Charles Dickens Filmography

David Copperfield

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Rowan Atkinson

Synopsis: Mr. Bean star Rowan Atkinson steps into the role of comic landlord Mr. Micawber for director Peter Howitt's screen adaptation of the classic novel by revered author Charles Dickens. Widely regarded as one of the author's most autobiographical works, David Copperfield follows a young orphan coming Read More

Oliver Twist

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Ben Kingsley, Barney Clark, Jamie Foreman, Harry Eden, Leanne Rowe

Synopsis: Director Roman Polanski gives one of Charles Dickens' best-loved stories a new and dynamic interpretation in this period drama. Oliver Twist (Barney Clark) is a young orphan in Victorian England who has been sent to a dank workhouse run by the miserly Mr. Bumble (Jeremy Swift) when it is learned Read More

Bleak House

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Gillian Anderson, Patrick Kennedy, Carey Mulligan, Nathaniel Parker

Synopsis: A trio of orphans becomes embroiled in a mysterious and long-running lawsuit in this sprawling BBC adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel. A legend in the legal circles of Victorian London, the messy inheritance case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce has been trickling through the courts for years with no Read More

Karroll's Christmas

Crew: Book Author

Synopsis: Just before Christmas, idealistic greeting-card writer Allen Karroll (Tom Everett Scott) cooks up a "special moment" wherein he will propose to his sweetheart Carrie (Deanna Milligan) in a public place before thousands of oohing and aahing spectators. Alas, Carrie turns him down flat, so Read More

Christmas Carol: The Musical

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Kelsey Grammer, Jesse L. Martin, Jane Krakowski

Synopsis: Differentiating this TV-movie version of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol from the hundreds of other adaptations of the same Yuletide classic is its tongue-in-cheek ambience and a bundle of memorable tunes by perennial Disney composer Alan Menken and former Schoolhouse Rock lyricist Lynn Ahrens. Read More

A Boy Called Twist

Crew: Book Author

Synopsis: Writer/director Tim Greene takes Charles Dickens' classic novel of an orphan in Victorian England and transports it to present-day Cape Town, South Africa, for his feature debut, Boy Called Twist. Newcomer Jarrid Geduld stars as the boy, who is sent to an orphanage when his mother dies shortly Read More

Nicholas Nickleby

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Jamie Bell, Jim Broadbent, Tom Courtenay, Alan Cumming, Edward Fox, Anne Hathaway, Charlie Hunnam, Christopher Plummer, Juliet Stevenson

Synopsis: One of Charles Dickens' best-loved (and most complex) stories receives its fourth feature film adaptation in this lively historical comedy-drama. Nicholas Nickleby (Charlie Hunnam) is a 19-year-old who becomes the head of the family when his father dies unexpectedly. Keeping watch over his mother (Stella Gonet Read More

Christmas Carol: The Movie

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Simon Callow, Kate Winslet, Nicolas Cage, Michael Gambon, Jane Horrocks

Synopsis: This animated version of Charles Dickens classic story Christmas Carol adds some new touches, but primarily follows the traditional tale of the miserly and cruel Ebenezer Scrooge being confronted by a series of ghosts who show him the true meaning of Christmas. His experience leads to his Read More

Nicholas Nickleby

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Charles Dance, James D'Arcy, Sophia Myles

Synopsis: This 2000 TV miniseries is based on an 1839 Charles Dickens novel, The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby. The film begins with the burial of Mr. Nickleby beneath snow-covered earth. Attending are Nickleby's wife and teenage children, Nicholas (James D'Arcy) and Kate (Sophia Myles). Because Read More

A Diva's Christmas Carol

Crew: Book Author

Synopsis: "Christmas Can Be Such a Bitch" was the tasteful advertising tag line for this updated and revised TV-movie adaptation of Dickens' oft-filmed fable A Christmas Carol. This time around, Victorian penny-pincher Ebenezer Scrooge as been transformed into a beautiful, imperious, foul-mouthed pop singer Read More

David Copperfield

Crew: Book Author

Synopsis: Hot on the heels of the BBC's multipart 1999 adaptation of Charles Dickens' semiautobiographical novel David Copperfield came this American-financed version, prepared for the TNT cable network as part of the Hallmark Hall of Fame. Child actor Max Dolbey and adult performer Hugh Dancy share the Read More

