Charles Dickens Novel

Great Expectations (2011)

Posted on by Kent Film Office

 

Douglas Booth, Ray Winstone, Gillian Anderson, David Suchet and Vanessa Kirby staring into the camera in front of a misty sky and house

Great Expectations featuring Douglas Booth, Ray Winstone, Gillian Anderson, David Suchet and Vanessa Kirby © BBC

Directed By: Brian Kirk

Written By: Charles Dickens (Novel) & Sarah Phelps (Adaptation)

Starring: Gillian Anderson, David Suchet, Ray Winstone, Douglas Booth & Harry Lloyd.

Production Company: BBC and Masterpiece co-production

Kent Locations Used: St Thomas A Beckett Church in Fairfield

This three part mini-series based on Charles Dickens novel, Great Expectations has been adapted by writer, Sarah Phelps (Oliver Twist, Dickensian). The story centers on orphan Pip (Douglas Booth) and his transformation to becoming a gentlemen when a mysterious benefactor leaves him a large sum of money.

This BBC production was directed by Brian Kirk (Luther, Game of Thrones) and stars Douglas Booth (Noah, Jupiter Ascending), Ray Winstone (The Departed, Snow White and the Huntsman), Gillian Anderson (The X Files, Hannibal) and David Suchet (Agatha Christie’s Poirot, The Bank Job).

This adaption forms the centrepiece of the BBC’s celebration of Dickens as we move into 2012 and the bicentenary of his birth.  The most recent version of the novel to have been shot by the BBC was in 1999 and starred Ioan Gruffudd as Pip and Charlottte Rampling as Miss Havisham. This version aims to capture the romance whilst giving it a thrilling edge.

For those unfamiliar with the story, it tells of young orphan Phillip Pirrip (Pip) who lives with his sister and her husband, the kindly blacksmith Joe Gargery. Local spinster Miss Havisham requests his company at her home where she entertains herself by encouraging her adopted daughter Estella to be cruel to the young boy.  As he grows up, Pip’s circumstances change after the visit from Mr Jaggers who brings news that an unknown benefactor has left a substantial fortune on the condition that the boy is educated as a gentleman. Consequently, Pip travels to London where he lodges with Herbert Pocket, a boy from his youth and it is there that Pip finally learns the truth about his benefactor.

The filming for this adaption took place near Fairfield, at the isolated St Thomas Becket Church, which is situated on Romney Marsh. This iconic location was the ideal setting for the opening scenes, where Pip visits his parent’s graves and instantly the theme is set in a melancholy manner. Dickens found inspiration for this scene from another Kentish Church, St James’ at Cooling, on the marshes near the Hoo Peninsula.

An interesting piece of trivia for Dickens fans of Dickens is the fact that the role of Herbert Pocket, Pip’s friend in London, is played by none other than Charles Dickens’s great, great, great grandson Harry Lloyd, who also featured in a remake of David Copperfield starring a young Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter). Filming took place near Fairfield, at the isolated St Thomas A Becket Church. Situated on Romney Marsh, it was the perfect setting for the bleak opening scenes of the novel where Pip visits the graves of his parents. Another Kentish church, St James’ at Cooling on the marshes near the Hoo Peninsula , inspired Dickens to write this dramatic scene which also introduces Pip’s nemesis, prisoner Magwitch.

Great Expectations also features in the Kent Film Office Dickens Trail which launched in 2012.

Great Expectations aired on BBC1 from Tuesday 27 December 2011 at 9pm and is now available for DVD purchase.

 

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map. 

Little Dorrit (2008)

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The Cast of Little Dorrit standing on steps in front of a old worn out building with glass windows.

The Cast of Little Dorrit © BBC

Directed By: Adam Smith, Dearbhla Walsh & Diarmuid Lawrence

Written By: Charles Dickens (Novel) & Andrew Davies (Adaptation)

Starring: Clare Foy, Matthew Macfadyen, Tom Courtenay, Amanda Redman & Mackenzie Crook.

