Nicholas Nickleby (1947 film)

The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby is a 1947 British drama film directed by Alberto Cavalcanti and starring Cedric Hardwicke. The screenplay by John Dighton is based on the Charles Dickens novel The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby 1839. This first sound screen adaptation of the book followed silent films released in 1903 and 1912.

Nicholas is horrified to discover his employers, the sadistic Mr. and Mrs. Squeers, run their boarding school like a prison and physically, verbally, and emotionally abuse their young charges on a regular basis. He eventually rebels and escapes, taking with him young crippled Smike.Nicholas and Smike take lodgings with Newman Noggs. Nicholas endeavours to find a position, but rejects a lowpaying position as a politicians secretary, and a job as a tutor of the French for the Kenwig daughters comes to comic disaster. He and Smike decide to search for work elsewhere. As they are leaving the city, they make the acquaintance of Madeline Bray, the sole support of her father, who gambled away his fortune and now is indebted to Nicholass uncle. ........

Source: Wikipedia