A Christmas Carol

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Patrick Stewart, Richard E. Grant, Joel Grey, Ian McNeice, Saskia Reeves

Synopsis: Patrick Stewart stars as Ebeneezer Scrooge in this made-for-TV adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic holiday fable. Scrooge is a skinflint businessman who loathes the Christmas season and begrudges having to give time off to his best employee, Bob Cratchit (Richard E. Grant). On Christmas Eve Read More

Great Expectations

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Ioan Gruffudd, Justine Waddell, Charlotte Rampling, Ian McDiarmid, Bernard Hill

Synopsis: Charles Dickens' classic novel, which has been brought to the screen at least six times in the past (including a modernized adaptation released in 1998), is committed to film once again in this production for television by the BBC. Pip is an orphan who lives with his older sister and her husband Read More

Oliver Twist

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Alex Crowley, Andy Serkis, Sam Smith, David Ross, Julie Walters, Roger Lloyd Pack, Michael Kitchen, Robert Lindsay

Synopsis: This 2000 television adaptation of Charles Dickens' Victorian classic was originally released as a six-hour, three-part miniseries on PBS. Adapted by Alan Bleasdale, this version of Oliver Twist gives viewers a new look at an old story, waiting 90 minutes to even introduce its eponymous hero Read More

David Copperfield

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Bob Hoskins, Maggie Smith, Ian McKellen, Ciarán McMenamin

Synopsis: A distinguished cast highlights this made-for-TV adaptation of one of Charles Dickens' best-loved novels. Young David Copperfield (Daniel Radcliffe) is loved by his mother Clara (Emilia Fox), but does not get along with his foul-tempered stepfather, Murdstone (Trevor Eve). After biting Murdstone Read More

Great Expectations

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Ethan Hawke, Gwyneth Paltrow, Hank Azaria, Chris Cooper, Anne Bancroft, Robert De Niro

Synopsis: Alfonso Cuaron (The Little Princess) directed this Mitch Glazer screenplay, a modernization of the 1860-61 classic by Charles Dickens. Some situations in the film are presented as memories -- the way the central figure, Finnegan Bell (Ethan Hawke) recalls events many years later. At a Florida Read More

Our Mutual Friend

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Paul McGann, Keeley Hawes, Anna Friel, Steven Mackintosh

Synopsis: One of several British miniseries adaptations of Charles Dickens' novel Our Mutual Friend, this four-part version debuted over the BBC in 1998. The production's generous running time (total: six hours), enabled scenarist Sandy Welch to include virtually every important detail in this complex Read More

Ms. Scrooge

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Cicely Tyson, Katherine Helmond, Michael Beach, John Bourgeois, Rae'Ven Larrymore-Kelly

Synopsis: In 1974, Cicely Tyson and director John Korty (The Ewok Adventure) worked together on the acclaimed The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman (winner of nine Emmys), and they reteamed for this updating of Charles Dickens' 1843 classic, A Christmas Carol. When miserly banker Ebenita Scrooge (Tyson) is Read More

A Christmas Carol

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Tim Curry, Whoopi Goldberg, Michael York, Ed Asner

Synopsis: This animated retelling of the Charles Dickens classic makes for light holiday viewing. The familiar tale begins with the miserly Ebeneezer Scrooge (voice of Tim Curry), who would rather count his money than celebrate the season with his put-upon employee, Bob Cratchit (voice of Michael York). In Read More

Hard Times

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Richard E. Grant, Alan Bates

Synopsis: The difficult realities of life in Britain during the early Industrial Age are explored in this made-for-television adaptation of the novel by Charles Dickens. Thomas Gradgrind (Bob Peck) is a schoolteacher working in Coketown, a grim industrial town in the North of England, who believes that Read More

Martin Chuzzlewit

Crew: Book Author

Synopsis: Charles Dickens' 1844 novel Martin Chuzzlewit was given one of its few TV presentations in this six-part British adaptation, which originally aired on BBC2 from November 7 to December 12, 1994. The youngest son of a mercenary London family, Martin Chuzzlewit was sent to America to learn the Read More

