Store forventninger (1922) - full transcript

Great Expectations.
A story by Charles Dickens.

Adapted for film
by Laurids Skands.

Directed by
A. W. Sandberg.

Produced by
Nordisk Films Company, Copenhagen.

Exclusive rights for Denmark:
A/S KINOGRAFEN.

First Chapter.

It was almost evening
on a bitterly cold autumn day.

A damp wind blew in from the sea,

over the desolate churchyard,
and on over

the vast marsh
surrounding the overgrown graves.

A little boy sought refuge
at his parents' grave.



His name was Philip Pirrip,
but he was called

Pip by the few people who

cared about his lonely little life.

- Stop that snivelling!
Be quiet or I?ll cut your throat!

- With whom do you live
? if I allow you to live!

- With... with my sister, Mrs. Gargery.
Joe Gargery the blacksmith's wife!

- If you don't come out here tomorrow
with a file and some food,

I will eat your heart,
as I'm starving!

...and if you tell anyone that
you've met a man like me,

I'll come and get you one night,
and something terrible will happen!

- Say that God will punish
you if you don't! Swear!

Joe Gargery the blacksmith,

who was married to Pip's sister,

was a noble and decent man,



but, because of this,
he was henpecked.

- She stormed out to
look for you, Pip,

and what's worse,
she took the cane with her!

- Here she comes.
Hide behind the door!

- Where have you been,
you young monkey?

- Where have you been?
Tell me where you?ve been!

- I've been with my father
and mother at the churchyard!

- Churchyard, yes you
may well say churchyard.

You two will soon drive me there,

and you?ll be a
precious pair without me!

Darkness had fallen over the forge,

over the marshes,
over the desolate churchyard

down by the sea,
over the two prison-ships

which were always
anchored off the coast.

Darkness had fallen
over the groaning wretches

and the rattling chains, when?

- Last night they fired
warning shots for an

escaped prisoner. It seems
that one has fled again!

Up in his little chamber,
Pip slept a restless sleep.

He dreamed that the monster
from the graveyard ate his heart...

And as the day dawned...

You?re not a deceiving imp?
You haven't told anyone, have you?

Assistant blacksmith
Dolge Orlick, the only

one in the house who
didn?t fear Mrs. Gargery.

Biddy, Pips' best friend,
an orphaned little girl

for whom Joe's good heart
had provided a refuge at the forge.

It suddenly occurred to
little Pip that he didn?t

know what he had
poured into the brandy jug.

- Tar-water!

- The pie is gone!

- I come in the name of the King
and wish to speak with the blacksmith!

- We need these
manacles right away.

The lock is broken.
You must repair it immediately!

An hour later, the
bog was searched,

and at midnight Pip
saw the convict again.

- Is your name Gargery?

- I stole from you last night.

Some leftovers ?
a sip of brandy and a pie!

And the last little Pip
saw of his "foster-child" was...

We will turn our eyes from
the black, slimy prison-ship,

and let a year pass us by.

We then find Pip and Biddy
doing something very difficult...

- How can you figure out
all those ?faldera's, Biddy?

How did you become
so terribly clever?

- Maybe it's because I'm the
clerk's great-aunt's granddaughter.

I don?t know. It comes
naturally, like coughing!

- Foul shrew!

- Did you hear what
your assistant said, Joe?

Did you hear he
called me a foul shrew!

Oh, hold on to me!

- Yes, I'd like to hold you ?

under the water-pump,
and thoroughly soak you!

With the help of this bucket
of water, Orlick recovered.

Life went on drearily at
the forge, until one day?

- If that boy isn't grateful
today, he will never be!

Uncle Pumblechook's news was that a

somewhat insane and very wealthy lady,

Miss Havisham, who lived up town,

wanted a little boy to come and play

with a little orphan girl,

Estella, who lived with her.

End of Act 1.

- Who are you two?

- We? we are Pumblechook!

