Freddie Bartholemew is absolutely phenomenal as the young David Copperfield. The film starts out with Edna May Oliver with Elizabeth Allan; I thought I was back to the even greater "A Tale of 2 Cities," which starred both along with Basil Rathbone, who as the stepfather, gives new meaning to cruelty. It is the latter subject of cruelty that dominated Charles Dickens' two masterpieces- '2 Cities' as well as 'Copperfield.'The film shows the treachery of early England regarding how children worked forcibly in all sorts of difficult activities. No child labor laws here. The cast is excellent, especially along with Bartholemew, Oliver and Rathbone, there is Jesse Ralph as a kindly, devoted servant. Lionel Barrymore is rather subdued here.While this is a very good film, it does lose some power once Copperfield grows up. It then essentially becomes a love story as well as greed and ultimate redemption.

This swirling, memorable adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic novel might have become a classic itself had it been given a half-hour longer to run and fewer subplots to carry. Still, it is an entertaining exemplar of what helped to make Hollywood's Golden Age.After his father's early death, English boy David Copperfield (Freddie Bartholomew) is exposed to various hardships that test him and sort out true friends from false ones. Grown to adulthood, David (now played by Frank Lawton) pursues a career as a writer while looking out for those he loves.The best thing "Copperfield" has going for it is a marvelous range of characters representing (with one major exception) the cream of Hollywood's second-tier players. That exception is W. C. Fields, who plays David's early friend, the forever-in-debt Mr. Micawber. Micawber is not a drinker, and he takes well enough to the boy David, but this is otherwise a role that fits Fields like a glove, and he adds distinction to the proceedings.He's not the most distinctive actor here, nor the funniest. That would probably be Edna Mae Oliver as Betsey Trotwood, a deceptively unaffectionate woman who upbraids her expectant daughter-in-law when she dares suggest her unborn child could be male. "I have a presentiment it will be a girl," she declares, and swats the doctor who delivers news to the contrary. Yet Trotwood is far from disagreeable, as we and David come to understand.Also wonderful are Jessie Ralph as David's warm governess and one constant, Peggotty; Basil Rathbone as the chilly stepfather Murdstone; and Lennox Pawle as the light-headed polestar of Betsey's life, Mr. Dick. Her Tarzan fan base will find Maureen O'Sullivan frightfully overdressed, but she's quite fun as the sexy and completely unserious Dora Spenlow.For half the movie, you also have Bartholomew as David, a child actor who provides an empathetic center to the proceedings. Dickens was a writer of both muscular sentimentality and whimsy, qualities Bartholomew's precocious performance helps bring across here. But the second half of the film is not as lucky with the stick-like Lawton in the title role. Nor is it as engaging, juggling as it does several subplots in often awkward, always foreshortened fashion.One subplot, dealing with David's friend Steerforth and his ruination of a family friend, could have been dispensed with entirely, as it has no bearing on the rest of the story. Director George Cukor seems to lose his balance by letting things get too maudlin."David Copperfield" can't help but be a little twee, being a product of the Victorian Age rendered here into an entertainment for the middle-aged aunties who found Cagney and Gable too uncouth. Poor Freddie spent years unsuccessfully trying to shake the "sissy" image he got stuck with here saying lines like "Ooh, mother, you do look pretty tonight!" Even W. C. has to deal with a tea-cozy aesthetic, exclaiming "Shades of Nicodemus!" instead of his usual, less-genteel "Godfrey Daniels!"I would not recommend this "David" in place of the novel, which is emotionally far more powerful and complex. But for those who have read the book, the movie is a kind of theatrical revue, with some impressively expressionistic cinematography (David awaiting word on his mother's health as lightning flashes across his face; Murdstone's scowling) and pungent readings of familiar lines. All in all, a diverting entertainment that could have done with some pruning but has its heart in the right place.

This movie is entertaining enough for many reasons, but unfortunately I had read the book before seeing the movie and came away feeling that the movie failed to capture the richness of the book. I suppose it is not possible to capture Dickens' masterfully detailed descriptions on screen in a two hour movie. The characters are vividly rendered, although somewhat caricatured. I am tempted to reread the book with the images from the movie in mind.With so much material to cover the story is rushed from scene to scene almost in a sequence of vignettes, often played as if this were a stage play. David goes quickly through the stages of his life. With so many characters, the character development is not deep. For example, Uriah Heep's treachery is not revealed gradually, but erupts in a crucial scene near the end. You have to give Dickens credit for his talent for names (Murdstone, Barkis, Gummidge, Peggotty, Clickett, Micawber, Steerforth, and so on) and the name Uriah Heep is a master stroke to the point where it has entered the language to refer to a person presenting a guise of humility as a cover for devious ambition. And the name lends itself to a wonderful double entendre when Micawber refers to him as "you Heep of infamy."As the young Copperfield I found Freddie Bartholomew to be too much of a child actor rather than a believable character. Some sequences cannot be taken seriously, like David's 72 mile trek to Dover--what was he living on during that arduous journey? The sappy score is a bit off-putting, but maybe can be forgiven for a 1935 movie.Overall the positives outweighed the negatives for me, the main positive being to see so many interesting actors assembled in one cast.

Having always heard of David Copperfield, but never having read the novel nor seen the movie, I finally decided to check out the DVD. I found it quite enjoyable with an all-star cast and good Dickensian backdrops.I have always loved W.C. Fields, but have to disagree with those who say he steals the show. Although he is perfect as Mcawber, to me it is Edna May Oliver who steals the picture. She is delightful as the dotty aunt – especially standing up to Mr. and Miss Murdstone with the loony backing of Mr. Dick (a charming Lennox Pawle).Of course Lionel Barrymore always makes the most of a part and does so as the gruff fisherman Dan Peggotty. Freddie Bartholomew is excellent as the young David. Elizabeth Allen is gorgeous and delightful as David's mother, while Basil Rathbone and Violet Kemble Cooper are cold and devious as the step-father and his housekeeper sister.The entire cast is excellent, including Jessie Ralph as Peggotty and Herbert Mundin as the 'willing' Barkis. My only complaint – and this is from one who hasn't read the book – is that the miscellaneous characters get a bit confusing. A guy who apparently had been nice to David in school runs off with and abandons the adopted daughter of Peggotty's brother. Then two men fight during a shipwreck and David sees his school friend dead. Perhaps things were better spelled out in the book.In any event, it is a quite charming film. Oliver and Field are delightful, along with the rest of the talented cast. I doubt that as better adaptation could be done today.