The Old Curiosity Shop

Crew: Book Author

Synopsis: In this Disney version of Charles Dickens' The Old Curiosity Shop, Nell Trent is well cared for by her kind and gentle grandfather (Peter Ustinov) at his London curiosity shop. She, in turn, looks after him, cooking meals and keeping him company with her angelic smile and loving nature, vowing Read More

A Christmas Carol

Crew: Book Author

Synopsis: This version of the Dickens tale has been animated for kiddie consumption. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide Read More

The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Robert Powell, Jonathan Phillips

Synopsis: This drama is adapted from Dicken's unfinished novel and centers upon a choirmaster who is insanely jealous of his fiancee. This jealousy causes him many problems down the road. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide Read More

The Muppet Christmas Carol

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Michael Caine, Steve Whitmire, Jerry Nelson, Frank Oz

Synopsis: Brian Henson, the son of Muppet founder Jim Henson, took over directing duties after the untimely death of his father for The Muppet Christmas Carol, a sluggish re-telling of the Charles Dickens tale. Michael Caine, surrounded by legions of fuzzy, felt puppets, plays it straight as the crotchety Read More

A Tale of Two Cities

Crew: Book Author

Synopsis: Masterpiece Theatre's 1991 production of A Tale of Two Cities is a faithful adaptation of Charles Dickens' classic French Revolution drama. The story focuses on English lawyer Sydney Carton, who has an unrequited love for Lucie Manette, the wife of French aristocrat Charles Darnay. After Charles' Read More

Charles Dickens' Ghost Stories

Crew: Book Author

Synopsis: This children's video features a trio of Pickwick Papers animated ghost stories. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide Read More

A Tale of Two Cities

Crew: Book Author

Synopsis: The fourth presentation of Masterpiece Theatre's 1989-90 season, a four-part adaptation of Dickens' Tale of Two Cities, was so lavish an undertaking (especially for TV) that it ended up a Production of Two Cities. Part of the program was taped at London's Granada studios, while the remaining Read More

Hard Times

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Henrique Viana, Joaquim Mendes, Julia Britton, Ruy Furtado, Eunice Munoz

Synopsis: This classy drama is an updated version of Dickens' novel. Filmed entirely in black and white, the tale is set in the Portuguese industrial town of Poco do Mundo (World's End). The story centers on the schoolmaster's two children. The sister is married to a prominent factory owner. She is terribly Read More

Great Expectations

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Anthony Calf

Synopsis: Produced for British television, this multipart adaptation of Dickens' Great Expectations stars Anthony Hopkins as the mysterious convict Magwich, who secretly finances the education and entree into society of young Pip. With 6 hours at its disposal, this version is able to cover the length and Read More

Oliver and Company

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Joey Lawrence, Billy Joel, Cheech Marin, Bette Midler

Synopsis: In this modernized, animated adaptation of Dickens' Oliver Twist, set in the grim streets of New York City, Oliver is an innocent kitten trying to survive. He finds himself involved with a gang of canine crooks owned by the evil human Fagin. One day, Oliver and his pal the Chihuahua Tito find Read More

Little Dorrit

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Alec Guinness, Derek Jacobi, Cyril Cusack, Sarah Pickering, Joan Greenwood, Miriam Margolyes

Synopsis: Little Dorrit was intended as the cinematic equivalent to the mammoth, eight hour Royal Shakespeare Company's staging of Dickens' Nicholas Nickelby. The film was released to theatres in two parts, each running approximately three hours. The first part, subtitled "Nobody's Fault," introduced us to Read More

Little Dorritt: Dorritt's Story

Crew: Book Author

Little Dorritt: Nobody's Fault

Crew: Book Author

Oliver Twist

Crew: Book Author

Black Adder's Christmas Carol

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Rowan Atkinson, Tony Robinson, Miranda Richardson, Stephen Fry, Patsy Byrne

Synopsis: The cast and crew of the satirical British comedy series Blackadder reunited for this perverse one-hour spin on Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Rowan Atkinson stars as Ebeneezer Blackadder, a kindly and beloved London businessman. Alas, Ebeneezer is too warm-hearted and generous to suit his greedy Read More

Ghost Stories

Crew: Book Author

Charles Dickens Collection

Crew: Book Author

Synopsis: Produced by Burbank Films, The Charles Dickens Collection consists of seven animated adaptations of Dickens' classic novels. Each installment runs 72 minutes, and each does an admirable job distilling the essence of Dickens' storytelling art within so short a time. Individual titles include "A Read More

