Oliver Twist (1951)

One of my all time favorites.

I wanted to but couldn't!

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

I grew up watching the 1969 musical adaptation of Charles Dickens's famous novel Oliver Twist. It's a visually beautiful film, and the performances of everyone but the title character are so wonderful, I thought I'd never like another version. Enter David Lean's 1948 film. While it's a little too scary for me to watch over and over again, there's so much about it to appreciate.First off, let's talk about John Howard Davies. A remarkable and highly endearing child actor, John was perfectly cast as Oliver. He's scrawny, filthy, and gaunt. It's not hard to believe he hasn't bathed in a year, and it's easy to see why the Artful Dodger chooses to take him home to Fagin's lair of pickpockets. In the musical, Mark Lester looks like he gets pampered and has never known a day's work in his life. Why would Dodger think he's a good candidate to join Fagin's boys? In this version, it makes sense. John looks like he's seen hell in the workhouse of his childhood and has nowhere else to go when he arrives in London.Next up, we have the bad guys: Fagin and Bill Sykes. In the musical-the only comparison I have, since I've never read the novel-Fagin is made out to be a very lovable, kindhearted character. I've heard from those who are familiar with the story that that's an inaccurate portrayal of the character, so if you really like Ron Moody, beware of this version. Alec Guinness, layered and layered with makeup, is frightening, and very clearly a bad guy. When he makes his entrance, it's extremely scary. Robert Newton plays Bill Sykes and is even scarier than Alec Guinness! His wild, volatile performance is terrifying, and he continued to give me nightmares years after I watched the movie.Those of you who grew up with the 1969 version as I did will delight in the visual similarities between the two films. Fagin's hideaway, the bridge outside Nancy's bar, and the boys' home where Oliver first grows up, look almost identical in both versions! Also, even though the 1948 film is an extremely heavy drama, I got a kick out of the places in the scenes that were direct setups for songs in the musical. For example, Fagin teaches Oliver how to pick a handkerchief out of his pocket, and you can almost hear the music-Arnold Bax's music sounds like the inspiration to the musical's songs during some scenes-leading up to the musical number "Pick a Pocket or Two".I can't stress enough how dark and frightening this version of Oliver Twist is. Alec Guinness, completely believable as the old crime boss even though he was only thirty-four at the time, is menacing and unfeeling. Robert Newton is terrifying and sets the bar so high no other Bill Sykes has come close to him. Until I became more familiar with Bobbie's work, I called him "the Bill Sykes guy" for years. In case you're too shaken up after the end of the movie, check out the backstage pictures so you can see Bobbie wasn't really that scary in real life.Kiddy Warning: Obviously, you have control over your own children. However, due to violence and upsetting scenes involving children, I wouldn't let my kids watch it.

"Oliver Twist" has been done so many times, including versions in the last few years. I really enjoyed George C. Scott as Fagan, although the boy that played Oliver was hard to take. Then, of course, there's Ron Moody in the musical. What this one has is a period reality to Victorian England. So many of these previous efforts are so sanitized. Let's remember that this little boy was in a workhouse, probably infected with whatever was around, and at the mercy of people who had no love for him. Enter a passel of boys who are pickpockets, working for a thief who uses them. But what else does society offer them? Of course, they are going to be led by someone who can put a modicum of food in their stomachs and a roof over their heads. The bleakness of the times and the randomness of the world is at the center of this one. Not to mention stylings of David Lean, one of the greatest directors in history. It's hard to match this version of the Dickens classic.

A common complaint of today's movies is that there is nothing original and everything is just a sequel, remake or based on something else. It's weird because it really has always been like that, at least as far back as the 1940's. We had tons of classic novels to work on and this film was no exception. I feel bad for not having read the original Dickens classic, but anyone should enjoy this. I am understanding the story more and more through these adaptations. This one wasn't quite as good as "Oliver!", but it definitely ranked as one of the best.I think the main reason is that there are a lot of truly intense moments in this. We get to see most of the characters engage in some very serious and rather violent scenes. Tame by today's standards, but these are some pretty powerful things as we see even Oliver defend himself well. I agree that Fagin does seem like a Jewish stereotype here. It's great how it all leads up to the biggest climax in any "Oliver Twist" version. Dodger doesn't do that much, but he still gets in some great scenes. Oliver Twist himself isn't focused on that much in the second half, but the characters are still interesting enough for you to care about. Alec Guinness is certainly unrecognizable here. ***1/2.

As already said, this version of 'Oliver Twist' is more loyal to the time when it took place, being more authentic than other versions (many versions exist). I don't know what the other versions are like, but they can't be as bad as 'Oliver & Company' by Disney, which is a completely modified concept of this story with artwork that can only be classified as a disgrace.This is one of the great-looking B & W films and it has great sceneries too. The film is generally well-made and directed. John Howard Davies alone takes the whole thing. This charismatic English child-actor is so overlooked. Even if he did very few movie roles, he deserved more popularity thanks to his natural-born talent and charm. Here he has a very moving acting as the lead character, Oliver Twist. You really care about Oliver, he's such a good kid and goes through so many bad things that you can say he practically loses his childhood - that is, he isn't given the happy childhood he should have had and deserved. But at least there is a happy ending waiting for this sweetie.Robert Newton's acting as Bill Sikes is great, although his best performance is probably as Long John Silver in Disney's "Treasure Island". Here he obviously's got his two legs. Robert Newton was a charismatic but ill-fated actor due to his lack of reliability and problems with the booze.