Oliver Twist

"A Screen Event To Be Remembered For All Time !"

1948 2h 1m EN

🙌

7.6

BANGER

★7.6TMDB · 267

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

When 9-year-old orphan Oliver Twist dares to ask his cruel taskmaster, Mr. Bumble, 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 and his criminal mentor, Fagin. When kindly Mr. Brownlow takes Oliver in, Fagin's evil henchman Bill Sikes plots to kidnap the boy.

“A Screen Event To Be Remembered For All Time !”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

John Howard Davies
Oliver Twist
Robert Newton
Bill Sykes
Alec Guinness
Fagin
Kay Walsh
Nancy
Francis L. Sullivan
Mr. Bumble
Henry Stephenson
Mr. Brownlow
Mary Clare
Mrs. Corney
Anthony Newley
Artful Dodger

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: David Lean
Writers: Stanley Haynes, David Lean
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $0.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

78 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by David Lean, shot by Guy Green. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Original score by Arnold Bax. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Jack Harris shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

John Howard Davies and Robert Newton and Alec Guinness carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A Screen Event To Be Remembered For All Time !".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0040662 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

David Lean directs. Guy Green behind the camera. Arnold Bax scores. Jack Harris cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $0.4M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
278 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by David Lean, shot by Guy Green. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Arnold Bax. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Jack Harris shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6John Howard Davies and Robert Newton and Alec Guinness carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "A Screen Event To Be Remembered For All Time !".
8IMDB entry: tt0040662 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Guy Green
Original score: Arnold Bax
Editing: Jack Harris
Costume design: Margaret Furse
Makeup / hair: Stuart Freeborn
Runtime: 121 min · 2h 1m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $375,000
Box office: $400,000
Return: 107% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Oliver Twist (1948)

Also by

David Lean

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-07-09
★ 8/10
You only have to watch the opening few sequences of David Lean's striking adaptation of this, probably the most famous of Dickens' stories, to know that you are in for a treat. The dark clouds chase the poor, wretched, mother as she seeks any shelter she can from the impending storm and so, Oliver is born in the workhouse and the story begins. Francis L. Sullivan and Mary Clare are super as the exploitative and cruel face of the workhouse from which he is eventually sold and after a brief spell leading funeral cortèges for children, Oliver ends up befriending the Artful Dodger (Anthony Newley) and falling into truly bad company. Alec Guinness and Robert Newton epitomise evil and avarice, violence and brutality and are outstanding as Fagin and Skyes - and with Kay Walsh and Henry Stephenson (and also, a slightly under-rated Frederick Lloyd, too) you just could not leave the story in any better hands. A truly captivating film that belongs in anyone's library.

Production companies