Oliver Twist

I expected a little more from this film than it delivered. It was not imaginative visually and the excellent cast was often not given the opportunity to explore their characters. This was especially true of Lon Chaney, whose Fagin does very little. Of course he looks great and the shot of him in prison toward the end is unforgettable.

I suspect the film-makers were more concerned with making this a Jackie Coogan picture rather than a Charles Dickens one - and this is where the film loses its narrative drive and character development. Mind you Coogan is excellent, but they really turn Oliver into the Kid, he even wears the same hat. I was impressed by Gladys Brockwell as Nancy, and the death of Bill Sykes is pretty special, but overall the film falls a little flat. Of course the hideous music on the Madacy tape I saw didn't help - nor the horrible flickering of the EP recording.

I eagerly popped this DVD into my player because I've always been captivated by early still and motion photography. I was pleased with the beauty of this silent film: some scenes have a brownish color cast resembling a calotype while others look bluish like a cyanotype. This film follows the novel closely, so dickensians and purists should like it. Lon Chaney is convincing as Fagin, and child star Jackie Coogan - who enjoyed a resurgence later as Uncle Fester on "The Addams Family" - earns the sympathy of the viewer. There are the usual histrionics for this period: this is a silent film, and so they come with the territory. Highly recommended to those who like silent films. A must-see for Dickens devotees and Chaney completists.

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.

Actually, the "best" version is a matter of opinion, whether you prefer the 1922 Frank Lloyd version, the 1948 David Lean version, the 1968 Carol Reed musical version, or the 2005 Roman Polanski version. But there is little doubt that the 1922 version is the "best" in terms of being the most faithful to Dickens' original novel, virtually every major character and subplot is included with little in the way of changes, quite a feat for a 74-minute movie. I rank it alongside of the 1951 version of Scrooge with Alistair Sims and the 1948 version of Great Expectations as one of the finest adaptations of Dickens on screen.

While not the best film version to me(the David Lean film), it is a very interesting one for reasons other than and as well as being silent. At 74 minutes though, I did think it was too short, and because it is such a lengthy and complicated novel with a lot going on, what was translated on screen, which was as much as possible seemingly, came across as too rushed with some characters disappearing before we even get to know them. However, it is absolutely great visually, the production design and lighting look wonderful and the atmosphere is beautifully evoked. The film is very well directed by Frank Lloyd, who manages to stage scenes, crucial or not, with much impact. Sykes' fall and Fagin alone in the cell were really well done, but the standout was Sykes pushing Nancy to the floor, a fine example I agree of where a character disappears replaced by another, in this case Fagin. The cast are fine. Most of the cast I am not as familiar as familiar with as the two big names, but they do their job well. George Siegmann seemed like typecasting to me but it is a job that he does well. Gladys Brockwell is a vulnerable and suitably brash Nancy, and the children are well cast. But this Oliver Twist is most memorable for Jackie Coogan and Lon Chaney. Coogan, who broke my heart in The Kid the previous year, is a sweet and innocent Oliver, while Chaney, looking great, gives a largely physical(relying a lot on gestures, facial expressions and mannerisms) yet commanding account of Fagin while avoiding the trap of making the character stereotypical. All in all, impressive visuals and a memorable Oliver and Fagin makes this an interesting and well-done if not definitive Oliver Twist. 8/10 Bethany Cox