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Books Video icon An illustration of two cells of a film strip. It leaves out several major characters and episodes. Virtually gone are Mr. Bumble, who know the truth of Oliver's parentage. Gone is undertaker Sowerberry and his sadistic family, who do their best to break Oliver's spirit. But most important of all, gone is Oliver's nemesis Monks, the man whose whole future rests on ruining Oliver's life.
Scenes where Brownlow witnesses, and then rescues, Oliver from the abusive police and courts are eliminated, so we don't understand why Brownlow takes an interest in the boy, or why the boy trusts Brownlow.
So much for dramatic tension and character development. Second, the acting ranges from terrible to barely adequate. Dickie Moore, acting like a plucky male Shirley Temple, is horribly miscast as Oliver. As soon as he opens his mouth you know this boy has never been beaten, never gone hungry, never been cold and friendless and desperate. The whole point of Oliver's character is that he HAS been through all these things all his life, and yet refuses to become one of Fagin's thieves.
We're supposed to root for Oliver because he is noble, and because evil forces including the missing Mr. Monks are actively trying to destroy him. Dickie Moore and the script convey none of this, so it's really hard to root for Oliver. Nancy Doris Lloyd is the only truly sympathetic character in this movie, but you never believe that she wouldn't just leave Bill Sykes and the gang, because this Bill is a pale shadow of the vicious, threatening presense that is supposed to have complete power over her.
The only thing the film makers got right is the final, disturbing scene between Fagin and Oliver in the jail house. What a strange choice to jettison major fundamental plot elements, and yet depict this scene so faithfully. Lastly, the sound is very scratchy, but then, it's not worth the effort to hear the dialogue anyway. In a fit of rage, Sikes beats Nancy to death, flees to the countryside, and then returns to London where he accidentally hangs himself trying to escape an angry mob.
Oliver gets a much happier ending as it turns out he is heir to an inheritance - he is taken in once again by Mr Brownlow who this time, adopts him. The artwork used for the cover is 'Portrait of a boy with a cap' by Albert Anker. Last week, around 33, people downloaded books from my site - 9 people donated. I really need your help to keep this site running. You don't need a PayPal or Stripe account and it only takes a minute.
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