Director Thomas Bentley was a "Dickensian Character Actor," endearing him to Cecil Hepworth, whose father had presented magic lantern shows of Dickens topography. Bentley went on to direct six Dickens adaptations in the silent period, of which this is the only one known to survive. David Copperfield is considered by some to be the first British feature film, and was hailed for its pictorial composition, naturalistic acting and use of actual locations from the book.