Production Company:

Kent Locations Used: Deal Castle

et Gowan (Georgia King) and Arthur Clennam (Matthew Macfadyen) having a conversation behind a market stool

Pet Gowan (Georgia King) and Arthur Clennam (Matthew Macfadyen) in Marseilles © BBC

Writer Andrew Davies achieved success with his adaptation of the Dickens’ classic Bleak House in 2005. Now the BBC has commissioned him to bring another Dickens tale to life, this time it was the  bard’s eleventh novel, Little Dorrit.

The novel was originally published over 19 monthly instalments between 1855 and 1857 and Davies’ adaptation tried to mirror this by creating 14 half hour episodes. First shown on BBC One over the festive period in 2008, it can now be purchased on DVD.

The series boasts an all star cast with appearances from Clare Foy (Upstairs, Downstairs) in the title role,  Matthew McFadden (Pride and Prejudice), Freema Agyeman (Doctor Who), Amanda Redman (New Tricks) and Kent’s very own Mackenzie Crook (The Office).

Maxine Peake, Freema Agyeman, Amanda Redman and Anton Lesser wearing period costumes standing in a street

Maxine Peake, Freema Agyeman, Amanda Redman and Anton Lesser in Little Dorrit © BBC

Telling the tale of young Amy Dorrit, known to those around her as Little Dorrit, who lives with her father in Marshalsea Debtors Prison in London, Dickens hoped to highlight the shortcomings of government and society at the time.  With the arrival of young Arthur Clenham, a business man returning to the family home after an extended stay in China, Amy Dorrit finds her whole world turned upside down. Hindered by the poorly run Circumlocution Office, Clenham begins an investigation into the secret his elderly mother is hiding and hopes to restore the Dorrit family’s wealth.

The production visited Deal Castle in April 2008 to film scenes set in Marseilles. Many locals were confronted with the strange sight of a French flag flying high over the Tudor fortress. The castle itself was transformed into a traditional Moroccan market, complete with aromatic spices, bright cloth and exotic birds in elaborate Victorian cages.

A fan of the Kentish Coast, Charles Dickens often spent time in the county’s popular seaside towns. From his summer residence in Broadstairs he would often enjoy “a walk of ten miles” to Deal, “a seaside town with no cliff”. He wrote about Deal in his novel Bleak House, where he set the temporary home of Richard Carstone, one of the wards in the case of Jarndyce and Jarndyce, who was visited by Esther Summerson.

It was also in Broadstairs that Dickens found inspiration for one of his most famous characters, that of Betsey Trotwood in David Copperfield. In what is now The Dickens House Museum, there lived a woman named Miss Mary Pearson who would often entertain Dickens with her belief that she had the right to stop donkeys from crossing the front of her cottage. It was this peculiarity that would find its way into David Copperfield.

Deal Castle is a Tudor castle built by the order of King Henry VIII located on the seafront. The Deal area has previously had filming from The Tunnel: Sabotage (2016), Antiques Roadshow (2015) and Legacy (2013).

The first hour long episode aired on Sunday 26th October 2008 at 8pm on BBC1 and is now available to buy on DVD.

Little Dorrit also features in the Kent Film Office Dickens Trail which launched in 2012: https://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/kent-movie-map/dickens-movie-trail/ 

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map. 

Oliver Twist (2007)

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Oliver Twist (William Miller) holds out his bowl in front of a crowded lunch hall.

Oliver Twist (William Miller) © BBC Photo Library

 

Directed By: Coky Giedroyc

Produced By: Kate Harwood, Sarah Brown & Coky Giedroyc

Written By: Charles Dickens (Novel) & Sarah Phelps (Adaptation)

Starring: Timothy Spall, William Miller, Adam Arnold, Tom Hardy, Sophie Okenedo, Rob Brydon

Production Company: BBC, WGBH

Kent Filming Locations: The Historic Dockyard Chatham

In the latest adaptation of Dickens’ Classic tale, the story of young orphan Oliver Twist is faithfully recreated by the BBC whilst delivering a modern and thrilling edge that is sure to entice audiences.

After the death of his mother, Oliver Twist (William Miller) is thrown into poverty and misfortune. Left to the mercy of the workhouse, he is routinely tormented with cruelty and starvation by the local Beadle, Mr. Bumble, and the workhouse employees.  When daring to ask for more food, Oliver is famously cast out of the orphanage and must make his own way in the world.

