A Tale of Two Cities (1958)

"A Tale of Two Cities" is the remarkable 1859 story by Charles Dickens that appeared as 31 weekly installments in Dickens' own periodical. It was made as a film several times, including 3 silent versions and a marvelous 1935 version. The 30s were a great time for Dickens films, including "Oliver Twist" (1933) with Dickie Moore, "Great Expectations" (1934) with Henry Hull and Jane Wyatt, "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" (1935) with Claude Rains, "Scrooge" (1935), "David Copperfield" (1935) with none other than W. C. Fields, and "A Christmas Carol" (1938) with Reginald Owen.

Comparing the 1935 and the 1958 versions -

Sydney Carlton – Dirk Bogarde (1958) does a good job, one of his best, but Ronald Coleman (1935) is my preference.

Charles Darney – Donald Woods (1935) is the better player. Paul Guers is a bit wooden for my tastes.

Marquis St Evremonde – Basil Rathbone (1935) is one of the best villains anywhere, exceeding even Christopher Lee (1958).

Miss Pross – Edna May Oliver (1935) was a hoot, much better than Athene Seyler (1958).

Lucie Manette – Dorothy Tutin (1958) and Elizabeth Allen (1935) both do an admirable job.

C.J.Stryver – Reginald Owen (1935) is more compelling than Ernest Clark

Both versions are 2+ hours long and both don't fully represent the richness of the novel. I think the 1935 versions moves a bit better with fewer lapses, but both films are pretty well paced. Recall that Dickens' works are extremely long so no film can capture everything.

In terms of production values, the 1935 version is surprisingly good, even though producer Selznick put more effort into other films at the time. The 1958 version, done in black and white, is certainly OK, but not any better than the 1935 version.

The 1935 film was nominated for Best Picture and Best Film Editing. It lost to "The Great Ziegfeld" (picture) and "Anthony Adverse" (editing). The 1958 version received no nominations.

Bottom line – if you're going to see only one version of this great novel, pick the 1935 version.