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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :- Good Version of the Story With Coogan, Chaney, & More, 21 June 2002 Author: Snow Leopard from Ohio
With a good cast headed by Jackie Coogan and Lon Chaney, plus decent atmosphere that conjures up the sights of Dickens' world, this version of "Oliver Twist" works well. The Dickens story makes wonderful movie material, but it is also quite melodramatic, and for a film version to succeed requires convincing characters and a believable recreation of the world of the novel. Coogan, Chaney, and director Frank Lloyd all get the job done.Coogan was of course the best and obvious choice in his day to play Oliver. But Chaney, although much more limited in his screen time, is even more memorable. Fagin is the kind of role that Chaney most excelled at. His make-up, mannerisms, and gestures are all impressive, and it is amazing the way that without dialogue he can so quickly and efficiently define his character's relationships with the other characters. The rest of the cast are mostly lesser-known names, but they all do a good job of establishing their characters, too. The settings are a bit plain at times, but are always consistent with the story, and they do the job of showing us the varied places where Oliver lived the different stages of his young life.There have many versions of the Oliver story, and the terrific David Lean version from the 40's is still the one by which all others should be measured. But this is a good adaptation, and it has almost everything you could ask for in a silent version of the story.
8 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :- Lon Chaney and Jackie Coogan in million-dollar film roles!, 15 June 2003 Author: Daniel Dopierala from Australia
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.
1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :- Acting honours are shared between Chaney and Siegmann, 18 August 2008 Author: kidboots from Australia
*** This comment may contain spoilers ***
Even though Jackie Coogan was one of the top stars of the twenties only a handful of his films were top class productions. All of his films were carefully supervised by John Coogan Snr., who kept budgets to a minimum and Jackie's salary up. It was very unusual to see a top director or a noteworthy star's name on the credits. Joan Crawford was in "Old Clothes" but that was one of her first films."Oliver Twist" was a rare exception. Directed by Frank Lloyd, who went on to win a Best Director Academy Award for "The Divine Lady" and "Cavalcade", he also directed "Mutiny on the Bounty" which won Best Picture for 1935. The cast also included Gladys Brockwell as Nancy, Esther Ralston as Rose Maylie, George Siegmann as Bill Sykes and the magnificent Lon Chaney as Fagin."Despised by all - pitied by none" is the title that introduces this rather good atmospheric version of the classic book. There is a real effort to bring about the dinginess and poverty of 19th century London.Oliver Twist is a drudge in an English work house. After having the temerity to ask for more food he is taken on as an apprentice under taker. When Noah Claypole says some horrible things about his mother, Oliver runs away to London. (There is a scene taken from "David Copper field" as Oliver trudges the 75 miles to London town.)He then meets the Artful Dodger, who introduces him to the evil Fagin (the masterly Lon Chaney) who has a den of thieves.Meanwhile Mr. Bumble has discovered things about Oliver's mother - that she was from a wealthy family because of a gold locket she had when she died. Oliver is taught to be a "pickpocket" but is caught on his first job. He is taken to Mr. Brownlow's house where he is looked after because Mr. Brownlow thinks Oliver is decent and good. While sent on an errand of trust he is kidnapped by Nancy, claiming to be his sister. He is then sent out on a job with Bill Sykes but while trying to warn the sleeping victims he is shot by Sykes. He is taken in by the Maylies but Fagin is plotting Oliver's return. Nancy goes to the Maylies to tell of Oliver's danger and together they bring about Fagin's downfall.This is an excellent adaptation that holds up well due to the grand supporting cast. George Siegmann can add Bill Sykes to his gallery of villains (he even looks like the original illustrations from Dickens). He was one of the best "heavies" of the silent screen. From Silas Lynch in "Birth of a Nation" to the terrible Von Strohm in "Hearts of the World", he was from the Griffith stable of actors. Gladys Brockwell is also very good as Nancy. She was a very popular and extremely busy actress who died in 1929 as a result of injuries caused by a car accident. Lon Chaney is superb as Fagin, inhabiting the character of the evil, dirty procurer of young boys to be taught the art of thieving.Jackie Coogan is very cute in the title role and occasionally some of his tricks are bought out (cartwheeling for a bored aristocrat, mimicking the pickpocket game and pretending to be an old gentleman.) As another reviewer said he was the best and obvious choice to play Oliver.Highly recommended.
4 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :- A little disappointing., 2 September 1999 Author: David Atfield (bits@alphalink.com.au) from Canberra, Australia
I expected a little more from this film than it delivered. It was not imaginative visually and the excellent cast was often not given the opportunity to explore their characters. This was especially true of Lon Chaney, whose Fagin does very little. Of course he looks great and the shot of him in prison toward the end is unforgettable.I suspect the film-makers were more concerned with making this a Jackie Coogan picture rather than a Charles Dickens one - and this is where the film loses its narrative drive and character development. Mind you Coogan is excellent, but they really turn Oliver into the Kid, he even wears the same hat. I was impressed by Gladys Brockwell as Nancy, and the death of Bill Sykes is pretty special, but overall the film falls a little flat. Of course the hideous music on the Madacy tape I saw didn't help - nor the horrible flickering of the EP recording.
0 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :- Chaney the Great, 7 March 2008 Author: Michael_Elliott from Louisville, KY
Oliver Twist (1922) *** (out of 4) Frank Lloyd directed this version of the Charles Dickens story with Jackie Coogan as Oliver, Lon Chaney as Fagin and Lionel Belmore as Mr. Brownlow. I believe this is my first film version that I've sat all the way through so I have nothing to compare it to but I really enjoyed the film. The movie flows at a very fast pace with some nice laughs and good drama. Coogan is delightful as Oliver and the rest of the supporting cast does a terrific job. Chaney is ideal as Fagin and pulls the role off perfectly. His make up is some of the best work I've seen from him and that's saying quite a bit considering the upcoming roles he would go on to do.
2 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :- OK Version Of Oliver Twist, 20 December 2003 Author: CitizenCaine from Las Vegas, Nevada
Jackie Coogan stars as Oliver Twist in this silent, Frank Lloyd directed version of the Charles Dickens novel. Coogan is good as Oliver, but the film seems more of a Jackie Coogan film than an adaptation of Dickens. The film successfully recreates Victorian London to a certain extent; however, the adaptation is somewhat loose. The supporting players are good too, but Lon Chaney, although he commands our attention every time he's on screen as Fagin, has little to do in the film. The version with the restored music is the one to see, as it adds immeasurably to the film. Still an entertaining, episodic film, typical of silent era adaptations of stories and novels. **1/2 of 4 stars.
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