DVD/Blu-ray: The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (U) Ealing Studios' jaunty 1947 take on Charles Dickens's tale of child abuse, a stolen inheritance and avarice flies by at a fair lick, with three astounding performances from Cedric Hardwicke as the despicable Uncle Ralph, Stanley Holloway as garrulous theatre manager Vincent Crummies and Alfred Drayton as the sadistic Wackford Squeers.