Oliver Twist (1922)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Frank Lloyd

Writers:

Walter Anthony (titles)
Charles Dickens (novel)

Release Date:

30 October 1922 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The GREATEST FILM TRIUMPH of the DECADE. A MATCHLESS CAST of SCREEN CELEBRITIES SUPPORTING JACKIE in THIS, HIS FINEST ACHIEVEMENT. Starring the GREATEST BOY ACTOR in the WORLD.

Plot:

Oliver's mother, a penniless outcast, died giving birth to him. As a young boy Oliver is brought up in a workhouse...

Plot Keywords:

1830s | Orphanage | Orphan | Children | England

Cast

James A. Marcus	...	Mr. Bumble
Aggie Herring	...	Mrs. Corney
Jackie Coogan	...	Oliver Twist
Nelson McDowell	...	Sowerberry
Lewis Sargent	...	Noah Claypole
Joan Standing	...	Charlotte
Carl Stockdale	...	Monks
Edouard Trebaol	...	The Artful Dodger
Lon Chaney	...	Fagin
Taylor Graves	...	Charlie Bates
George Siegmann	...	Bill Sikes
Gladys Brockwell	...	Nancy Sikes
Lionel Belmore	...	Mr. Brownlow
Florence Hale	...	Mrs. Bedwin
Joseph Hazelton	...	Mr. Grimwig

Runtime:

74 min (video version) | Spain:98 min (DVD version)

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Finland:S

Company:

Associated First National Pictures

Trivia:

When it was found without intertitles in the 1970s, the film was restored with the help of Jackie Coogan and Sol Lesser. The intertitles were created by Blackhawk Films.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Man of a Thousand Faces (1957)

Good Version of the Story With Coogan, Chaney, & More

With a good cast headed by Jackie Coogan and Lon Chaney, plus decent atmosphere that conjures up the sights of Dickens' world, this version of "Oliver Twist" works well. The Dickens story makes wonderful movie material, but it is also quite melodramatic, and for a film version to succeed requires convincing characters and a believable recreation of the world of the novel. Coogan, Chaney, and director Frank Lloyd all get the job done.

Coogan was of course the best and obvious choice in his day to play Oliver. But Chaney, although much more limited in his screen time, is even more memorable. Fagin is the kind of role that Chaney most excelled at. His make-up, mannerisms, and gestures are all impressive, and it is amazing the way that without dialogue he can so quickly and efficiently define his character's relationships with the other characters. The rest of the cast are mostly lesser-known names, but they all do a good job of establishing their characters, too. The settings are a bit plain at times, but are always consistent with the story, and they do the job of showing us the varied places where Oliver lived the different stages of his young life.

There have many versions of the Oliver story, and the terrific David Lean version from the 40's is still the one by which all others should be measured. But this is a good adaptation, and it has almost everything you could ask for in a silent version of the story.