After narrowly escaping the clutches of his new guardians, owners of a local funeral parlor, Oliver walks the many miles to London. On arriving in the city he is found by the Artful Dodger (Adam Arnold), a pickpocket and the most senior of Fagin’s (Timothy Spall) gang. Experiencing kindness for the first time in the form of the beautiful Nancy (Sophie Okenado), girlfriend to the villainous Bill Sykes (Tom Hardy), Oliver is soon drawn in to the darker and seedier side of life in Victorian London.

Oliver Twist (Otherwise known as The Parish Boy’s Progress) is the second novel of renowned author Charles Dickens. Noted for its unromantic portrayal of criminals in London, the novel exposed the cruel treatment of children during the time.  The novel has been the subject for many adaptations on stage and screen, the most famous being Carol Reed’s musical Oliver! starring Ron Moody as Fagin and Oliver Reed as Bill Sykes.

Directed by Coky Giedroyc (Carrie’s War, Stella Does Tricks) and adapted by Sarah Phelps (EastEnders, The Casual Vacancy), starring Timothy Spall (The King’s Speech, Mr. Turner), William Miller (Runaway, The Kid), Adam Arnold (Hibernation, The Bill), Tom Hardy (Inception, Locke), Sophie Okenedo (After Earth, Hotel Rwanda) and Rob Brydon (Black Books, Gavin & Stacey)

Kent welcomed the production when it was filmed in 2007 to The Historic Dockyard Chatham which was the location used to shoot one of the most famous lines of Dickens’ literary history “Please Sir, I want some more”.  The Tarred Yarn Store at The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a Grade II listed building and was used to recreate the famous workhouse scene in the film.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a popular film location, having previously welcomed productions such as The Golden Compass (2007), The Mummy (1999) and The World Is Not Enough (1999).

Charles Dickens’ father, who was the inspiration for the character of Mr Micawber in David Copperfield, worked at The Historic Dockyard Chatham as a clerk in the Naval Pay Office from 1817 to 1822. The young Dickens would often accompany his father on trips downriver from Chatham to Sheerness on the Naval Pay Yacht “Chatham”. This inspired Dickens and instilled in him a love for the sea and rivers which would later feature in some of his novels.

First shown in 2007 in five episodes on BBC1, this adaptation is now available on DVD.

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map. 

Bleak House (2005)

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Bleak House filming at Cobham Hall - Gillian Anderson as Lady Dedlock and Anna Maxwell Martin as Esther sat on a bench in a formal garden, cobham hall can be seen behind

Bleak House filming at Cobham Hall © BBC and Terry Curran

Written By: Charles Dickens (Novel) & Andrew Davies (Adaptation)

Starring: Gillian Anderson, Ana Maxwell Martin, Carey Mulligan, Charles Dance, Patrick Kennedy & Denis Lawson

Production Company: BBC, WGBH, Deep Indigo Productions, Smallweed Productions

Kent Locations Used: Cobham Hall

This BBC A dramatic thriller set in Victorian England. It tells the story of the beautiful but icy Lady Dedlock (Gillian Anderson). Nursing a dark secret in her past, her merciless lawyer Tulkinghorn seeks to uncover it.

Running parallel to the central story, the generous John Jarndyce struggles with his own past and takes in two young wards Richard (Patrick Kennedy) and Ada (Carey Mulligan). Like the infamous Lady Dedlock, all three are caught up in the case of Jarndyce Vs Jarndyce, a court case many years long that is yet to be resolved. When it is, the winning party will be rich beyond all imagination.

The two young wards are accompanied by Esther Summerson (Ana Maxwell Martin), a woman of questionable background. Told she will never amount to anything, is she the key to Lady Dedlock’s secret?

First published in 1852, the novel was released in 19 instalments. To mirror Dickens’ original dramatic storyline and typical cliff-hanger endings, the TV adaptation was comprised of a one hour opening episode with subsequent 30 minute programmes lasting for 14 episodes. The programme was shown twice weekly in 2005 on BBC 1 and is now available to buy on DVD.

