Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
    Nostalgia Central
    Banner
    • Home
    • Blog
      • Lists
      • Playlists
    • Television
      • Shows by Decade
        • 1950s Television
        • 1960s Television
        • 1970s Television
        • 1980s Television
        • 1990s Television
      • Shows by Genre
        • Comedy
        • Drama
        • Kids TV
        • Variety
        • News & Sport
        • Advertisements
      • Shows by Country
        • UK TV
        • USA TV
        • Australia & NZ TV
        • Canada TV
        • Europe TV
        • Japan TV
      • Shows A to K
        • Shows A
        • Shows B
        • Shows C
        • Shows D
        • Shows E
        • Shows F
        • Shows G
        • Shows H
        • Shows I
        • Shows J
        • Shows K
      • Shows L to Z
        • Shows L
        • Shows M
        • Shows N
        • Shows O
        • Shows P
        • Shows Q
        • Shows R
        • Shows S
        • Shows T
        • Shows U
        • Shows V
        • Shows W
        • Shows X
        • Shows Y
        • Shows Z
      • Shows 0 to 9
    • Music
      • Music by Decade
        • 1950s Music
        • 1960s Music
        • 1970s Music
        • 1980s Music
        • 1990s Music
      • Music A to K
        • Music A
        • Music B
        • Music C
        • Music D
        • Music E
        • Music F
        • Music G
        • Music H
        • Music I
        • Music J
        • Music K
      • Music L to Z
        • Music L
        • Music M
        • Music N
        • Music O
        • Music P
        • Music Q
        • Music R
        • Music S
        • Music T
        • Music U
        • Music V
        • Music W
        • Music X
        • Music Y
        • Music Z
      • Music 0 to 9
      • Genres
      • Music on Film & TV
      • One-Hit Wonders
      • Online Radio
    • Movies
      • Movies by Decade
        • 1950s Movies
          • Movies 1950
          • Movies 1951
          • Movies 1952
          • Movies 1953
          • Movies 1954
          • Movies 1955
          • Movies 1956
          • Movies 1957
          • Movies 1958
          • Movies 1959
        • 1960s Movies
          • Movies 1960
          • Movies 1961
          • Movies 1962
          • Movies 1963
          • Movies 1964
          • Movies 1965
          • Movies 1966
          • Movies 1967
          • Movies 1968
          • Movies 1969
        • 1970s Movies
          • Movies 1970
          • Movies 1971
          • Movies 1972
          • Movies 1973
          • Movies 1974
          • Movies 1975
          • Movies 1976
          • Movies 1977
          • Movies 1978
          • Movies 1979
        • 1980s Movies
          • Movies 1980
          • Movies 1981
          • Movies 1982
          • Movies 1983
          • Movies 1984
          • Movies 1985
          • Movies 1986
          • Movies 1987
          • Movies 1988
          • Movies 1989
        • 1990s Movies
          • Movies 1990
          • Movies 1991
          • Movies 1992
          • Movies 1993
          • Movies 1994
          • Movies 1995
          • Movies 1996
          • Movies 1997
          • Movies 1998
          • Movies 1999
      • Movies A to K
        • Movies A
        • Movies B
        • Movies C
        • Movies D
        • Movies E
        • Movies F
        • Movies G
        • Movies H
        • Movies I
        • Movies J
        • Movies K
      • Movies L to Z
        • Movies L
        • Movies M
        • Movies N
        • Movies O
        • Movies P
        • Movies Q
        • Movies R
        • Movies S
        • Movies T
        • Movies U
        • Movies V
        • Movies W
        • Movies X
        • Movies Y
        • Movies Z
      • Movies 0 to 9
    • Pop Culture
      • Fads
      • Toys & Games
      • Fashion
      • Decor
      • Food & Drink
      • People
      • Radio
      • Technology
      • Transport
    • Social History
      • 1950s Year by Year
      • 1960s Year by Year
      • 1970s Year by Year
      • 1980s Year by Year
      • 1990s Year by Year
      • Events
    Nostalgia Central
    Home»Movies»Movies by Decade»1960s Movies»Movies 1968
    Movies 1968 Movies O 3 Mins Read

    Oliver! (1968)

    Share
    Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email

    “Please Sir, can I have some more?”. Mark Lester nabbed the classic line as Oliver Twist in this immensely popular musical film version of Charles Dickens’ classic novel.

    Set in 19th Century London, the film tells the story of a little orphan boy who escapes the harsh life of the workhouse and tries to cope with life on the streets.

    Oliver is taken in by a band of street urchins, headed by the lovable Fagin, his fiendish henchman Bill Sikes and his loyal apprentice the Artful Dodger.

    Through his education in the fine points of pick-pocketing, Oliver makes away with an unexpected treasure . . . a home and a family of his own.

    John Box, who designed Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and Doctor Zhivago (1965), literally reconstructed 19th Century London at Shepperton in a dazzling array of architectural splendour, with such an eye for detail you can almost smell the cabbage leaves and horse dung under the carriage wheels.

    The workhouse where Oliver Twist and the other orphans are abused, the steaming docks and sweaty smoke-filled pubs, the whirling vendors, the marching Queen’s Guards, the shimmering green parks full of girls in bright pinafores, and the white birthday cake splendour of Bloomsbury are really marvels of movie excess.

