Les Miserables 1935

views updated

Les Miserables ★★★★ 1935

Victor Hugo's classic novel about smalltime criminal Jean Valjean and 18thcentury France. After facing poverty and prison, escape and torture, Valjean is redeemed by the kindness of a bishop. As he tries to mend his ways, he is continually hounded by the policeman Javert, who is determined to lock him away. The final act is set during a student uprising in the 1730s. This version is the best of many, finely detailed and well-paced with excellent cinematography by Gregg Toland. 108m/B VHS . Fredric March, Charles Laughton, Cedric Hardwicke, Rochelle Hudson, John Beal, Frances Drake, Florence Eldridge, John Carradine, Jessie Ralph, Leonid Kinskey; D: Richard Boleslawski; W: W.P. Lipscomb; C: Gregg Toland; M: Alfred Newman.