Behind the scenes filming of Bleak House at Cobham Hall - courtyard with people walking, horse and carriage driving past

Behind the scenes filming of Bleak House at Cobham Hall © Terry Curran

 

Behind the scenes filming of Bleak House at Cobham Hall - brick house with crew outside and a white horse on the grass in front

Behind the scenes filming of Bleak House at Cobham Hall © Terry Curran

Cast and crew filming outside at Cobham Hall gardens- fields and gardens can be seen in the background

Behind the scenes filming of Bleak House at Cobham Hall gardens © Terry Curran

cast members in costume in the gardens of Cobham hall.

Gillian Anderson as Lady Dedlockk at Cobham Hall © Terry Curran

The BBC adaption stars Gillian Anderson (The Fall, Johnny English Reborn), Ana Maxwell Martin (Becoming Jane, Philomena), Carey Mulligan (The Great Gatsby, Suffragette), Charles Dance (The Imitation Game, Ghostbusters), Patrick Kennedy (Atonement, War Horse) and Denis Lawson (New Tricks, Broken).

Cobham Hall is a private boarding school near to Gravesend located in 150 acres of Grade II listed parkland. The interiors boast a stunning ball room, library, cobbled courtyards, formal gardens, classrooms as well as sports facilities, including a swimming pool. Cobham Hall is a popular film location having previously been used for Hetty Feather series 1-2 (2012), The Great Fire (2014) and Wild Child (2008).

Bleak House features in the Kent Film Office Dickens Trail which was laucnhed in 2012: https://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/kent-movie-map/dickens-movie-trail/

Bleak House was shown on the BBC in 2005 and is now available to buy on DVD.

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map. 

Great Expectations (1999)

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Joe Gargery (Clive Russell ) with Young Pip (Gabriel Thomson) in his shoulders walking through a field, soldiers are walking either side of them

Joe Gargery (Clive Russell ) and Young Pip (Gabriel Thomson) © BBC

Directed By: Julian Jarrold

Written By: Charles Dickens (Novel) & Tony Marchant (Adaptation)

Starring: Ioan Gruffudd, Charlotte Rampling, Justine Waddell, Clive Russell

Production Company: BBC, WGBH

Kent Locations Used: Sheerness Docks, Kingswear Castle Paddlesteamer, Chatham Docks & River Medway

Surrounded by memorabilia from her ill-fated wedding, Ms Havisham invites local orphan Pip to her home to amuse her as she encourages her spiteful daughter Estella to break his heart. Pip’s future as a blacksmith is forever changed when an unknown sponsor pays for him to become a gentleman.

Starring Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four) as Pip, Charlotte Rampling (The Duchess) as Miss Havisham and Justine Waddell (Killing Bono) as Estella, this is the first BBC adaptation of the classic Dickens tale and was originally aired in 1999.

Young Pip (Gabriel Thompson) and Young Biddy (Laura Aikman) sat on the grass talking to each other, wicker baskets are behind them

Young Pip (Gabriel Thompson) and Young Biddy (Laura Aikman) in Great Expectations 1999 © BBC

Filmed in a variety of Kent Locations, the BBC brought Great Expectations back to the county where it was originally conceived by Dickens.  Herbert Pocket’s bride to be, Clara, provides a refuge for reformed convict Abel Magwitch at Sheerness Docks where exterior shots of her house were filmed. Pip and Herbert Pocket arrange to meet Magwitch and help his escape at Chatham Docks, where slip 8 was used for the scene and exterior shots of the prison hulk ships.

The dramatic scene where Magwitch attempts to escape is well known to fans of the Dickens classic. The local Paddle steamer, “Kingswear Castle”, was used for the scenes and the production company used Stangate Creek on the River Medway for shots of the ship on the Thames Estuary. The Kingswear Castle also features in the 1998 BBC adaptation of Dickens last novel, Our Mutual Friend, starring Anna Friel and Paul McGann.

