Radio review – TG – “Great Expectations” (1953) ***

Not as star-studded as the Theatre Guild version of David Copperfield - Boris Karloff is the only name here, as Madgwick. (It’s great to hear Karloff expanding his range, trying different parts – poor old Bela Lugosi never had the luck, but then there are more roles for British actors than Hungarian. And Boris was never addicted to morphine.) The story adapts quite well to radio because you can focus on a few characters: Estella, Miss Havisham, Jagger, Pip, Madgwick. It has a happy ending between Pip and Estella which I understand came from the 1946 film version rather than the novel. Not bad – interesting, rather than awesome.