The Pickwick Papers

The Pickwick Papers is a 1913 three-reel silent film based on the 1837 novel of the same name by Charles Dickens. The film was produced by Vitagraph Studios and features John Bunny in the title role of Samuel Pickwick. Bunny and the Vitagraph Company desired to make an authentic recreation of Dickens's novel, and filming took place in England rather than at Vitagraph's New York studio. Bunny regarded the finished film highly, and The Moving Picture World praised its fidelity to Dickens's work. The film did not achieve popularity among audiences, however, who preferred Bunny's usual output of one-reel comedies. Only two reels of the film survive in the holdings of the British Film Institute. Plot The Pickwick Papers comprised three reels, individually titled "The Adventure of the Honourable Event", "The Adventure at the Westgate Seminary", and "The Adventure of the Shooting Party". The film does not adapt Dickens's novel in its entirety; each reel depicts a distinct episode from the beginning of the book. In "The Honourable Event", Mr. Pickwick catches a cab to meet three friends from his club but gets in an altercation with the cab driver upon arrival. The cabman is placated by a tall, thin gentleman named Mr. Jingle, whom Pickwick invites to dine at the Bull Inn in Rochester with his three friends—Mr. Snodgrass, Mr. Winkle, and Mr. Tupman. The group catches a coach to Rochester and dinner is served. As the evening progresses, all but Jingle and Tupman doze off, and the two decide to attend a charity ball being held that evening at the inn. As Jingle does not have the proper attire, Tupman takes clothes from the room of the sleeping Winkle for him to wear.