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Oliver Twist

Play trailer Poster for Oliver Twist 1948 1h 45m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 24 Reviews 84% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
When 9-year-old orphan Oliver Twist (John Howard Davies) dares to ask his cruel taskmaster, Mr. Bumble (Francis L. Sullivan), for a second serving of gruel, he's hired out as an apprentice. Escaping that dismal fate, young Oliver falls in with the street urchin known as the Artful Dodger (Anthony Newley) and his criminal mentor, Fagin (Alec Guinness). When kindly Mr. Brownlow (Henry Stephenson) takes Oliver in, Fagin's evil henchman Bill Sikes (Robert Newton) plots to kidnap the boy.
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Oliver Twist

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Critics Consensus

David Lean brings the grimy beauty of Charles Dickens' Victorian England to vivid cinematic life in Oliver Twist, a marvelous adaptation that benefits from Guy Green's haunting cinematography and Alec Guinness' off-kilter performance.

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Critics Reviews

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David Parkinson Empire Magazine 11/27/2019
4/5
When Lean does subjugate his ego to Dickens's genius, this becomes a powerful study of depravity, misery and cruelty... Go to Full Review Don Druker Chicago Reader 11/06/2007
Alec Guinness as the master pickpocket Fagin is the high point of David Lean's 1948 version of the Dickens classic. Go to Full Review Variety Staff Variety 11/06/2007
From every angle this is a superb achievement. Go to Full Review Vernon Young New Mexico Quarterly 01/17/2024
Certainly no better film than England's Oliver Twist was shown to American filmgoers during the year 1951 and one hopes that it will now enter the repertory of vanguard movie societies as securely as The Baker's Wife has done. Go to Full Review Adrian Turner Radio Times 11/27/2019
5/5
This masterly adaptation of the Dickens novel by director David Lean brims with unforgettable scenes and performances, especially Alec Guinness's Fagin and Robert Newton's genuinely frightening Bill Sikes. Go to Full Review Josh Larsen LarsenOnFilm 09/10/2018
3/4
...employs the visual economy of silent cinema. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Robert C 07/31/2024 The scene where Bill Sykes beats Nancy to death and all David Lean shows is Sykes' dog frantically trying to get out of the room, is one of the most violently effective things I've ever seen in cinema. See more Tony M 01/21/2024 A great film for its time but I prefer the 1968 musical Oliver. See more Steve D 01/20/2024 Not a bad version but there are many better options. See more @Blobbo 12/18/2022 Classic movie portrayal of classic novel. Classy! See more 10/23/2022 A really decent adaptation of a Dickens classic. Not much more you can say about this. See more William L 09/09/2020 A faithful adaptation of the Dickens classic responsible for much of the visual distinction associated with the tale. A great use of light and shadow to accompany the black and white color scheme that only serves to enhance some of the exceptional sets, cinematography, and sense of intensity carried over from the source material. With his prosthetic nose, Guinness is near-unrecognizable, but seizes the screen with every moment that the camera is on him. (4/5) See more Read all reviews
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Cast & Crew

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David Lean

Director

Robert Newton

Bill Sikes

Alec Guinness

Fagin

John Davies

Oliver Twist

Kay Walsh

Nancy

Francis L. Sullivan

Mr. Bumble

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Oliver Twist

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Movie Info

Synopsis When 9-year-old orphan Oliver Twist (John Howard Davies) dares to ask his cruel taskmaster, Mr. Bumble (Francis L. Sullivan), for a second serving of gruel, he's hired out as an apprentice. Escaping that dismal fate, young Oliver falls in with the street urchin known as the Artful Dodger (Anthony Newley) and his criminal mentor, Fagin (Alec Guinness). When kindly Mr. Brownlow (Henry Stephenson) takes Oliver in, Fagin's evil henchman Bill Sikes (Robert Newton) plots to kidnap the boy.
Director
David Lean
Producer
Ronald Neame
Screenwriter
Stanley Haynes, David Lean
Production Co
Cineguild
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 28, 1948, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 18, 2016
Runtime
1h 45m
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