justice, but also to, in his priest's duty, save the man's soul. It is admittedly not full of high drama twists and turns, but it is a mystery in the classic sense, and Guinness makes it more than worth it. I highly recommend this movie to anyone who loves mysteries, old movies, Alec Guinness, or all of the above!

Sir Carol Reed's 1960 film of Graham Greene's "Our Man in Havana" gets off to a slow start. The expatriate British widower Jim Wormold (Alec Guinness) is having difficulty making enough money to support the expensive tastes of his cherished teenaged daughter Milly (Jo Morrow), who has caught the idea of a Batista torturer and equestrian, Capt. Segura (Ernie Kovacs). The British spymaster for the Caribbean (Noël Coward) insists that Wormold become a British secret agent, and Wormold decides to take the money and when pressed for results, concocts nonsense "intelligence."

His ludicrous inventions, including a military installation he invents out of vacuum cleaner parts, are taken very seriously. As in Greene's "The Third Man" (also filmed by Reed) and "The Quiet American" (filmed by Joseph Mankiewicz), ignorance ("innocence") proves to be extremely dangerous to others. This film is not as great as those other two, but has a very strong cast (including Burl Ives as a German doctor, Maureen O'Hara as a plucky M16 professional sent to assist Wormold, and Ralph Richardson as the agency head back in London) and splendid black-and-white cinematography of Havana almost as good as that of Vienna and Hanoi in the other two films. The camerawork is by Oswald Morris, John Huston's cinematographer on another, broader 1950s spy spoof (Beat the Devil) and other films (including the 1952 Moulin Rouge, Moby Dick, The Roots of Heaven, The Man who Would be King, and Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison) plus Kubrick's "Lolita" and Reed's "Oliver!"

Guinness (who had a career in spying movies ahead of him!) delivers a subtle performance. More unexpectedly, so does Ernie Kovacs, who was generally a very broad and antic comic. A thuggish police officer in a Latin American dictatorship is an easy target, but Kovacs draws on the tradition of cortesia and is considerably more professional than the M16 establishment that turns out to be at least as devoted as he is to keeping up appearances. Burl Ives (who long outlived Kovacs, but stopped getting roles like those in which he was so memorable in the late 1950s) also delivers a subtle performance as he is dragged into the madness Wormold's fantasies unleash.

Graham Greene served in British Intelligence during the 1939-1945 war along with other literary types such as Malcolm Muggeridge. They all were less than impressed with the organization and expressed this in various literary ways. For Greene it was a series of semi historical novels. I would guess that Inspector Clouseau would not feel out of place in the MI6 of the post war era. In this novel Greene illustrates all of the misunderstandings and quirks of fate that foul up intelligence operations. An inept person is recruited into the organization. In order to show results he fakes the recruitment of subagents and fabricates information they are supposed to have given to him. His security is bad and these reports are read by the other side thinking they are true. The sub agents are arrested and tortured to death. The hero is recalled to London and given a medal and retirement to cover up for the bungling of himself and the poor judgement of the person who recruited him and the people who accepted his false information and used it for national policy direction.

The Criterion Collection DVD of "Great Expectations" almost surpasses its original brilliance on the silver screen. Visually stunning, the early Victorian mood is perfectly captured. The somewhat predictable story nonetheless stays true to the literary classic.

A young John Mills (father of the 1960s Disney favorite Hayley Mills) plays the grown up hero, Pip, who was picked as a companian by an excentric spinster when he was a boy. Growing up with a considerably older, abusive sister and her kindly husband, Pip serves as a whipping boy for the ever moody sister. Eventually the sister takes ill and passes on, upon which the step-father takes a new wife, this time one just as sweet and kind as he.

When the grown-up Pip is told that an anonymous benefactor will finance a life of leasure for the young man, Pip is certain that the Old Lady is behind it. As time passes, Pip grows into a regular idle snob. The girl he had secretly loved re-enters the picture. The resulting situations (including a rivalery with another suiter) are formula, thus offer little surprise. Of course, someone else turns out to be the mysterious benefactor.

As all of Charles Dickens' Classics, the stories center around early Victorian conflicts between the haves and the have-nots. Although the themes are timeless, the production seems dated, assuring a limited audience. As a school teacher I would recommend the film as a "special treat" following the reading/discussion of the book...