- Get in there, boy!

Unsurprisingly, Pip's eyes glided in
wonder around this strange room.

The windows were bricked up
and the dust lay an inch thick.

- Who is it?

- Pip ? come to play!

- My heart is broken!
I have had enough

of men and women.
I want to see someone play!

- Well! Why don't you play?

- Play!

- I can't. Everything is so
strange, and fine, and sad!

- Come then, I'll show
you something funny!

- We should have eaten here,
my bridegroom and I,

when we returned
from the church.

But he broke my heart.
He broke my heart!

- It has been many, many
years since he betrayed me!

- There were so
many bells when

everything came to a
standstill in this house!

- Should I play with him?

He's a common working boy!

- At least he has a heart.
Crush it!

- You shall play cards, as
men play with women's hearts!

- What can you play?

- Beggar my neighbour!

Once they had
played for an hour,

and Pip had been
beggared repeatedly,

he was allowed to go...

...but down at the gate,
he met a strange man

who was to mean
a great deal to him.

Miss Havisham's attorney,
Mr. Jaggers.

- Don't you think I'm beautiful?

- Would you like to kiss me?

- Cry hard, boy!

For the first time,
his tears flowed

before the cold lattice
that separated him

from the small,
beautiful executioner,

who would never
leave his thoughts.

Miss Havisham was pleased
with her beautiful pupil.

Poor Pip wept as if
his heart would break.

The only comfort to Pip's
distress was noble Joe,

and his most
peaceful moments

were the twilight
hours when they

sat together in the
town?s little inn.

- Are you Joe Gargery
the blacksmith?

- He has great expectations!

- A person, whose name you
must never investigate,

will do something
unusual for Pip.

A large sum of money has
been deposited with me,

and with this money Pip
must be made a gentleman!

When Joe and little Pip,

dazed by the stranger's
extraordinary revelation,

approached the forge, they saw
that something had happened.

Joe prayed to God
for his wife's life,

and she was allowed to keep it.

But the frightful blow
inflicted on her head

by an unknown criminal
had robbed her of her mind.

End of Act 2.

?we find our friend Pip
as a well-dressed youth

who has become a gentleman

thanks to the money
of his mysterious benefactor.

I'm coming to London tomorrow
on my way to Richmond,

where I shall stay
for the present.

Miss Havisham wants you to

receive me at the
coach-yard on Wood Street.

She sends her regards.
Yours, Estella.

Pips' friend and housemate,
Herbert Pocket,

a noble young man who
wanted to be a millionaire,

but lacked the
working capital.

The next day at the
coach-yard on Wood Street.

- You childish man,
will you never be wiser

than when you first
wanted to kiss me?

Do you remember nothing?

"Remember nothing."

Yes, Pip remembered
everything, including

including his last
visit to Miss Havisham...

- Love her! If she
comes to you, love her.

If she tears your heart
to pieces, love her!

- Is it a stain on the tablecloth
that interests you, Pip?

Not until into the evening did
they reach the house at Richmond.

Shortly after, it was Pip's 21st birthday,
which meant that he had come of age.

He therefore paid a visit to his
guardian, Jaggers the attorney.

- I do not conduct affairs
for overly emotional men!

Anyone who cries can clear off!

- Go out and cry in the street.
I don't want that filth in here!

- May I know who my benefactor is?

- No!

- It?s a ?500 banknote!

- This handsome sum is yours.
You will hereafter be paid ?500 a year,

neither more nor less ?
until your benefactor appears!

- I have a good friend that I would
like to help get into business

by lending him some
money. Will you help me?

- There are six bridges here in London!

- It doesn?t matter from which
bridge you throw the money.

Do that rather than lend it to a friend!

- That's damn noble of you
and damn stupid!

Jaggers would never forgive me if
I helped you, but I will do so anyway!

This day, while a day of joy for Pip,
was a day of sorrow for Joe and Biddy.

