Customer Reviews

Oliver Twist [VHS]

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

First, let me say that although the back of this tape claims it is the first filmed version of Oliver Twist, there is a silent film starring Lon Chaney and Jackie Coogan which is on a nicely packaged DVD. This is, however, the first sound version of the film. That is perhaps the only thing it can boast, though it is obvious that the sound technology was not utilized.

We all know the story. Oliver Twist is a poor orphan boy who is treated badly in the orphanage, so he runs away and is roped into joinging a group of thieves. He maintains his innocence throughout and is a lovable character. This film follows that story pretty well and the adorable Dickie Moore is cast as Oliver.

Although I am a fan of Moore, I must admit that even his acting is wooden, a blanket statement for the entire cast. His acting is stagy and his short attention span gives the viewer the same.

Carl Pierson, the editor, did an atrocious job. Perhaps he was asleep as he was cutting the film; I would not be surprised. There are scenes that are too short and others that run too long, such as one where Oliver is scrubbing the floor as punishment. It seems the director has yelled "cut" because Moore looks up and smiles at the camera as if his job is done, and this is still in the film!

What is even worse is that the condition of the film is terrible. The print is awful; the picture is washed out and difficult to watch. The pre-recorded soundtrack is dully recorded to the point of being impossible to hear at times. This is an early talkie, so silence is often prevalant in films of the era, but not to this extent. With the television volume more than halfway up, it should be possible to hear at least the crackling of the film or the buzzing of a projector in the background.

I practically never do this, but I would have to say don't bother at all with this movie, at least not until it gets a better release. Not even intense fans of Dickie Moore like myself will be able to find something worthwhile here.

My three stars does not mean this film is as good as that. It is because this short film was made back in 1933, and probably the oldest talking film based on Dickens (except "Rich Man's Folly," freely adapted version of Dickens' "Dombey and Son"). The rendition is flatly done, and there is little I can recommend here except for the fact this is one of the oldest Dickensian films.

The story of the little boy, the fence Fagin, and criminal Sikes (and his dog) is preserved fairly well, but the film is an obvious attempt to cash in on the popularity of the child star Dickie Moore. As you know, "Oliver Twist" was made with another (and more famous) child star Jackie Coogan in silent era (1922), and the film producers must have known that fact well. Unfortunately, Dickie Moore looks too plumb and healthy to convince us that he is Oliver Twist, and in most of the screen time, he simply does not look suffering from his fate.

Other actors are not good either; Fagin is so-so, but is unmemorable before Alec Guiness, and William Boyd's Bill Sikes shows enough menace to scarethe kid, but his English sounds more like that of Humphrey Bogart. If you want definite version of "Oliver Twist," go to David Lean (or Elijah Wood version of 1997, if you like).

Strangely, the film is produced by Monogram Pictures, usually known for its B-program pictures, like Westerns or thrillers. That fact might explain the poorly done production designs of the film.