Oliver Twist (1933)

An orphan boy in 1830's London is abused in a workhouse, then falls into the clutches of a gang of thieves.

Director:

William J. Cowen

Writers:

Charles Dickens (novel), Elizabeth Meehan (screenplay and dialogue)

Stars:

Dickie Moore, Irving Pichel, William 'Stage' Boyd

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dickie Moore	...	Oliver Twist
Irving Pichel	...	Fagin
William 'Stage' Boyd	...	Bill Sikes (as Wm. Boyd)
Doris Lloyd	...	Nancy Sikes
Alec B. Francis	...	Mr. Brownlow
Barbara Kent	...	Rose Maylie
Sonny Ray	...	The Artful Dodger
George K. Arthur	...	Toby Crackit
George Nash	...	Charles Bates
Clyde Cook	...	Chitling
Lionel Belmore	...	Mr. Bumble
Tempe Pigott	...	Mrs. Corney
Nelson McDowell	...	Sowerberry
Virginia Sale	...	Mrs. Sowerberry
Harry Holman	...	Grimwig

Storyline

An orphan boy in 1830's London is abused in a workhouse, then falls into the clutches of a gang of thieves.

---

Plot Keywords:

oliver twist | 

---

Taglines:

It Glorifies The Talking Screen!

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 February 1933 (USA)

Also Known As:

El hijo de la parroquia

Company Credits

Production Co:

I.E. Chadwick Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Balsley & Phillips Recording System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The failure of the original copyright holder to renew the film's copyright resulted in it falling into public domain, meaning that virtually anyone could duplicate and sell a VHS/DVD copy of the film. Therefore, many of the versions of this film available on the market are either severely (and usually badly) edited and/or of extremely poor quality, having been duped from second- or third-generation (or more) copies of the film.

---

Goofs

When Oliver chases the coach, rubber tire tracks are visible in the mud.

---

Quotes

[first lines]
Oliver's Mother: My baby, my boy. I want to see him.

---

Connections

Version of Fagin (1922)

User Reviews

Not the best version of Oliver Twist but not bad

For me, David Lean's film is still the best version of Charles Dickens' great novel. However, while flawed this 1933 version is worth seeing at least for curiosity value. It is too short at 70 minutes, and feels rather rushed narratively. Dickie Moore is cute as Oliver but looks comfortable and his performance consists of a lot of overdone facial expressions. I also didn't find the performance of Artful Dodger very believable either, Sonny Ray might have made a good Fagin but he is too old as Dodger. However, while slightly stagey at times dramatically, it is hardly cheaply rendered visually. And there are a handful of good performances. Lionel Belmore is a decent Mr Bumble, if never really erasing memories of Harry Secombe and Francis L. Sullivan, and Alec B. Francis a humble Mr Brownlow. But the three best performances are Doris Lloyd as a hard-edged but vulnerable Nancy, William Boyd as a frightening Bill Sykes and Irving Pichel as a suitably oily Fagin. So all in all, not one of my favourite Dickens, but better than anticipated, better than the 1934 version of Jane Eyre anyhow. 6/10 Bethany Cox