The Old Curiosity Shop (1934 film)

The Old Curiosity Shop is a 1934 British drama film directed by Thomas Bentley and starring Elaine Benson, Ben Webster and Hay Petrie.^[1] It is an adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1841 novel The Old Curiosity Shop.

The Old Curiosity Shop
Directed by	Thomas Bentley
Written by	Charles Dickens (novel) Ralph Neale Margaret Kennedy
Produced by	Walter C. Mycroft
Starring	Elaine Benson Ben Webster Hay Petrie Polly Ward
Cinematography	Claude Friese-Greene
Edited by	Leslie Norman
Music by	Herman Finck
Production company	British International Pictures
Distributed by	Wardour Films First Division Pictures (US)
Release date	14 December 1934 (1934-12-14)
Running time	105 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Production

The film was produced by British International Pictures, one of the two most prominent British film studios of the time, at its base at Elstree Studios. Bentley was a well-established director who worked on several of the company's presigous historical films during the decade. He had previously directed a number of Dickens adaptations during the silent era, but this was his only Dickens talkie. The film sought to achieve a "painterly" effect in its interpretation of the original work. The recreation of the grotesque elements of Dickens' novel has led to it being described as an "expressionist nightmare".^[2]

Cast

• Elaine Benson as Nell
• Ben Webster as The Grandfather
• Hay Petrie as Quilp
• Beatrix Thomson as Quilp's Wife
• Gibb McLaughlin as Sampson Brass
• Lily Long as Sally Brass
• Reginald Purdell as Dick Swiveller
• Polly Ward as The Marchioness
• James Harcourt as The Single Gentleman
• J. Fisher White as The Schoolmaster
• Dick Tubb as Codin
• Roddy Hughes as Short
• Amy Veness as Mrs. Jarley
• Peter Penrose as Kit
• Vic Filmer as Tom Scott