Oliver Twist

Oliver Twist

Jackie Coogan had made his name as the spunky waif in Chaplin's The Kid when he took on the role of Charles Dickens's plucky orphan hero in Oliver Twist. It's dream casting: wide-eyed Coogan is an innocent with a heart of gold dropped into a den of thieves, notably Lon Chaney's Fagin, a heartless conniver with long whiskers, a hook nose, rotten teeth and skeletal fingers. The entire production is peopled with perfect types--a rotund bulldog of a Mr. Brumble, a barrel-chested bully of a Bill Sykes, a ragged dandy of an Artful Dodger--but it rather misses the point of Dickens. "I know of two kinds of boys: good and bad," sniffs one high-society gentleman, and sure enough, director Frank Lloyd gives us heroes and villains without the energetic, colorful portrayals of the Dodger (who has little dramatic presence) and Fagin that enrich later versions of the novel. The entire novel is packed into 74 breakneck minutes, but the lavish production is richly atmospheric and beautiful to look at, and Coogan's cute, sprightly performance keeps the story bouncing along. The print is well worn and in places quite damaged, but it's presentable, nicely tinted, and accompanied by an organ score by John Muri. This disc also includes Lon Chaney in The Light of Faith (an abridged version of Clarence Brown's The Light in the Dark). Chaney plays a thief who, inspired by the story of the Holy Grail, risks his life to rob a rich man of his ancient goblet in the hopes that it may save a sick girl. There's little room for dramatic resonance in such a digest-sized version, but Chaney shines as a reformed roughneck, and the lavish production is well preserved in this excellent restoration, which has been tinted and set to an organ score by Hank Troy. --Sean Axmaker

Genre: Crime, Drama, Family
Production: United Artists
  Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.
 
IMDB:
7.8
Rotten Tomatoes:
100%
NOT RATED
Year:
1948
105
3,344 Views

Share your thoughts on Oliver Twist's quotes with the community:

0 Comments

    Quote of the Day Today's Quote | Archive

    Would you like us to send you a FREE inspiring quote delivered to your inbox daily?

    Please enter your email address:

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this movie page to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "Oliver Twist Quotes." Quotes.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 29 Mar. 2024. <https://www.quotes.net/movies/oliver_twist_quotes_8358>.

    Know another quote from Oliver Twist?

    Don't let people miss on a great quote from the "Oliver Twist" movie - add it here!

    Browse Quotes.net

    Quiz

    Are you a quotes master?

    »
    What TV series is this quote from: "I am the one who knocks."?
    A Breaking Bad
    B The Vampire Diaries
    C Game of Thrones
    D One Tree Hill