Oliver Twist

So Lean Quest 1.5 comes to an end! Oliver Twist (1948) is Lean's second foray into Dickens, after the beautifully-shot but problematic Great Expectations (1946). In every way, except its more restrictive location work, Oliver Twist is the better film, with a crisply-flowing narrative that retains the spirit of Dickens' work, striking cinematography, and sharply-drawn, memorable characters.

Meek orphan Oliver Twist (John Howard Davies), eeking out a dreadful existence in a work house, infuriates his charges by daring to ask for more gruel. Oliver eventually winds up on the streets of London, falling in with the ghoulish crime lord Fagin (Alec Guinness) and his gang of pickpockets, including the Artful Dodger (Anthony Newley). He also runs afoul of the drunken Sykes (Robert Newton) and his feisty girlfriend Nancy (Kay Walsh), while kindly Mr. Brownlow (Henry Stephenson) tries his damndest to save Olvier.

Lean's Twist is the definitive adaptation of this Dickens tome, and easily the darkest. Its depiction of a stark, grimy, crooked London are a far cry from the goofball musical Oliver! and similar adaptations, which make a life of street crime seem not so bad. Lean keeps Dickens's acidic portrait of Victorian London intact: between the cruel sweatshops, the hypocritical, crooked judges, the disheveled children made up like Auschwitz survivors, the duplicitous criminals and the lynch mobs eager to string up delinquents, it offers a stark, disturbing picture of a time too often idealized in the arts.

In most every way, Lean improves on his previous Dickens film. While Great Expectations's narrative has all the flow of Bigfoot's shower drain, trying to cram in way too many plot points in two hours, Lean and writer Stanley Hayes are wonderfully reductive: they reduce the inevitable exposition into brisk sequences, keeping the plot intact without becoming unwieldy. In Great Expectations, we had boring, poorly-cast leads with the interesting characters lurking in the background; here, we have a rather dastardly trio dominating the proceedings, and infinitely more interesting. Dickens purists may find the story a bit rushed, but it's preferable to the slog of the previous film.

As usual, Lean's production is a marvel, from the portentious, storm-swept opening to the climactic riot - Lean handling intimate sequences and large set pieces with aplomb. The film has the typical Lean flourishes, including the dog's violent reaction to Nancy's murder and Sykes's desperate roof-top scramble. If the movie misses the impressive location work of Great Expectations, it makes up for it with John Bryan's impressive art direction and Guy Green's rich, deep-focus photography, creating a truly dark and frightening portrait of the London slums. Impressive use of montage and simple exposition keeps the story moving at a brisk pace; no more dwelling than necessary with this story.

John Howard Davies is a fine if rather passive Oliver, but he's blown off the screen by his three antagonists. Alec Guinness's Fagin has been much criticized for anti-Semitism, and his scraggly beard, beaked nose and bizarre accent give such complaints validity. On its own, however, it's an impressive, bravura performance, with Guinness near-unrecognizable under mountains of make-up and scratchy voice, his character repulsive and charming in equal measure. Robert Newton (This Happy Breed) is appropriately menacing and violent, and the always-lovely Kay Walsh (Tunes of Glory) gives perhaps her best performance, strong-willed yet vulnerable. Supporting roles are farmed out to an interesting array of character talent: Francis L. Sullivan (Great Expectations), Maurice Denham (The Day of the Jackal), Ivor Bernard (Pygmalion), Ralph Truman (El Cid), Diana Dors (Hannie Caulder).

In sum, Oliver Twist is another excellent Lean film, and perhaps the best Dickens adaptation ever filmed.

Now I've reviewed every Lean film for this blog. What now?

PS: RIP to the great Fess Parker. Most people will probably recall his TV turn as Davy Crocket, but I best remember him for his funny cameo in Them!