Dickens’ features Kent locations in many of his novels. The city of Rochester, which holds annual Dickens celebrations each year, can be recognised in many of the author’s novels such as The Mystery of Edwin Drood, The Pickwick Papers and David Copperfield. The Kent Film Office celebrates Dickens history with the county including Tv and film adaptions in The Dickens Trail.

Great Expectations was shown on BBC in 1999 and is now available to buy on DVD.

 

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map. 

 

Our Mutual Friend (1998)

Posted on by Kent Film Office
Eugene Wrayburn (Paul McGann) and Mortimer Lightwood (Dominic Mafham) standing behind a wooden deck, wooden boats that are upside down can be seen behind them

Eugene Wrayburn (Paul McGann) and Mortimer Lightwood (Dominic Mafham) © BBC

Directed by: Julian Farino

Produced By: Caroline Wearing

Written By: Charles Dickens (Novel) & Sandy Welch (Adaptation)

Starring: Keeley Hawes, Paul McGann, Anna Friel, David Morrissey & Steven Mackintosh

Production Company: BBC

Kent Locations Used: The Historic Dockyard Chatham, River Medway

Our Mutual Friend was Charles Dickens’ last complete novel. It was written in 1864-1865 when he was at the height of his fame having recently published A Tale of Two Cities and Great Expectations. The main theme of the novel is money and the effect that it can have on personal values and relationships.  At it’s very core is the love triangle between repressed schoolteacher Bradley Headstone (David Morrissey – Thorne: Sleepyhead), his rival Eugene Wrayburn (Paul McGann – New Tricks)and their shared love interest Lizzie Hexam (Keeley Hawes – Upstairs Downstairs).

When  John Harmon, a young man whose inheritance is dependent on his marrying a woman he has never met, is found dead in the Thames, his fortune is passed onto the Boffin family who take both Harmon’s would-be bride Bella Wilfer (Anna Friel – Pushing Daisies) and mysterious secretary Rokesmith (Steven Mackintosh – Camelot) into their home. Meanwhile, Lizzie Hexam’s father is accused of Harmon’s murder and she is relentlessly pursued by her two suitors.

close up of Lizzie Hexam wearing a hood with a lantern behind her

Lizzie Hexam (Keeley Hawes) © BBC

Filmed at The Historic Dockyard Chatham, the location was used for the bleak side streets surrounding the workhouse. Charles Dickens’ father worked as a Naval Pay Officer at the Dockyard and it was here that Dickens developed a love of the sea, accompanying his father as a young boy. Later, these childhood adventures were a source of inspiration for novels such as Great Expectations and Our Mutual Friend.

The Kingswear Castle Paddlesteamer that is based at The Historic Dockyard Chatham was also used for filming the scene where Bella Wilfer and the Boffin family go for a day out.

The Historic Dockyard Chatham dates back to the 17th century and contains over 100 buildings from the Georgian and Victorian periods. The Historic Dockyard Chatham is a popular film location that has previously featured on screen in Suffragette (2015) and Les Miserables (2013).

Dickens has a rich history with Kent and the Kent Film Office celebrates Dickens history with the county including TV and film adaptions in The Dickens Trail which launched in 2012.

Our Mutual Friend aired on the BBC in March 1998 and is now available on DVD.

 

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map. 

The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1993)

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The Mystery of Edwin Drood movieposter 1993- close up reflection of a blurry face in the water, the figure of a man stood facing it. The Mystery of Edwin Drood movieposter written in red

The Mystery of Edwin Drood movieposter 1993 © A&E Home Video

Directed By: Timothy Forder

Written By: Charles Dickens (Novel) and Timothy Forder (Adaptation)

Starring:  Robert Powell, Gareth Arnold, Gemma Craven & Michelle Evans.

Production Company: First Standard Media

Kent Locations Used: Rochester Cathedral, Rochester

Famed as Dickens’ unfinished novel, the acclaimed author died in 1870 leaving the ending of the book a mystery forever.  Although both story and film are named for Edwin Drood, the narrative focuses on Drood’s uncle, choirmaster John Jasper, who is in love with his pupil Rosa Bud. Miss Bud is Edwin Drood’s fiancé, but she has also caught the eye of the hot tempered Neville Landless who arrives with his sister Helena. Landless and Drood take an instant dislike to one another just before Drood disappears under mysterious circumstances.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood was scheduled to be published in twelve monthly instalments, each costing one shilling. However Dickens’ died after the publication of the sixth instalment, leaving the story approximately half complete.

