The Crimson Playgoer

So much has already been written about "David Copperfield," now being featured at the University Theatre, that there is little more which can be said about the film without being guilty of trite repetition. The general acclaim which has greeted this picture is evidence enough that time spent seeing it is time well spent.

Unlike most productions, the story of the book, as set forth by Dickens, is adhered to with a welcome faithfulness, so much so, in fact, that the action exceeds the length of an average movie. Tremendous care, moreover, has been taken to build up an atmosphere and a background which are in keeping with the times portrayed.

Before the picture is half over, however, one great fault makes itself all too plainly evident, a fault which probably could not be avoided in any dramatization of the book, and which, in itself, is not serious. That criticism is that the several minor plots woven into the tale have to be treated so briefly that they lose much of their meaning, seeming, in fact, just a bit ridiculous. They have a tendency, in addition, to give the whole the appearance of having been rather sketchily and loosely thrown together. Much of the depth of the story, as experienced by reading the book, is lost; although enough of the tender pathos and bitter struggle and loving adoration of the original still remains to bring the narrative vividly to life, a quality which is greatly enhanced by the high standard of acting on the part of the whole cast.

You'll also enjoy the "Selected Short Subjects," an impossible, yet thoroughly amusing Hal LeRoy comedy and a colored animated cartoon.