Great Expectations: The Untold Story

Crew: Book Author

Synopsis: Budgeted at six million dollars -- a hefty sum for Australian television -- the six-hour miniseries Great Expectations: The Untold Story helpfully endeavored to plug the plot holes thoughtlessly left behind by Charles Dickens in his original novel. The emphasis was on the escaped convict Magwitch (John Stanton Read More

Oliver Twist

Crew: Book Author

Synopsis: This animated version of Oliver Twist tells the familiar Charles Dickens' tale of the title orphan who falls under the guidance of the criminal Fagan and the evil Bill Sykes before finding happiness. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide Read More

Nicholas Nickleby

Crew: Book Author

Synopsis: One of Charles Dickens' best-loved stories comes to the screen in this animated adaptation suitable for the whole family. Nicholas Nickleby tells the tale of a young man born into a family of privilege who is forced to learn the ways of the real world when his father dies, leaving the family in Read More

Oliver Twist

Crew: Book Author

Synopsis: The second British miniseries adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist aired over the BBC in 1985. Ben Rodska essays the title character, a much-maligned orphan boy who, unbeknownst to himself, is heir to a vast fortune. Before finding this out, Oliver falls into the clutches of the Read More

Pickwick Papers

Crew: Book Author

Synopsis: Based on Charles Dickens' classic tale, this animated film chronicles the exploits of a curious gentleman as he and his friends travel about looking to broaden their intellectual horizons. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide Read More

Bleak House

Crew: Book Author

Synopsis: This 1985 television production faithfully adapts Charles Dickens' Bleak House, an indictment of Victorian England's corrupt legal and class systems that prey on the weak and the innocent. Esther Summerson (Suzanne Burden), a kind and level-headed young woman introduced as an orphan, is the link Read More

A Christmas Carol

Crew: Book Author

Actors: David Warner, George C. Scott

Synopsis: Charles Dickens' classic holiday tale of one man learning the true meaning of Christmas is brought to the screen once again in this made-for-TV movie. Ebenezer Scrooge (George C. Scott) is a cynical old man whose greatest concern is money, and who regards compassion as a luxury he can't afford. On Read More

A Tale of Two Cities

Crew: Book Author

Synopsis: This animated version of Charles Dickens' classic novel, tells of the selfless act one man performs for the sake of the woman he loves. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide Read More

The Old Curiosity Shop

Crew: Book Author

Synopsis: Charles Dickens' richly detailed story of a young girl and her grandfather struggling against difficult circumstances is given an animated interpretation in this screen version created for family audiences. In The Old Curiosity Shop, Little Nell lives with her grandfather, and together they run a Read More

Great Expectations

Crew: Book Author

Synopsis: In this animated feature, Charles Dickens' classic story of the adventures of the young orphan Pip and his mysterious benefactor is told. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide Read More

Dombey and Son

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Julian Glover

Synopsis: Julian Glover portrays Mr. Dombey in the drama Dombey and Son. Dombey is a proud man who wants most in his life to have a male heir he can pass his business on to. His wish eventually comes true, but at great cost when his wife dies during the birth of the boy. Dombey also fractures his Read More

Mickey's Christmas Carol

Crew: Book Author

David Copperfield

Crew: Book Author

Synopsis: Charles Dickens' classic story of a young man trying to overcome poverty and a blighted family life returns to the screen in this animated adaptation designed for family viewing. In David Copperfield, a young man is thrown into the world of adult responsibilities after the death of his mother. Read More

Scrooge's Rock 'n' Roll Christmas

Crew: Book Author

Oliver Twist

Crew: Book Author

Actors: George C. Scott

Synopsis: Clive Donner directs Oliver Twist, the 1982 made-for-TV version of the classic Dickens novel. Richard Charles plays Oliver Twist, an orphan boy who gets kicked out of his juvenile workhouse when he asks for some more food. He is sent to work as an apprentice, but he quickly escapes and joins a Read More

Great Expectations

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Patsy Kensit, Gerry Sundquist

Synopsis: Dickens' oft-filmed novel Great Expectations has been adapted several times for British television. This version was offered as a two-parter in 1980, then distributed to the U.S. in 1981. Gerry Sundquist stars as Pip, a young boy of humble means whose subsequent career in London is subsidized by a Read More