Much of the film is set in the fictional city of “Cloisterham”. Dickens was inspired by Rochester when writing many of his novels, including The Mystery of Edwin Drood, so it was only fitting for Director Timothy Forder to shoot the film in the great city itself.

Familiar Rochester sites will include Rochester Cathedral which doubled as Cloisterham Cathedral as well as Rochester Castle, which can be seen in the background of many shots. A row of Edwardian houses near the Cathedral called Minor Canon Row also appears in the film as Cloisterham streets. Famous actress Dame Sybil Thorndike lived at number 2 Minor Canon Row after growing up in Rochester City. Her final TV appearance was 6 years before her death in The Great Inimitable Mr Dickens, a story of the life of the author starring Anthony Hopkins.

Rochester Cathedral is of special significance regarding Charles Dickens. The author expressed a wish to be buried opposite the west front in the Castle moat which then formed part of the graveyard of St Nicholas Church. The spot is marked with a commemorative plaque and Dickens’s ghost is said to haunt the area. Inside the Cathedral, to the right of the Presbytery, by the magnificent Chapter room door, is another brass plaque memorial to Dickens. At 3pm on the last Sunday of the Summer during the Dickens festival held in early June each year, a garland of scarlet geraniums (his favourite flowers) are laid here during a service commemorating his life.

The city of Rochester is the home to many locations that feature in the classic Dickens novels. Chertsey’s Gate on Rochester High Street was the inspiration for Mr Jasper’s home in The Mystery of Edwin Drood and Topes Restaurant for the house of Mr Tope, the verger in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, where the character of Mr Datchery also stayed when visiting “Cloisterham”.

The Mystery of Edwin Drood also features in the Kent Film Office Dickens Trail which lauched in 2012: https://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/kent-movie-map/dickens-movie-trail/ 

The film was released in cinemas in 1993 and is now available to buy on DVD.

 

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map. 

Great Expectations (1989)

Posted on by Kent Film Office

 

Great Expectations Movieposter 1989- Montage of characters from the film overlapping. Great Expectations written in yellow over the top

Great Expectations Movieposter 1989 © Buena Vista Television

Director: Kevin Connor

Writers: Charles Dickens (Novel)

Starring: Kim Thompson, Jean Simmons, Anthony Calf & Anthony Hopkins

Production Company: Harlech Television (HTV), Primetime Television Ltd., Tesauro Television, Walt Disney Television

Kent Locations Used: Harty Church, Rochester, Chatham, Upnor village

With a future as a blacksmith before him, Pip is invited to the home of the lonely spinster, Miss Havisham, abandoned on the day of her wedding. Encouraging her adopted daughter Estella to break the young boy’s heart, Pip is sent there for her own entertainment. The young boy’s fortunes change when an unknown and generous person pays for Pip to travel to London and begin a new life as a gentleman.

Starring Kim Thompson (Emmerdale Farm, 1408) as Estella, Jean Simmons (Spartacus) as the haunting Miss Havisham, Anthony Calf (New Tricks) as Pip and Anthony Hopkins (The Silence of the Lambs, Thor) as Abel Magwitch, this Disney adaptation of the Dickens classic features many Kent locations.

Filming took place at Harty Church on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent: young Orphan Phillip (Pip) Pirrup, on a visit to the graves of his parents, meets the sinister escaped convict Abel Magwitch.  The church has part-Norman origins and is visited by both tourists and historians from around the world.

The crew also came to Upnor village to film, which provides the home of Herbert Pockets’ fiancée Clara’s house. Locals to the area will notice the Upnor Lighthouse as Pip docks in the village.

Another Kentish church, St James’ church in Cooling, which is situated on the marshes near the Hoo Peninsula, inspired Dickens so much, he used the location for the dramatic scene where Pip meets prisoner Magwitch.

 

For more information about Kent’s Filming History please visit our Movie Map.