As the sun rose, Mrs. Gargery's
faint sun set forever.

- Write? write? Dear Pip,
Your sister is dead. We?

Write, if he will please come
out here, it will ? help us?

The next day, Pip returned
to his old childhood home.

- It was as if her mind came back
when she was about to die.

She whispered your name,
dear Pip, and she smiled so happily.

Thank God, she smiled so happily!

The day passed and dusk was settling over
the silent forge when Pip departed again.

- What?s become of Orlick?

- I think he works in the
quarries near here. I'm afraid of him...

- ?He often roams around here after
dark, and he looks at me so strangely!

- I would pay whatever it takes to get
that scoundrel driven away from here!

- Drive me away ? ha! No, the girl
shall be mine and I?ll kill you!

End of Act 3.

Half a year passed without sorrow.

Herbert's career was successful,
and he didn't know Pip was behind it.

But one foreboding autumn evening,
beginning with a ball...

His name was Drummle.

He was as stupid as he was conceited.

He was rich and courted Estella openly.

Estella was more accommodating
to him than to anyone else.

Startop, one of Pip's good friends.

- Well, there he is, the upstart. If only he
didn't reek of the forge and mysterious money!

Can't you see he's a
mean and simple fool?

He's always fluttering about you,
this despicable Drummle.

- No!

- You give him smiles and looks,
which you never give me!

- Good lord, can't you see
I'm making a fool of him,

that I'm making a fool of
everybody, except you.

Shall I make a fool of you too, Pip?

- How long do I have to
warn you, Pip? I have no heart!

- I love you, I love you, Estella!

It was stormy when he went home.

- Imagine! It?s really little Pip who
helped me out in the marsh!

- Imagine, it's really little Pip
that I made into a gentleman!

Then his great expectations burst.
A convict was his benefactor.

- And I, who thought you'd be glad to learn
that it was I who made you a gentleman!

- Lock the door!

- Shutter the windows!

- I'll be hanged if I'm found.

I was deported for life and there's
a death penalty for returning!

- I traveled many thousands of miles
of stormy sea to see Pip, my gentleman!

- It's yours, it's all I own.
I collected it for Pip,

who gave a miserable devil
a crust, and stood by him!

- For ten long years I worked
hard in the wilderness.

I forgot what people looked like
but I had my gentleman ?

I had something to live for. Good lord!

- He's my guest, Herbert. He won?t hurt
you but you must be silent!

- Yes, silent. Swear that
you will be silent!

Time passed in anxiety and tension.
Pip thought his secret was safe, until?

you must come alone to the
house by the lime kiln tonight at 9.

If you don?t want the convict
you?re hiding to get hurt,

Have gone out to Miss Havisham
on important errand. Regards, Pip.

Before Pip went to his lonely meeting
with the threatening letter-writer,

he visited Miss Havisham to see,
once more, the woman he madly loved.

Always this Drummle.

- I have come to say that I am now
as unhappy as you both wished me to be!

- Miss Havisham. You let me go
on in the happy delusion

that you were my benefactor.
Was that virtuous?

- Who am I, for God?s sake,
that I should behave virtuously!

- Estella, you know that I have loved you
from the first day I saw you in this house!

- I don't understand you.
You speak to nothing in my breast!

- What about Drummle? Is he speaking
to something in your breast?

- I shall marry Drummle, but do not be afraid
that he shall find pleasure in me!

- Shall we really part like this,
you visionary boy!

- O God bless you. God forgive you!

He prayed for God to bless her
who had broken his heart.

The mournful tone
of his words struck the ice

in Estella's heart
like a slender ray of sunlight.

End of Act 4.

At the lime kiln in the marsh
? a little before 9.

His scream died in the
roar of the lime kiln.

- You wanted to drive me away but now
I have you. I didn't get Biddy but I got you!

- Before I kill you, I?ll madden you
and really enjoy myself, you devil!

- Shall I tell you something? It was me who
got rid of your sister, that shrew!

