Great Expectations (NR, 1947)

John Mills stars in GREAT EXPECTATIONS as the adult Pip, the orphan raised by his abusive sister (Freda Jackson) and kindly blacksmith brother-in-law (Bernard Miles). When as a child he's accosted by a fugitive (Findlay Currie) and brings him food and alcohol, Pip begins a journey he never would have expected. He meets the creepy Miss Havisham (Martita Hunt) at her cobwebbed wedding banquet, and the beautiful but cruel Estella. When he inherits a fortune, Pip tries to become the gentleman he's always wanted to be and to win Estella's cold heart. But will he be able to? And who is his mysterious benefactor?

It's a classic, yes, and it's in black and white, but it's Dickens, so you can still keep your expectations great that kids will find something to capture their attention and imaginations here. Especially when they meet Pip, the incurably optimistic and big-hearted main character, and following him through all the crazy plot twists and turns.

Charles Dickens wrote Great Expectations like many of his other works, as serials for magazines. That means they're set up with plenty of twists and cliffhangers to string readers along. This makes for an even more exciting story, full of mistaken identities, secrets, manhunts, and double-crosses -- all the things many young viewers love. And the characters are fascinating, right down to their names: Uncle Pumblychook, Magwitch, Havisham, Mr. Jaggers. Pip's family may be one J.K. Rowling's inspirations for the Dursleys, the mean guardians in Harry Potter.