Sony Pictures
Oliver! is one of those classic, musical film productions that anyone seriously interested in film or musical theater must see. It was
already old when I first saw it on cable in all its muddy-colored and scratchy glory. The new, crisp 4K Blu-ray shows Oliver! in all its over-the-top grandeur.
Oliver! is chock-full of expansive musical numbers staged over sprawling sets with a cast of hundreds, and songs so ingrained in pop culture that you will probably go, “Oh, is this where this is from!”
1969’s Academy Award for Best Picture, Oliver! loosely follows Charles Dickens’ novel Oliver Twist. Enough of the original story is there for you to get the heart of Dickens’ story of the indentured orphan who runs away to London to make his fortune, only to be absorbed into London’s underbelly.
Through happenstance, Oliver became involved with a gang of thieves and pickpockets led by the dastardly Fagan.
Oliver is like a leaf on the wind; he’s carried along the whirlwind of events leading him into the world of petty crimes, which eventually finds him being arrested. Everything seems dire for Oliver when fortune seems to smile on him.
The man whom Oliver was accused of stealing from turns around and brings Oliver to live with him after a witness comes forward and proves Oliver’s innocence. Worried that Oliver will snitch on their operation, Fagan and his top thief, Bill Sikes, conspire to steal Oliver back with the help of Bill’s girlfriend, Nancy. Once they have Oliver back, Bill forces Oliver to help him with his burglaries. Nancy regrets pulling Oliver away from his new home and tries to help Oliver escape back to Mr. Brownlow, the wealthy man who took Oliver in.
In the end, Nancy is killed by Bill for helping Oliver, and the police chase down Bill for killing Nancy. Bill is killed while fleeing, and Oliver is returned to Mr. Brownlow.
If you are looking to skip out on your English assignment and try to pass your exam by watching Oliver! instead of reading the book, trust me, your teacher will know. It’s like trying to watch Starship Troopers instead of reading the Heinlein novel. It’s a lot of fun, but you’ll be missing some big pieces.
Oliver! is an adaptation of Lionel Bart’s stage production. From its black screen introductory Overture (don’t be alarmed, it’s supposed to be that way), to the complete recreation of an entire section of London that took over all of Shepperton Studios during the filming of the movie, to the sweeping crane shots covering vast choreographed musical scenes with an enormous cast, you get all the hallmarks of old style musicals.
The music is a wonderful example 1960s musical.
Several of the songs possess that kind of earworm that you find yourself humming while you are checking your email or doing the dishes. I haven’t seen Oliver! since I was in middle school, and it was on cable, but somehow the words to “Consider Yourself” and “I’d Do Anything” just flowed out of my mouth while I watched it.
While the main musical numbers hold up, I found my thumb hovering over the fast-forward button during Oliver’s ballad. To be fair, Mark Lester’s singing voice was dubbed by another actor, but that particular style of airy soprano is something I can skip.
However, Shani Wallis as Nancy more than makes up for it with the belting of “Oom-Pah-Pah”. However, I heard once that Shirley Bassey was considered for the role of Nancy. I would have killed to see that.
One of the most fascinating aspects is the contrast between these big, joyous musical numbers set in the absolute squalor of 1830s East London. Dickens was all about the disparity between the classes, and the set designers and costume designers got the assignment. The detail in the sets and stage design is impressive. It’s sprawling, filled with dilapidated buildings and sludge-filled waterways.The sets have so much gritty detail that it makes me shudder at how filthy old, impoverished London was.
While there is a lot I enjoyed revisiting, seeing Oliver! as an adult, some aspects become problematic through an adult lens. The character of Fagan, the leader of the picketpocket gang and Bill Sikes’s fence, is complicated for several reasons.
In Dickens’ novel, Fagan is the straight-up villain. He runs his criminal enterprise with children, abuses them, and knowingly causes the death of Nancy, the one person in Fagan’s circle who tries to help Oliver escape Fagan. Add to him the caricature of a negative Jewish stereotype, and you get a Fagan that is challenging to watch as the comic relief. Dickens took criticism for his portrayal of Fagan at the time of publication, and revised some of this writing with subsequent publication.
In Oliver! Fagan is reshaped again. The more violent personality of Fagan’s character has been transferred to Bill Sikes. Fagan is portrayed as the thinker of the two. Ron Moody played Fagan in the original stage production and was cast in the film production as well. He plays Fagan in Oliver! with a light touch, going for humor. For the 1960s, these may have seemed enough of a concession, but to my 2025 eyes, it still leaves me feeling uncomfortable, and I have to remind myself of both when the source material and Oliver! were written. They are products of their times.
Even with the trouble with Fagan, I enjoyed revisiting this production of Oliver!. I love comparing books to screen adaptations and seeing what elements a screenwriter will cherry-pick to streamline a story. Oliver! has the bonus of being a multi-layered snapshot of society’s point of view. The original Oliver Twist is Dickens’ portrayal of how governments treated the poor in the 1800s. Oliver! is a snapshot of how the same story is viewed through a 1960s lens, and then we, the viewers, bring our own modern, 21st-century view with us.
Oliver! was one of the last of the grand-scale musicals. The 1970s ushered in the likes of Bob Fosse and the stripped-down, gritty musicals. Modern-day film musicals try to recapture this heyday of musical film, but something is missing with the reliance on digital effects and auto-tune. Treat yourself and step back to a time and appreciate the spectacle of Oliver!
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