This black-and-white version from the Forties is still to me the definitive cinematic interpretation of Dickens. David Lean and co. weave a visual and emotional phantasm that is true to the novel, yet compact and, well, lean. The images of the film shimmer in one's memory and allow the page upon rereading to fill even fuller. The love and respect for the writer is everywhere, unlike the recent remake that goes so idiotically out of control. I also recommend Lean's "Oliver Twist", and the more recent "Little Dorrit", which is interminably long, but worth it.

An Academy Award winner for Best Art and Set Direction and Best Cinematography in a black and white film, this 1947 version of the classic Dickens novel was adapted for the screen by British director David Lean. I can understand why it won those awards. Without the availability of modern technical effects, he was able to create a perfect atmosphere and sense of foreboding, keeping the mood and dark macabre feeling of the novel throughout. He also kept some key scenes intact, the young Pip's meeting with the convict, the mad Miss Havisham, and the ghoulish atmosphere in the law offices of Mr. Jaggers, whose walls are decorated with the death masks of clients he had lost to the gallows.

In most respects, this film stayed true to the novel. But it is impossible to condense Dickens into a spare two-hour film. Perhaps it was because I had just finished the novel the day before, but I couldn't help but notice how some characters were missing, many scenes were eliminated, the ending was changed and the plot seemed an oversimplification of the one I had just lived with in the book for the past month.

Without exception, all of the actors were excellent, but I wondered a bit at the casting. John Mills played the young pip who was supposed to be 20. In reality, he was 38 years old at the time and, in those days before plastic surgery, even had some crows feet around his eyes. Alex Guinness, who was cast as Herbert Pocket who befriends the adult Pip, was actually 32 and both of these gentlemen just didn't have the freshness of youth that was so apparent in the Dickens novel.

Age didn't seem to matter though in the casting of the convict. Finlay Currie, with his craggy face and threatening bearing was 68, but he played the role as if it was created just for him. Jean Simmons played the young Estella, her performance overshadowing that of Valerie Hopson who was cast as the older Estella. Marita Hunt played Miss Havisham, exactly as I had pictured her in my mind's eye. And Francis L. Sullivan's gave a perfect portrayal of the lawyer Jaggers.

Perhaps if I had let several decades pass between my reading of the book and my viewing of the film, the edges would have softened on my memory and I would have not been as critical. The film was really good and a great way to experience Dickens through this director's interpretation of his work. It certainly is a wonderful story and I've noticed from a bit of research on the Net that there are nine movie versions, three TV programs and four TV series. I plan to keep on the lookout for other videos which might exist of these offerings as I am now fascinated by the story and by the variety of interpretations. I do recommend this 1947 version, especially if you haven't read the book. It is totally in keeping with the intentions of the original.

Although it's set in the 60's, it holds up today. Think of it as a period piece and remember it was during the cold war. You have to think Michael Caine turned this down because it's so close to his spy movies. There's no thrilling chases or Bond-type tricks, just plodding pursuit of his quest. However the enemy just lets him go twice and that will spoil it for the real thinkers. Just enjoy it and try to forget George in his "Just Shoot Me" TV role.

Milles away from JAMES BOND and other mindless spy spoof ,this entry is a delightful surprize, quite arresting from PINTER who scripted movies like ACCIDENT and THE GO-BETWEEN.Watching GEORGES SEGAL gets lost is always worth seeing(he always gets lost in most movies)Nice cameo by the late ALEC GUINNESS;we didn't have teachers as beautiful as SENTA BERGER in my time.If you must make a spy movie this the way it can be handled ,although some would prefer more action.

"The Quiller memorandum" is an unfortunately often overlooked Cold War-era spy thriller that is an excellent example of the genre. Set in a divided Berlin, it pits our hero, Quiller of MI-6 (played with world-weary, casual aplomb by the wonderful George Segal) against an evil underground cell of resurgent neo-Nazis, led by Max von Sydow. The beautiful German actress Senta Berger literally glows on the screen and features in an interesting plot twist made all the more disturbing by her on-screen job as a school teacher. The incredible Alec Guiness, in a small but critical role as Pol, epitomizes the faintly creepy, ever-inscrutable British spymaster that one never knows is friend or foe. Elegantly directed on location by Michael Anderson, it stands with "The Spy Who Came in from the Cold" as one of the two best 'non-James Bondish" spy films of the late 60's. STRONGLY recommended!!