Oliver! (1968)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Carol Reed

Writers:

Charles Dickens (freely adapted from "Oliver Twist")
Lionel Bart (book)

Release Date:

5 October 1968 (Japan)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Family | Musical | Romance

Tagline:

More of a Masterpiece Than a Musical! [re-release]

Plot:

Musical adaptation about an orphan who runs away from an orphanage and hooks up with a group of boys trained to be pickpockets by an elderly mentor.

Plot Keywords:

Britain | Child's Point Of View | Child Labor | Chess | Locket

Awards:

Won 5 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 23 nominations

Cast

Ron Moody	...	Fagin
Shani Wallis	...	Nancy
Oliver Reed	...	Bill Sikes
Harry Secombe	...	Mr. Bumble
Mark Lester	...	Oliver Twist
Jack Wild	...	The Artful Dodger
Hugh Griffith	...	The Magistrate
Joseph O'Conor	...	Mr. Brownlow
Peggy Mount	...	Mrs. Bumble
Leonard Rossiter	...	Sowerberry
Hylda Baker	...	Mrs. Sowerberry
Kenneth Cranham	...	Noah Claypole
Megs Jenkins	...	Mrs. Bedwin
Sheila White	...	Bet
Wensley Pithey	...	Dr. Grimwig

Also Known As:

Lionel Bart's Oliver! (UK) (poster title)
Oliver (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]
Oliver! (Argentina) [es]
Oliver! (Finland) [fi]
Oliver! (Denmark) [da]

Runtime:

153 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (Westrex Recording System) (70 mm prints) | Mono (35 mm optical prints) | 4-Track Stereo (Westrex Recording System) (35 mm magnetic prints)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Brazil:12 | Argentina:Atp | Finland:K-8 | Sweden:11 | UK:U | USA:G | West Germany:12 | Ireland:G | Australia:G | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

Company:

Romulus Films

Trivia:

Mark Lester did not do his own singing in Oliver! It was dubbed by Kathe Green, daughter of Johnny Green, the music arranger/supervisor on the film. Johnny revealed this for the first time publicly in 1988 during an interview on the 20th anniversary of the film. He says that Mark Lester was "tone deaf and arrhythmic". He originally had two boys set to dub his singing but during post production they realized their voices didn't match Mark's look, so they used Johnny's daughter instead.

Goofs:

Continuity: While singing "As Long As He Needs Me," Nancy's dress hangs off her shoulder and then in the next shot it is back on her shoulder.

Quotes:

Boy: Fagin, this sausage is moldy!
Fagin: Shut up and drink your gin.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 100 Years at the Movies (1994) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Who Will Buy?

Broadway to Hollywood transition...SUCCESS!!!

Oliver! the musical is a favorite of mine. The music, the characters, the story. It all just seems perfect. In this rendition of the timeless classic novel turned stage musical, director Carol Reed brings the Broadway hit to life on the movie screen.

The transition from musical to movie musical is not an easy one. You have to have the right voices, the right set, the right script, and the right play. All signs point to yes for this play. It almost appears that it was written for the screen!

Our story takes place in jolly old England where a boy named Oliver manages to work his way out of the orphanage. He winds his way through the country to London where he meets up with a group of juvenile delinquents, headed by Dodger, the smart talking, quick handed pick-pocket. The leader of this gang is named Fagin, an older fellow who sells all the stolen goods.

But all is not well in London town when Bill Sykes played by Oliver Reed and his loving girlfriend Nancy get tangled up with Oliver, Fagin and his young troops, and the law. What ensues is a marvelous tale of love, affection, and great musical numbers.

Whether or not you like musicals or not, one listen to these tunes and you will be humming them all day long. Oliver! is a triumph on and off the stage and is a timeless work of art.