David Copperfield (1935)

 George Cukor's "David Copperfield"

In the first ever sound adapation to the classic Charles Dicken novel, George Cukor's 1935 film "David Copperfield" manages to be the most unanimously verified of all adaptations. The rights to the novel were procured by MGM, after David O. Selznick begged his father-in-law and employer, Louis B. Mayer, to aquire them. The reason for said beggings stems from Selznick's Russian father, Lewis J. Selznick, learning English through the novel. The film was directed by George Cukor, whom was experiencing great success at MGM at the time.

The film centers on David Copperfield, a young boy who goes through tragedy, grief, abuse, and all manner of life's difficulties. It is one of the most acclaimed coming-of-age stories of all time. It demonstrates the realities of life through the eyes of a child. However, it also manages to show the redeeming qualities of life through the people you surround yourself with.

My sentiments about the film coincide with Josh Mosher of "The New Yorker," who found the first half of the film "one of the superb things of the movies" and the second half more conventional. I felt myself thoroughly invested in the first hour, as child Copperfield deals with finding his place in the world. The second half of the film, when Copperfield becomes a young adult, is slightly less interesting and I found myself becoming distracted. Overall, though it is a fine film and a great adaption from the Dickens novel.