Oliver!
![Watch film Oliver! — Oliver! (1968) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD 1080p]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PKKLLm715iw/sddefault.jpg)
All actors and roles (10)
All team (48)
Short description
Oliver! is a British musical drama adapted from Charles Dickens's novel Oliver Twist. The story follows a young orphan who flees the harsh conditions of the workhouse for London, where he falls in with a band of child pickpockets led by the elderly thief Fagin. The Artful Dodger brings him into this circle, and Oliver is drawn into a criminal world overseen by the menacing Bill Sikes and his companion Nancy. When a wealthy gentleman takes an interest in the boy's welfare, the gang's efforts to keep him pull him back toward the underworld.
Carol Reed directed the film, his seventh feature in the chronological list of his work, arriving after The Agony and the Ecstasy. Vernon Harris wrote the screenplay, and John Woolf produced. Ron Moody plays Fagin, with Shani Wallis as Nancy, Oliver Reed as Bill Sikes, Harry Secombe as Mr. Bumble, Mark Lester in the title role and Jack Wild as the Artful Dodger. The production was mounted on a budget of 10 million dollars and took in 37 million dollars at the worldwide box office.
On IMDb the film holds 7.4 out of 10 from over forty thousand votes, while on TMDB it stands at 7 out of 10 from a smaller pool of around five hundred. A critics' rating of 8 out of 10 from 78 reviews places it above both audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Charlotte, who works at a funeral home, has a hairstyle that became popular in the 1960s and 1970s.
- While performing the song "Where Is Love?", Mark Lester was only able to cry when presented with a freshly cut onion.
- The entire film was shot entirely in a studio.
- Oliver Reed (1938-1999) constantly remained in the character of Bill Sikes, so Mark Lester and the other children were very afraid of him.
- Approximately 5,000 candidates were auditioned before Mark Lester was given the role of the main character.
- Immediately after the scene where schoolgirls are pushed into the pool, a family exits a house, and the woman's attire is more reminiscent of the 1890s than the 1930s.
- Ron Moody (1924-2015) deliberately softened the Jewish accent of the East London native during filming to be understood by American audiences and avoid accusations of antisemitism.
- Oliver Reed's bull terrier had its tail fixed under its body – it was wagging it with too much enthusiasm.
- The film was shot in July 1967, although the plot sometimes required showing snow. The snowballs shown on screen were made from styrofoam, salt, and mashed potatoes.
- While filming the scene where Oliver looks at Fagin's treasures, director Carol Reed was not impressed with Mark Lester's facial expression. During the reshoot, he put a white rabbit in his pocket and stood behind the camera. When Ron Moody opened the treasure chest, Reed pulled the rabbit out of his pocket and filmed Lester's reaction.
- On the way to London, Oliver climbs onto a carriage traveling along a road covered in bitumen. Roads like these first appeared in Great Britain in 1902, while the film's action takes place in the 1800s.
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