This list was inspired by a post at Elizabethan. Lilie, the blogger over there, based her list on a bunch of Austen, Gaskell, and Brontë adaptations, while I, for obvious reasons, am doing an all-Dickens list.
Did I miss any categories? If so, add them (with your nominees) in the comments section! And note that these are only from the adaptations I'm familiar with, so feel free to suggest other nominees from whichever adaptations you want for my categories as well.
Click below to find the list, with screencaps and occasional remarks.
Best Evil Smile
3. Burn Gorman as Guppy in Bleak House
2. Scrooge McDuck as Ebenezer Scrooge in Mickey's Christmas Carol
1. Frank McCusker as Uriah Heep in David Copperfield
Best Swoon
3. Sophie Vavasseur as Little Nell in The Old Curiosity Shop
2. Serena Gordon as Lucie in A Tale of Two Cities
1. Claire Foy as Amy Dorrit in Little Dorrit
While all three of our winners in this category were world-class fainters, Amy moved out in front of the crowd by managing to get her first embrace from the man of her dreams out of it. (So she wasn't awake to enjoy it: minor detail.) Ladies, take note: Unconsciousness has its uses.
Pluckiest Orphan
3. Mark Lester as Oliver Twist in Oliver!
2.Charlene McKenna as the Marchioness in The Old Curiosity Shop
1. A tie: Katie Angelou as Charley in Bleak House and Jack Wild as the Artful Dodger in Oliver!
Scariest Lady
3. Judy Parfitt as Mrs. Clennam in Little Dorrit
How scary can a woman be who can barely even move, you might be asking. But consider this: Her son thought seriously about going to a hotel instead of going home after twenty years away. Now that's scary.
2. Jean Simmons as Miss Havisham in Great Expectations
3. Rosalie Crutchley as Madame Defarge in A Tale of Two Cities
It was hard to pick just one Madame Defarge; all four that I've seen were really good. (I might even say scary good.) However, after some consideration, I picked Crutchley as the one I'd least like to run into in a dark alley. She was just that tiny bit more unhinged than the others.
Honorable Mention: Annette Crosbie as Mr. F's Aunt in Little Dorrit
As I said when I reviewed the film, if I'd been Arthur, I would have had to eat the crust.
Best Longing Gaze
3. Jamie Bell as Smike in Nicholas Nickleby
2. Steven Mackintosh as John in Our Mutual Friend
1. Claire Foy as Amy Dorrit in Little Dorrit
Best Performance by an Animal
3. Kermit the Frog as Bob Cratchit in The Muppet Christmas Carol
2. Gonzo as Charles Dickens in The Muppet Christmas Carol
It's true that Gonzo is less of an animal and more of a . . . whatever. It's also true that he plays, not a Dickens character, but Dickens himself ("a blue furry Charles Dickens who hangs out with a rat," no less). All the same, it was a very nice performance.
1. Goofy as Marley's Ghost in Mickey's Christmas Carol
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