Over seventy years on and this version of 'Oliver Twist' is still garnering ecstatic reviews. There are a handful of gainsayers to be sure but their opinions are quite frankly inconsequential as this is simply film-making of the highest quality.
By all accounts it was Kay Walsh who came up with the idea for the astonishing opening scene which sets the tone for the whole film. Lean himself relates the amusing tale of how they utilised a stuffed cat in order to get the required reaction from the lethargic beast playing Bullseye during the effectively staged murder sequence. Necessity is the mother of invention! Film is of course a collaborative medium and Lean, no mean 'cutter' himself, has the services of one of the best editors in the business, Jack Harris. Behind the camera is Guy Green who had previously replaced Robert Krasker on 'Great Expectations'. This also represents the only full-length film score by Arnold Bax.
Too much of course has been made of the so-called anti-Semitic portrayal of Fagin by Alec Guinness. He and Lean both had the courage to stick to their guns by having the character resemble the original illustrations of George Cruikshank. In the immortal words of Columbia's Harry Cohn: 'the trouble is that accent and that schnozzle'. Ironically the film was banned in Israel for its anti-Semitism but banned in Egypt for showing Fagin too sympathetically! Mention must be made of the fabulous Robert Newton as Bill Sykes whose 'careful' handling is a testament to Lean's directorial skills. Henry Stephenson is perfect as Brownlow, Kay Walsh heart-rending as Nancy and Francis L. Sullivan as Mr. Bumble gets to deliver one of the author's most immortal lines: 'the Law, Sir, is a Ass'. John Howard Davies has been criticised by some for being a bit 'twee' as Oliver but the role could not have been played any better.
All of Lean's hallmarks that he was to exhibit on a far wider scale and with considerably larger budgets are in evidence here. A truly great version of a literary masterpiece is surprisingly rare in film as there seem to be so many 'compromises' but this is a glorious exception.
By all accounts it was Kay Walsh who came up with the idea for the astonishing opening scene which sets the tone for the whole film. Lean himself relates the amusing tale of how they utilised a stuffed cat in order to get the required reaction from the lethargic beast playing Bullseye during the effectively staged murder sequence. Necessity is the mother of invention! Film is of course a collaborative medium and Lean, no mean 'cutter' himself, has the services of one of the best editors in the business, Jack Harris. Behind the camera is Guy Green who had previously replaced Robert Krasker on 'Great Expectations'. This also represents the only full-length film score by Arnold Bax.
Too much of course has been made of the so-called anti-Semitic portrayal of Fagin by Alec Guinness. He and Lean both had the courage to stick to their guns by having the character resemble the original illustrations of George Cruikshank. In the immortal words of Columbia's Harry Cohn: 'the trouble is that accent and that schnozzle'. Ironically the film was banned in Israel for its anti-Semitism but banned in Egypt for showing Fagin too sympathetically! Mention must be made of the fabulous Robert Newton as Bill Sykes whose 'careful' handling is a testament to Lean's directorial skills. Henry Stephenson is perfect as Brownlow, Kay Walsh heart-rending as Nancy and Francis L. Sullivan as Mr. Bumble gets to deliver one of the author's most immortal lines: 'the Law, Sir, is a Ass'. John Howard Davies has been criticised by some for being a bit 'twee' as Oliver but the role could not have been played any better.
All of Lean's hallmarks that he was to exhibit on a far wider scale and with considerably larger budgets are in evidence here. A truly great version of a literary masterpiece is surprisingly rare in film as there seem to be so many 'compromises' but this is a glorious exception.