Oliver! (1968)
Directed by Carol Reed

Film Review

One of the most successful of all British film musicals, Oliver! continues to be a fond favourite and the reason for its enduring popularity is not hard to divine.  A lavishly staged production, the film offers some juicy performances and some even juicier musical numbers, which include such delights as Food, Glorious Food, Pick a Pocket or Two, I'd Do Anything, Reviewing the Situation and Oom-Pah-Pah.  Based on the phenomenally successful stage musical by Lionel Bart (who supplied the music and the lyrics), the film is the unlikeliest to have been directed by Carol Reed, who is best known for his gritty thriller-dramas of the 1940s, most notably Odd Man Out (1947), The Fallen Idol (1948) and The Third Man (1949).

Given Reed's penchant for gritty realism, irony and sombre introspection, it is surprising his version of Oliver! is not a lot darker than it is.  The film does have one or two fleeting forays into the abyss (Bill Sikes' murderous attack on Nancy continues to shock, no matter how many times you watch the film) but overall it cannot elude the saccharine sweetness of the original stage version.  The horrific social injustices that Dickens so eloquently describes in his novel Oliver Twist, and which David Lean powerfully evokes in his classic 1948 film adaptation, are shamelessly glossed over in an all too obvious attempt to deliver a good-natured piece of family entertainment.  It hardly registers that the story is about the neglect and abuse of children by society and unscrupulous individuals.  Everyone appears to be having such a jolly time...

Of the child actors, only Jack Wild makes much of an impression, a born scene-stealer who is magnificent as the Artful Dodger.  Mark Lester was presumably cast for his angelic looks, but he just seems to be out of place and has next to no impact.  (Carol Reed must have been delighted do discover that not only could Mark Lester not act, he could not sing either; all of his songs had to be dubbed by Kathe Green, the daughter of the film's musical director Johnny Green - a fact that was not disclosed until 20 years after the film was made).  The adult protagonists are far better cast, and it is hard to imagine a more inspired cast line up than Ron Moody, Oliver Reed and Shani Wallis for the roles of Fagin, Sikes and Nancy. 

Ron Moody absolutely revels in the role that has become his most celebrated, that of the pickpockets' leader Fagin, combining a mischievous sense of fun with a hint of pathos and something far more sinister.  Oliver Reed is at his most deliciously vile as the irredeemably bad Bill Sikes - judging by the eagerness with which he throws himself into the part you can't help feeling he must have derived enormous therapeutic value from it.   Short of biting off Mark Lester's head and spitting it at the camera, it is hard to see how Reed could have made his character more unpleasant.  As the ill-fated Nancy, the one sympathetic character in the film, Shani Wallis is a delight, pure and simple.  The supporting cast includes a brace of talented British comic actors - Harry Secombe, Peggy Mount, Leonard Rossiter, Hylda Baker, etc. - something which can only add to the film's lustre and enduring appeal.  The most charismatic performer on screen is none of the above, but the ugly pooch who plays Sikes' mongrel Bullseye - in just about every respect he seems to be Oliver Reed reborn in canine form.

Released at a time when the film musical was just beginning to go out of fashion, Oliver! bucked the trend and proved to be a major critical and commercial success.  It took 40 million dollars at the box office worldwide (recouping its production cost four times) and was nominated for eleven Oscars in 1969, winning in five categories (Best Director, Best Picture, Best Art Direction, Best Music and Best Sound), plus an Honorary Award for choreographer Onna White.  It also took two awards at the Golden Globes, for Best Picture and Best Actor (Ron Moody) in the musical-comedy genre.  It is a sad fact that many film musicals of this era now appear tired and dated (and quite a few have been all but forgotten).   Miraculously, Oliver! has retained its capacity to enchant and entertain, for all age groups - a timeless classic.

Film Synopsis

England, in the 19th century.  Oliver Twist is one of numerous abandoned orphan boys who live a wretched life in a provincial workhouse.  When he dares to ask for some more gruel, Oliver so incenses the workhouse governors that they agree he must be sold into work.  The boy does not take to his new home, with the mean undertaker Mr Sowerberry, and he is soon on his way to London, to make his fortune.  Not long after reaching the capital, Oliver meets another young boy who introduces himself as the Artful Dodger and invites him to join a gang of pickpockets in the employ of the fence Fagin.  The latter's main source of income is provided by Bill Sikes, a thuggish burglar who lives with a kind-hearted prostitute named Nancy.  Oliver's first experience of pickpocketing ends with the boy being arrested and brought before a magistrate.  Acquitted, Oliver is adopted by Mr Brownlow, the gentleman he was accused of robbing.  Fearing that Oliver will betray them to the police, Sikes and Fagin agree that he must be separated from his benefactor and returned to their gang.  Nancy has no choice but to lend her support to the scheme, although she soon realises her mistake...