Oliver Twist (1922)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Frank Lloyd

Writers:

Walter Anthony (titles)
Charles Dickens (novel)
(more)

Release Date:

30 October 1922 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The GREATEST FILM TRIUMPH of the DECADE. A MATCHLESS CAST of SCREEN CELEBRITIES SUPPORTING JACKIE in THIS, HIS FINEST ACHIEVEMENT. Starring the GREATEST BOY ACTOR in the WORLD.

Plot:

Oliver's mother, a penniless outcast, died giving birth to him. As a young boy Oliver is brought up in a workhouse...

Plot Keywords:

1830s | Orphanage | Orphan | Children | England

Cast

James A. Marcus	...	Mr. Bumble
Aggie Herring	...	Mrs. Corney
Jackie Coogan	...	Oliver Twist
Nelson McDowell	...	Sowerberry
Lewis Sargent	...	Noah Claypole
Joan Standing	...	Charlotte
Carl Stockdale	...	Monks
Edouard Trebaol	...	The Artful Dodger
Lon Chaney	...	Fagin
Taylor Graves	...	Charlie Bates
George Siegmann	...	Bill Sikes
Gladys Brockwell	...	Nancy Sikes
Lionel Belmore	...	Mr. Brownlow
Florence Hale	...	Mrs. Bedwin
Joseph Hazelton	...	Mr. Grimwig
Gertrude Claire	...	Mrs. Maylie
Esther Ralston	...	Rose Maylie
Eddie Boland	...	Toby Crackit

Directed by
Frank Lloyd

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Walter Anthony		titles
Charles Dickens		novel
Frank Lloyd		writer
Harry Weil		writer

Produced by
Sol Lesser	....	producer

Original Music by
John Muri		(1975)

Cinematography by
Glen MacWilliams
Robert Martin

Film Editing by
Irene Morra

Art Direction by
Stephen Goosson

Costume Design by
Walter J. Israel

Camera and Electrical Department
Louis Johnson	....	lighting technician

Production Companies

• Associated First National Pictures
• Jackie Coogan Productions

Distributors

• First National Pictures (1922) (USA) (theatrical)
• Maxim (1923) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Universum Film (UFA) (1925) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Blackhawk Films (197?) (USA) (all media) (16 mm) (non-theatrical)
• Viking Video Classics (1986) (USA) (VHS)
• Circulo Digital (DVD)
• Grapevine Video (video)
• Image Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Kino International
• Kino Video (video)
• Madacy Entertainment (USA) (VHS)
• Video Yesteryear

Also Known As:

Oliver Twist (Austria) (Germany) [de]
Oliver Twist (Finland) [fi]

Runtime:

74 min (video version) | Spain:98 min (DVD version)

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Finland:S

Company:

Associated First National Pictures

Trivia:

When it was found without intertitles in the 1970s, the film was restored with the help of Jackie Coogan and Sol Lesser. The intertitles were created by Blackhawk Films.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Man of a Thousand Faces (1957)

Lon Chaney and Jackie Coogan in million-dollar film roles!

Jackie Coogan and certainly Lon Chaney were one of the most popular actors of the silent era and have since been like that. Oliver Twist is one of the greatest films of it's version and a delight to watch. Jackie Coogan had just finished his work with the Chaplin company appearing in "A Day's Pleasure" (1919) and his unforgettable role in "The Kid" (1921) and after Albert Austin's My Boy (1921), Jackie was sent to stardom with Oliver Twist!

And Lon Chaney was the greatest actor ever in my opinion. When I watch his films as diverse as Tell it to the Marines (1926) & The Unknown (1927), it always sends chills down my spine, good chills. He was magnificent in other silent film classics such as While The City Sleeps (1928), West of Zanzibar (1928) & Laugh, Clown Laugh (1928). He is just amazing. Chaney was born in 1883 and his parents who were both deaf-mutes probably helped Chaney to become a good actor in the future. In 1912 he began acting at Universal in bit parts, later in Romantic roles and finally in the late 1910s he began perfecting, the terrifying stranger character used in several of his later feature films. His most famous films such as The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) & The Phantom of the Opera (1925) have sometimes been ignored as great films although Chaney is great in both of them. Several of his films are lost and that's another reason why Chaney is still so popular today. His last silent film Thunder (1929) is also believed lost but a few minutes have been discovered and show that Chaney was really good in it too. He was such a devoted actor that the lead role of Thunder (1929), he plays Grumpy Anderson a railroad engineer and in fact, he went to a real engineer and made him a deal that he'll buy the engineer a new pair of overralls and Chaney would get his old ones so that it looked worn in. In 1926 Chaney made Tell it to the Marines where Chaney proved that he didn't need make-up to be a good actor and his performance was so superb that he was the first ever motion picture actor to be honored with a special award from the Marine Corps. Chaney followed with his amazing film The Unknown (1927) where he played Alonzo the Armless and his performance in that film is his greatest and I think it's one of the top 10 silent films of all time. Going back to the film Thunder (1929) Chaney had gone location shooting and he caught pneumonia and it proved to be very serious later although no one knew of the consequences just yet. In 1930 Irving Thalberg chose Chaney's first sound film for he did not want to talk but he did and it was his last film. The film was The Unholy Three (1930) a re-make of his earlier film of the same name in 1925. Chaney again gave a stunning performance and the scene at the end for many is very sad. Chaney farewells his 2 co-stars and he's on the end of the train as it rides on along and away into the distance slowly as the camera fades to black and that was Chaney's last appearance on the Silver Screen and one month later he died. Chaney will always be remembered as The Man of a Thousand Faces and his films will always be pleasurable to watch.