Great Expectations (1946)

This weekend I had an all night long horror movie marathon, so I will write about that soon enough.  Today's film is Great Expectations.  I remember watching portions of this in high school while we read the book.  I greatly enjoyed the book, and the film does a fine job of going along with it.  My problem is that if I hadn't read the book, I might not have been as interested in this movie.

I was relating everything I watched with everything I read.  I don't think I would have understood Miss Havisham or what she was trying to do with Estella.  It was difficult to tell that she was wearing a wedding dress.  However, since we read the book in class before, the movie was spoiled for us.  I already knew who Pip's benefactor was, so that knowledge definitely affected how I perceived the movie.

I think that even if someone had not read the book before, they would still enjoy this movie, especially if they enjoy period pieces and Charles Dickens' stories.  The costumes were very nice, the acting was great (especially the child actors) and the action was never too slow.  I will give this film a 7/10.