David Copperfield (1970)

TOMATOMETER

——

——

Critic Consensus: No consensus yet.

AUDIENCE SCORE

29%

Want to See

Not Interested

Add Rating
My Rating    

David Copperfield Photos

View All Photos

Movie Info

This lackluster 1970 version of Charles Dickens' classic novel, David Copperfield (made as a film twice before) turns Dickens' picaresque tale into an extended flashback, with David Copperfield (Robin Phillips) as a young man, brooding on a deserted beach, recalling his youth. The characters are all trotted out in choppy flashbacks as David remembers his life as a young orphan, brought to London and passed around from relatives, to guardians, to boarding school.
  • Rating:
    NR
  • Genre:
    Drama, Television
  • Directed By:
    Delbert Mann
  • Written By:
    Jack Pulman
  • In Theaters:
     wide
  • On Disc/Streaming:
  • Runtime:
  • Studio:
    20th Century Fox Film Corporation

Cast

Robin Phillips
as David Copperfield
Susan Hampshire
as Agnes Wickfield
Edith Evans
as Aunt Betsy Trotwood
Laurence Olivier
as Mr. Creakle
Richard Attenborough
as Mr. Tungay
Cyril Cusack
as Barkis
Pamela Franklin
as Dora Spenlow
Wendy Hiller
as Mrs. Micawber
Ron Moody
as Uriah Heep
Michael Redgrave
as Mr. Peggotty
Ralph Richardson
as Mr. Micawber
Emlyn Williams
as Mr. Dick
Isobel Black
as Clara Copperfield
Sinead Cusack
as Emily
James Donald
as Mr. Murdstone
James Hayter
as Porter
Megs Jenkins
as Clara Peggotty
Anna Massey
as Jane Murdstone
Nicholas Pennell
as Traddles
Corin Redgrave
as Steerforth
Liam Redmond
as Quinion
Alastair Mackenzie
as Little David
Andrew McCulloch
as Ham
Donald Layne-Smith
as Mr. Wickfield
Helen Cotterill
as Mary Ann
Kim Craik
as Child Emily
Christopher Moran
as Boy Steerforth
Jeffrey Chandler
as Boy Traddles
Brian Tipping
as Boy
Alison Blair
as Girl
Gordon Rollings
as Milkman
George Woodbridge
as Vicar
William Lyon Brown
as Doctor
Christine Ozanne
as Midwife
Phoebe Shaw
as Prostitute
Robert Lankesheer
as Mr. Sharp
Anne Stallybrass
as Martha
View All

Critic Reviews for David Copperfield

All Critics (1)

The whole enterprise [has] a curious air of rather smug dejection-luxuriant moping, allied to considerable self-satisfaction.

Jul 11, 2018 | Full Review…
The Spectator
View All Critic Reviews (1)

Audience Reviews for David Copperfield

A moody Copperfield roams the beach lost in thoughts of the life that brought him there. Seems like a good idea, maybe, but the execution is tiresome and his mournful walks on the beach get to be old ... fast. Although the performances seem to understand something of the popular English tale, the director does not, and this production is more like a slough through the beach at Normandy during the D-Day Invasion than anything else. Pass.

Kevin M. Williams
Kevin M. Williams

Super Reviewer

View All

David Copperfield Quotes

There are no approved quotes yet for this movie.

News & Features