It had a lot of potential, and there's a lot of things that work really well. The swamp scenes were really effective, and that dream sequence...holy shit. But I think what it really could have benefited from is losing 15-20 minutes. It moves too slow, and the ending's a bit hokey. If it went with more moments like the opening scenes, or the dream sequence, it would be a whole lot better overall. As it stands it's good, but lacking.

the only part that i liked was the ending, aside from that i was rather uninterested and indifferent. pickford actually left no impression on me whatsoever. neither good nor bad, which is kind of a rare thing in a lead actor for me. oh, and i wanted to punch that curly haired toddler the entire movie.

Hokey as heck and the strange way it goes back and forth from harsh realism to cheesy levity is a bit off-putting, not to mention the ridiculous ending. Yet even with all these things it's a very gripping Dickensian story with strong performances from von Seyffertitz and Pickford. Fun to watch, but lacks the depth it clearly craves.