MovieChat Forums > Great Expectations (1947) Discussion > Magwitch's nemisis, the dude with the sc...

Magwitch's nemisis, the dude with the scar..

posted 16 years ago by Bullus-1
7 replies | jump to latest

Who was the convict with the scar, what was his beef with Magwitch?

It's bothered me all of my life and nobody seems to know!

I do know that they were together at the beginning of the movie, running around on the marsh and there was that eerie fight scene on the mud flats, but why did they hate each other so much?

Had Magwitch betrayed him in some way? He pursues Magwitch (Finlay Currie, incidentally what a career that old boy had!)to the end of his life.. remember the boat scene at the end, but I don't think it was ever explained why.
Was he just some sort of personification of evil?

Incidentally the actor himself was a bit of a mystery in real life. He (George Hayes)stopped making movies in 1949 even though he lived on until 1967. Maybe this role was a bit of a career stopper for him, typecast as "Dude with Scar".

[–] DrJuliusNo 16 years ago

The man is Compeyson, an accomplice of Magwitch in the old days who scapegoated his associate at one time or another in order to recieve a lighter sentence (Magwitch does vaguely allude to this in the film- he complains to Pip that Compeyson testified against him before, and warns that he is likely to do so again). I also think it was Compeyson who, as a con artist, was the man who played Miss Havisham and left her at the altar, though I'm not 100% sure since its been a couple of years since I read the book.

"I have my orders from the Emperor himself, he's got something special planned for them."

[–] Bullus-1 16 years ago

My god O illustrious Admiral!

Compeyson, yes what a name, it rings a bell, and the scapegoat theory makes sense.

The conman Compeyson as root cause of Ms.Havisham's ruin is however a quantum leap, something extraordinarily more intriguing for me to chew on for yet another lifetime ha ha.

Thank you for that splendid notion.

[–] tessak 16 years ago

Just finished reading the book - very witty as well as thrilling - Compeyson WAS the man who abandoned Miss H - but also badly mis-used Magwitch, leading him into a life of crime, hence the aggro between them. Read the book - loads more in it than in the film. Well worth the effort.

[–] clive-ihd 16 years ago

I don't the film mentions that Compeyson was the man who jilted Miss Havisham. But a lot of the book is missing from the film.

[–] Artimidor 12 years ago

Indeed, Compeyson had been Miss Havisham's intended husband according to Dicken's book. He wanted to defraud Miss Havisham of her fortune - too bad that this didn't make it into Lean's movie. The original ending would also have been more melancholic rather than just satisfying the audience rooting for Pip and Estella getting together. Nevertheless it's one of the great movies out there!

To get more background on Compeyson and Magwitch you can read the full story of their relationship in the Wikipedia entry on Magwitch: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abel_Magwitch - If you've only seen the film this will help a good deal to connect the dots, as the film leaves a lot unexplained.

Artimidor
Art's Top 100 Movies: http://www.imdb.com/list/e-VkvtHDDNQ/ - recommendations welcome!

[–] clivey6 12 years ago

Ooh, I don't know, it's a heck of a coincidence all told, that Pip would show up at Havisham's and there being that link meeting Magwitch on the moors, which is unknown to her. Enough of a coincidence that Magwitch and Havisham would have Jagger as the shared solicitor - though actually, less so now I come to think of it, than in the film seeing as Havisham and Magwitch obviously would have moved in the same circles, being 'friend of a friend' or 'enemy of an enemy' as it turned out...

[–] vinidici 11 years ago

Both Jaggers and Miss Haversham mention coincidentals, which should help relieve us, the viewers, from being taken TOO far aback.

There's also the fact that Estella, as it turns out, is the product of Magwich and his estranged wife, who happens to be the domestic servant of Jaggers (ever since the day Jaggers won her acquittal against a murder charge). Miss Haversham adopted Estella while doubtless knowing full well that the girl's father was as much a victim of Compeyson's double-dealing and back-stabbing as she herself (Miss Haversham) had been. Jaggers, a relatively minor character, is nevertheless a pivotal one who, directly or indirectly, influences much of the events and action in the narrative.

Okay folks, show's over, nothing to see here!