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Oliver Twist

Play trailer Poster for Oliver Twist 1948 1h 45m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 24 Reviews 84% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
When 9-year-old orphan Oliver Twist (John Howard Davies) dares to ask his cruel taskmaster, Mr. Bumble (Francis L. Sullivan), for a second serving of gruel, he's hired out as an apprentice. Escaping that dismal fate, young Oliver falls in with the street urchin known as the Artful Dodger (Anthony Newley) and his criminal mentor, Fagin (Alec Guinness). When kindly Mr. Brownlow (Henry Stephenson) takes Oliver in, Fagin's evil henchman Bill Sikes (Robert Newton) plots to kidnap the boy.
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Oliver Twist

Oliver Twist

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Critics Consensus

David Lean brings the grimy beauty of Charles Dickens' Victorian England to vivid cinematic life in Oliver Twist, a marvelous adaptation that benefits from Guy Green's haunting cinematography and Alec Guinness' off-kilter performance.

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Critics Reviews

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David Parkinson Empire Magazine Nov 27, 2019
4/5
When Lean does subjugate his ego to Dickens's genius, this becomes a powerful study of depravity, misery and cruelty... Go to Full Review Don Druker Chicago Reader Nov 6, 2007
Alec Guinness as the master pickpocket Fagin is the high point of David Lean's 1948 version of the Dickens classic. Go to Full Review Variety Staff Variety Nov 6, 2007
From every angle this is a superb achievement. Go to Full Review Vernon Young New Mexico Quarterly Jan 17, 2024
Certainly no better film than England's Oliver Twist was shown to American filmgoers during the year 1951 and one hopes that it will now enter the repertory of vanguard movie societies as securely as The Baker's Wife has done. Go to Full Review Adrian Turner Radio Times Nov 27, 2019
5/5
This masterly adaptation of the Dickens novel by director David Lean brims with unforgettable scenes and performances, especially Alec Guinness's Fagin and Robert Newton's genuinely frightening Bill Sikes. Go to Full Review Josh Larsen LarsenOnFilm Sep 10, 2018
3/4
...employs the visual economy of silent cinema. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Eli H @EliHendricks Aug 28, 2026 Knock a star off for Alec Guiness'.... Let's call it a performance. It was so jarring the first time he turned around to reveal what I can only describe as propaganda come to life and it never got better. It was distracting. This is probably the best adaptation of the source material, but my God. See more Kim P @RT98672688 Jun 14, 2026 From the acting, directing, cinematography, lighting, and costuming, to the fantastic sets with their immaculate attention to the most minute detail, this movie is one of the best Dickens adaptations ever. You can still love the Oscar-winning musical, but this version is superb. I DO find it a bit funny that Mickey Rooney was and still is heavily criticized by critics and audiences for his stereotypical portrayal of a Japanese man in Breakfast at Tiffanys and yet Alec Guinness portrays Fagin with a hooked nose shaped like a sharks fin and the size of half a grilled cheese sandwich, sliced diagonally. He speaks in a guttural tone with an accent and is portrayed as a greedy villain. I guess B & W movies are exempt but his image is actually worse than some of the propaganda posters the Nazis circulated in the late 1930s to dehumanize Jews to the rest of Germany. The movie is great, in spite of that flaw. Just thought it was interesting. See more R T @RT85769432 Jan 14, 2026 This is a masterpiece of cinema and a remarkable achievement by David Lean. It draws you into Victorian London to the point where you can almost smell the dirt and squalor. The story is told in a compelling but unsentimental manner. A strong cast delivers some truly memorable performances. All the other film versions of this story pale into insignificance. See more Robert C @RT54644392 Jul 31, 2024 The scene where Bill Sykes beats Nancy to death and all David Lean shows is Sykes' dog frantically trying to get out of the room, is one of the most violently effective things I've ever seen in cinema. See more Tony M @RT39492260 Jan 21, 2024 A great film for its time but I prefer the 1968 musical Oliver. See more Steve D @RT35616104 Jan 20, 2024 Not a bad version but there are many better options. See more Read all reviews
Oliver Twist

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Cast & Crew

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David Lean

Director

Robert Newton

Bill Sikes

Alec Guinness

Fagin

John Davies

Oliver Twist

Kay Walsh

Nancy

Francis L. Sullivan

Mr. Bumble

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Oliver Twist

Oliver Twist (1948) Oliver Twist (1948) Oliver Twist (1948) Oliver Twist (1948) Oliver Twist (1948) Oliver Twist (1948) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis When 9-year-old orphan Oliver Twist (John Howard Davies) dares to ask his cruel taskmaster, Mr. Bumble (Francis L. Sullivan), for a second serving of gruel, he's hired out as an apprentice. Escaping that dismal fate, young Oliver falls in with the street urchin known as the Artful Dodger (Anthony Newley) and his criminal mentor, Fagin (Alec Guinness). When kindly Mr. Brownlow (Henry Stephenson) takes Oliver in, Fagin's evil henchman Bill Sikes (Robert Newton) plots to kidnap the boy.
Director
David Lean
Producer
Ronald Neame
Screenwriter
Stanley Haynes, David Lean
Production Co
Cineguild
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jun 28, 1948, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 18, 2016
Runtime
1h 45m
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