- And when I?m done with you,
I?ll carry you into the kiln,

and there won?t be a shred of you left!

- I dealt with the convict with my
own fists. If he isn?t already dead,

he'll be hanged. The police have him!

- By the way, I think I?d rather
kill you with a hammer!

- How did you find this place?

Have gone out to Miss Havisham
on important errand. Regards, Pip.

you must come alone to the house
by the lime kiln tonight at 9.

If you don?t want the convict
you?re hiding to get hurt,

The convict was alive, but
Death was standing by the

hunted man's headboard when Pip
found him in the prison hospital.

- You never let me down. You won?t
let me down when I'm dead either.

Ask God to have mercy on a poor sinner!

- He is free of his chains. He is free!

Pip decided to break the chain
of sorrow and disappointment

that bound him to his hometown,

but before his departure he
paid Miss Havisham one last visit.

Was it Estella's reproaches and
flight from the desolate house,

or had a mercyful fate cast
a light of atonement into

Miss Havisham's darkened soul?
She was transformed.

- I?m going away and will
never return to this place,

where I feel like an outcast, where your
curse is upon me, Miss Havisham!

- Can I do nothing for you, dear Pip?

- If you could only give me
back the forge and my child-soul!

- I?m rich! I?ll do anything for you!

- You can give me nothing. Not
one of my tears can you give me back!

- My God, my God,
what have I done? Forgive me!

- I forgive you, poor Miss
Havisham. I forgive everything!

End of Act 5.

Chapter 6

After Miss Havisham's death,
Pip?s nerves broke down,

and who else should care for him, now
that Herbert had left, but faithful Joe?

...yet Pip couldn?t see out from the strange
world to which his fever had taken him.

- Is it Joe?

- Yes, it?s Joe, old chap.
Now you must get well soon!

- How long have I been sick, dear Joe?

- A very, very long time!

A few days later, Pip was
well enough to get up.

I don?t want to bother you so
I?ve left now that you're healthy

and will feel better without me. Joe.
P.S. Always the best of friends, right?

- Good lord, Herbert!
Come and see this lonely man!

- Yes! And I'm coming to
tell you to be lonesome no more!

- I know all that you have done for me,

and your good deeds have borne
so much fruit that you yourself?

?And before Herbert left,
Pip was absorbed by the business

his good heart had led him to
support when he was prosperous.

When Pip arrived at the forge a
few days later, a surprise awaited him.

- It's my wedding day, dear Pip,

and it?s also Joe's wedding day,
because we got married today!

- Biddy, you have the
best man in the world!

- And dear Joe, you deserved the sweetest
and best girl on Earth, and you?ve found her!

- Are you expecting a guest?

- Yes, dear Pip. We had a
feeling that you would come!

Pip felt it, and he felt deprived...

The room was small,
but their hearts were large.

The table was not great,
but their appetites were.

- Is it Estella you're thinking of?
Can you never forget her?

- I'm a bad friend. I distress you
on your happiest day!

He walked up to Miss Havisham's house,

which was on the verge of complete ruin.

He searched for the abandoned plot,
which was like a picture of his own heart.

And he remembered?

He didn't recognise her but an
inner voice told him who she was.

- I wanted to say goodbye to
the remnants of my grey childhood.

How strange that we should meet now!

- The memory of our last divorce has
always been mournful and unforgettable!

- You've changed, Estella.
What's happened to you?

- I learned to despise my life, but
life has taken revenge!

They talked together for a long time,
and when they stood at the gate again,

where, as children, they had seen
each other for the first time...

- Do you remember the first
time you left here?

- Cry on your way home! Cry hard, boy!

- Before you leave here for the
last time, I will say to you:

You who possess the gift of goodness
and the ability to forget, forgive me!

- Do I understand you correctly, Estella?

Shall we leave the memories
of the past behind this gate

and go out into our lives with
new great expectations!