A Tale of Two Cities (1958 film) A Tale of Two Cities (1958 film) A Tale of Two Cities is a 1958 British film directed by Ralph Thomas and starring Dirk Bogarde and Dorothy Tutin. It is a period drama based on parts of Charles Dickens' novel "A Tale of Two Cities" (1859). Sydney Carton, a drunken English lawyer, discovers that Charles Darnay, a man he once defended, is a French aristocrat trying to escape the French Revolution. While he envies the man over the love of a woman, Lucie Manette, his conscience is pricked and he resolves to help him escape the guillotine. Ralph Thomas insisted
A Tale of Two Cities in the nose of the Marquis. Forster believed that Dickens never truly created rounded characters. "A Tale of Two Cities" is one of only two works of historical fiction by Charles Dickens (the other being "Barnaby Rudge"). Dickens relies much on "" by Thomas Carlyle as a historical source. Dickens wrote in his Preface to "Tale" that "no one can hope to add anything to the philosophy of Mr. Carlyle's wonderful book". Dickens uses literal translations of French idioms for characters who cannot speak English, such as "What the devil do you do in that galley there?!!" and "Where is