We pick up the Barry MacKay trail with "The Pickwick Papers," a 1952 British film from George Minter Productions, the same outfit that had produced the famous "Scrooge" with Alastair Sim the year before.
This was Barry MacKay's first film since 1939's "Smuggled Cargo," so quite some time had gone by since audiences had seen him!
I had actually seen "The Pickwick Papers" before, but it was a long time ago and I didn't remember too much about it.
Somehow I had in my head that this was kind of a poor cousin to "Scrooge" and the David Lean adaptations of "Great Expectations" and "Oliver Twist" from the 1940s as far as contemporary Dickens adaptations go, but I was incorrect (hand raised)!
The tone of "The Pickwick Papers" is lighter than those other three films and it might not quite be up to their level, but it's very entertaining and marks a nice end to that run of Dickens movies.
There are a ton of colorful characters brought to life and a real Dickensian atmosphere.
The poster at the top of the page compares "The Pickwick Papers" to "Great Expectations" and "Oliver Twist" as well as the two 1935 MGM features "David Copperfield" and "A Tale of Two Cities," but does not mention "Scrooge," which I presume was not yet lauded as a classic Dickens adaptation.
I really don't know most of the actors in "The Pickwick Papers," but I think they all are well-cast and largely look like they stepped out of from the original pages.
Mr. Pickwick is played by James Hayter and I do recognize him as Friar Tuck from "The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men," the Walt Disney production filmed in England and also released in 1952. (That's an awesome flick as well!)
Speaking of Friar Tuck, the actor who played that role on the Richard Greene 1950s "The Adventures of Robin Hood" TV series, Alexander Gauge, appears here as Mr. Tupman. What's interesting is that he played the Ghost of Christmas Present in the "Fredric March Presents Tales from Dickens" episode of "A Christmas Carol," which starred Basil Rathbone as Scrooge and was discussed here!
I don't know Nigel Patrick otherwise, but he steals the picture as Mr. Jingle, nailing the odd speech pattern of the character.
I do know two actresses from the movie, though: Hermione Baddeley and Kathleen Harrison, who both have good roles here and had, of course, also been featured in "Scrooge" the year before.
Wow, we have Fred, the Ghost of Christmas Present, Mrs. Cratchit and Mrs. Dilber all in this movie!
So, how does Fred, er, Barry MacKay fit into this particular film?
Well, he's the last actor within the large cast to be billed in the credits. Since his name does appear, I wonder how many moviegoers remembered him from his 1930s movies and were looking for him in this one.
The movie itself doesn't list what roles the actors play, but most sources I consulted before watching the movie indicate that Barry plays "Mr. Snubbins." I checked to see what character this is so I could get an idea of when he might appear, expecting him to look more like he did in "Knights of the Round Table" than "A Christmas Carol," so perhaps hard to recognize, and found that the character is actually named "Snubbin" (leave the last S off...).
Armed with the knowledge that Mr. Snubbin represents Mr. Pickwick during a trial, I was ready!
Actually, I recognized Barry right away when he appeared in the courtroom scene. I don't think anyone calls him "Snubbins" or "Snubbin" or anything else, by the way.
He doesn't have a lot to do, but reacts amusingly during the trial, as things keep getting worse for Mr. Pickwick.
As a barrister he's very ineffectual and his only line consists of him saying he has no questions!
That whole trial scene is an awesome satire of the British legal system on the part of Mr. Dickens!
I think Barry MacKay does quite well here with his small part. I wonder how he wound up in this movie after having been away so long.
After watching these other movies, I now have an idea of how "A Christmas Carol" fits into his film career. Not that I thought he fell off the turnip truck outside the MGM studio gates, but I finally have context!
End of lessons (for now)!
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