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**** “Great Expectations.”

Paramount. $19.95. 1946.

David Lean’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’ novel--of young Pip and his curious rise through a world of grim poverty and glittering wealth--is generally regarded as the best of the Dickens movies. It has a gleam, a polish, a rightness that many of them lack, and it doesn’t suffer from compression. A model ‘40s British film in every respect, “Great Expectations” presents as fine a gallery of characters as could have graced any Cruikshank drawing, and the cast includes John Mills, Alec Guinness, Jean Simmons, Martita Hunt and the unforgettable Finlay Currie as Magwitch. The film ranks with “Lawrence of Arabia” and “Brief Encounter” as one of Lean’s best works.