Oliver! (1968)

Oliver! (Dir: Carol Reed, 1968). 

Carol Reed’s movie adaptation of Lionel Bart’s blockbuster stage musical is a universally acclaimed, multi-award winning masterpiece. Based, of course, on Charles Dickens’ novel Oliver Twist, it is certainly a sanitised depiction of Victorian East End London; a film about child exploitation, populated by thieves and murderers should probably not make for suitable family entertainment, and yet it does. 

A top drawer cast includes unknown juveniles Mark Lester, winsomely appealing in the title role and Jack Wild giving a spirited and charismatic performance as Dodger. Of the adults, Ron Moody as Fagin, Oliver Reed as Bill Sykes and Harry Secombe as Mr Bumble are all impressive but perhaps the stand out is the previously little known Shani Wallis. As Nancy, Ms Wallis gives a genuinely moving, sympathetic performance. It’s staggering to think that Oliver! did not launch her to international movie stardom.

Bart’s outstanding score is easily one of the best to grace stage or screen; unusually for any musical all 13 songs taken from the show, from Food Glorious Food to Om Pah Pah have entered the public conscious and are all exquisitely staged, lavish production numbers.

In spite of the tremendous critical and commercial success of Oliver! by 1968 the big budget family musical was becoming a less commercially viable prospect for Hollywood. The previous year had seen the commercial failure of Disney’s The Happiest Millionaire (Norman Tokar) and Fox’s Doctor Doolittle (Richard Fleischer) and in the half decade since its initial release few non-animated film musicals have had anywhere near its impact. Although the genre has undergone a successful revival, with such recent examples as Mary Poppins Returns (Rob Marshall, 2018) and the live-action Beauty and the Beast (Bill Condon, 2017), as good as those movies may be, have not managed to match it for artistry or sheer entertainment. 

It is easy to see why critics and audiences were so enamoured by Oliver! as 50 years on it remains a genuinely fantastic film that withstands many repeated viewings.