Synopsis
Musical adaptation of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist, a classic tale of an orphan who runs away from the workhouse and joins up with a group of boys headed by the Artful Dodger and trained to be pickpockets by master thief Fagin.
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Cast
- Ron MoodyFagin
- Shani WallisNancy
- Oliver ReedBill Sikes
- Harry SecombeMr. Bumble
- Mark LesterOliver
- Jack WildThe Artful Dodger
- Joseph O'ConorMr. Brownlow
- Peggy MountMrs. Bumble
- Hylda BakerMrs. Sowerberry
- Megs JenkinsMrs. Bedwin
Recommendations
- 100
Chicago Sun-Times
Sir Carol Reed's Oliver! is a treasure of a movie. It is very nearly universal entertainment, one of those rare films like The Wizard of Oz that appeals in many ways to all sorts of people. - 100
New York Daily News
Oliver! is a timeless classic that will be as lovable in 10 or 20 years as it is today. - 80
The Guardian
Some of the set pieces are overdone but the final scenes take on an almost operatic quality. - 80
Variety
It’s a bright, shiny, heartwarming musical, packed with songs and lively production highspots and, though the leading performances are not all up to the Lean mark, if memory serves it’s a fine enough thesping ensemble to keep exhibitors and audience enthusiastic. - 80
TV Guide Magazine
Oliver! is better than most screen musicals of the 1960s, a period when oversized, poorly rendered songfests virtually killed the genre. - 63
ReelViews
It’s an uneven film with a tone that veers from playful to menacing. Despite numerous simplifications of the source material, it’s long and, with only a few exceptions, the songs are unremarkable and feel more like filler than organic elements of storytelling. - 60
Chicago Reader
Carol Reed's careful if passionless adaptation of the musical was mounted handsomely enough to win the best-picture Oscar back in 1969. In retrospect, it seems emblematic of the triviality Reed descended to in the last years of his career. - 60
Empire
Even if you're not a 'fan' of the musicals, Oliver is so witty, so bright and so endearing that even the iciest viewer should start melting in it's corona.