    Songwriter-arranger Johnny Green was hired as musical director, and with his assistance, Director Carol Reed was able to package the songs with maximum dramatic impact.

    oliver_022

    By almost universal agreement, the high point of the film is Who Will Buy? – the beautiful medley of street songs that opens the second half of the film. From the first a cappella, pure-soprano statement of the main theme by the flower girl in the deserted Bloomsbury Square (in reality, a facade built at Shepperton), the music builds gracefully into an oratorio of the ordinary.

    The other peddlers arrive gradually, sounding the variations and secondary motifs, and are eventually joined by policemen, maids, lords and ladies. Finally, the now-sunlit square is flooded with a river of humanity.

    Mark Lester is a blue-eyed photogenic Oliver; Ron Moody is a scene-chewing Fagin: Shani Wallis is a voluptuous and vibrant Nancy, and Oliver Reed is just about the evilest villain you could conjure in one of his juiciest roles as the murderous Bill Sikes. There is also a battered old dog named Bullseye, who steals the picture.

    oliver_032

    Oliver! deservedly won the Best Picture Oscar in 1968, and features 14 songs, many of them now classics – such as Food Glorious Food, Consider Yourself, If I Was A Rich Man and Where Is Love?.

    While undeniably a jollification of the Dickens novel (comical chimney boys anyone?) – complete with a softening of some of the original characters, including the transformation of Fagin from a grasping villain into a lovable rogue (albeit one brilliantly played by Ron Moody in a recreation of the role he had created in the original stage production) – one is simply swept along by the sheer exuberance of the staging and performances, leaving you wanting more.

    Fagin
    Ron Moody
    Nancy

    Shani Wallis
    Bill Sikes

    Oliver Reed
    Mr Bumble

    Harry Secombe
    Oliver Twist

    Mark Lester
    Artful Dodger

    Jack Wild
    Magistrate

    Hugh Griffith
    Mr Brownlow

    Joseph O’Conor
    Mrs Bumble

    Peggy Mount
    Mr Sowerberry

    Leonard Rossiter
    Mrs Sowerberry

    Hylda Baker
    Noah Claypole

    Kenneth Cranham
    Mrs Bedwin

    Megs Jenkins
    Bet

    Sheila White
    Dr Grimwig

    Wensley Pithey
    Mr Jessop

    James Hayter

    Director
    Carol Reed

    Video

    Related Posts

    • hookedgeneration0
      Hooked Generation, The (1968)
      Dope peddlers Acid (John Davis Chandler), Dum Dum (Willie Pastrano) and Daisey (Jeremy Slate) - I shit you not -…
    • 30 is a Dangerous Age, Cynthia (1968)
      30 is a Dangerous Age, Cynthia (1968)
      The much-loved Dudley Moore starred as shy nightclub pianist and composer Rupert Street, who is determined to write a hit…
    • witchfinder000
      Witchfinder General (1968)
      In 1645, with England torn apart by civil war, the infamous witch-hunter Matthew Hopkins (Vincent Price) - an Ipswich lawyer who…
    • Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz, The (1968)
      Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz, The (1968)
      The model of progressive East German women, star Olympian Paula Schultz (Elke Sommer) escapes from her country - and the…
    • chargelightbrigade10
      Charge Of The Light Brigade, The (1968)
      Tony Richardson's disapproving rendition of the infamously disastrous Crimean War cavalry charge in 1854 disappointed many upon its 1968 release,…
    • obsession2
      Obsession (1976)
      High melodrama, creeping insanity and barely contained delirium abound in this dizzying tribute to the high-tension thrillers of Alfred Hitchcock…
    • greetings0
      Greetings (1968)
      Paul Shaw (Jonathan Warden) lives in New York and likes to spend his time with friends researching the assassination of…
    • Our Mother's House (1967)
      Our Mother's House (1967)
      When their deeply religious mother (Annette Carell) dies, the seven Hook children bury her in the garden of their gloomy…

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Reddit Email
    Previous ArticleOklahoma! (1955)
    Next Article O Lucky Man! (1973)

    Comments are closed.

    NC Radio Player
    Search the site
    Nostalgia Central has been a labour of love since 1998. The site carries no advertising, and I rely on donations to help with running costs and to keep the site running for your entertainment and education.

    If you find the site informative or enjoyable, please consider a donation – no matter how small.
    Thank you so much. Enjoy your trip in the time machine!
    You may also like

    • angelsfromhell00
      Angels From Hell (1968)
      After serving a tour in Vietnam, Mike (Tom Stern) returns to his California hometown to discover that his old motorcycle…
    • petulia11
      Petulia (1968)
      The slow-moving story of a divorced doctor's relationship with a younger woman in San Francisco. Archie Bollen (George C. Scott)…
    • bicyclettes0
      Les Bicyclettes de Belsize (1968)
      This 29-minute short by Douglas Hickox is a pure 1960s fantasy where boy-meets-girl around the streets of Hampstead village. With…
    • ongoldenpond6
      On Golden Pond (1981)
      A film dealing with themes of old age, the approach of death and the lack of communication in family relationships, On…


    Nostalgia Central covers the period 1950 to 1999 and contains some words and references which reflect the attitudes of those times and which may be considered culturally sensitive, offensive or inappropriate today.
    Copyright © 1998, 2023 Nostalgia Central. Run by volunteers. Funded by donations.
    • About Nostalgia Central
    • Contact
    • FAQ

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.