A Tale of Two Cities

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Peter Cushing, Chris Sarandon, Flora Robson

Synopsis: Chris Sarandon does the "far, far, better thing" when he tackles the dual role of Syndey Carton and Charles Darnay in this Anglo-American TV adaptation of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. The ubiquitous producer/screenwriter combination of Norman Rosemont and John Gay was responsible for Read More

A Christmas Carol

Crew: Book Author

Synopsis: This version of the Dickens classic features music and choreographed dance to tell the old, old story. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide Read More

An American Christmas Carol

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Henry Winkler

Synopsis: Made up to look like a septuagenarian, Henry Winkler plays Benedict Slade, a Scrooge-like miser living in a tiny New England town during the Depression. Slade goes Scrooge one further by repossessing items from a poor farm couple and an orphanage on Christmas eve. While reading a copy of Dickens' Read More

The Old Curiosity Shop

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Natalie Ogle, Sebastian Shaw

Synopsis: Previously adapted for British television in 1962, Charles Dickens' novel The Old Curiosity Shop was given the BBC miniseries treatment a second time beginning December 9, 1979. On this occasion, Natalie Ogle starred as Little Nell, resourceful granddaughter of an elderly shopkeeper (Sebastian Shaw Read More

The Charles Dickens Collection: Great Expectations

Crew: Book Author

Synopsis: This animated adaptation of Dickens' novel Great Expectations tells the story of a young working-class boy whose entree into society is financed by a mysterious benefactor. Produced in Canada by WBTV productions, Great Expectations continued to make the cable-TV rounds into the 2000s. ~ Hal Read More

The Stingiest Man in Town

Crew: Book Author

Synopsis: Walter Matthau gives voice to Scrooge in this animated version of A Christmas Carol. Other noted voices include Tom Bosley, Theodore Bikel, Robert Morse and Dennis Day. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide Read More

Rich Little's Christmas Carol

Crew: Book Author

Synopsis: In this one-man rendition of A Christmas Carol, Rich Little is Ebenezer Scrooge and the rest of the famed classic's characters. ~ All Movie Guide Read More

Hard Times

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Patrick Allen, Timothy West, Jacqueline Tong, Edward Fox

Synopsis: Strange as it seems, the 1977 adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel Hard Times was the first full-scale adaptation of this work ever seen on British television. Set (of course!) during the Industrial Revolution, the multiplotted story line was held together by the travails of Louisa Gradgrind (Jacqueline Tong Read More

A Christmas Carol

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Michael Hordern, John Le Mesurier, Bernard Lee, Patricia Quinn, Clive Merrison

Synopsis: In this adaptation of Dickens' classic, Scrooge and company are animated. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide Read More

Nicholas Nickleby

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Nigel Havers, Derek Godfrey, Robert James

Synopsis: Nigel Havers (Chariots of Fire, Empire of the Sun) heads a five-star British cast including Kate Nicholls and Derek Godfrey, in the 1977 BBC miniseries Nicholas Nickleby, an adaptation of Charles Dickens' seminal 1838-1839 serial. The bittersweet story recounts the passing of Nickleby's (Havers) Read More

The Old Curiosity Shop

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Anthony Newley, David Hemmings, David Warner, Michael Hordern, Paul Rogers

Synopsis: The musical Mr. Quilp was based on one of Dickens' grimmest works, The Old Curiosity Shop, which has as its highlight the death of its heroine. The principal character is a villain, a hunchbacked usurer who wishes to take over the business of an antique dealer. Anthony Newley plays the horrid Mr. Read More

The Passions of Carol

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Mary Stuart, Marc Stevens, Jamie Gillis, Kim Pope

Great Expectations

Crew: Book Author

Actors: Joss Ackland, Margaret Leighton, James Mason, Michael York, Sarah Miles

Synopsis: This third talking-picture version of Charles Dickens' novel Great Expectations stars Michael York as Pip, the humble British lad whose aspirations to become a gentleman are financed by a mysterious benefactor. We first see young Pip (played by Simon Gipps-Kent) coming to the aid of escaped Read More

David Copperfield

Crew: Book Author

Actors: David Yell