Oliver! (1968) - Part 01 of 16

Oliver! (1968) - Part 01 of 16

NOTE Part 01 is the movie's Musical Intro ONLY. The storyline of the movie actually begins with Part 02.

A 1968 musical film about Oliver (Mark Lester) , a nine-year-old workhouse orphan who's sold to an undertaker by workhouse officials after objecting to his scant rations; he soon manages to escape from bondage and make his way to London. There he's befriended by the precocious Artful Dodger (Jack Wild), a pickpocket who belongs to a gang of youthful thieves run by the wily Fagin (Ron Moody), a veteran cutpurse. This criminal mentor admits Oliver to his academy of larceny, introducing him also to the brutish Bill Sikes (Oliver Reed) and Sikes's kind-hearted wife, Nancy (Shani Wallis). As time passes, Nancy becomes almost a mother to Oliver, and when the resentful Sikes falsely accuses the boy, Oliver finds out who his friends really are. A romanticized and more lighthearted retelling of Dickens's brooding social melodrama, buoyed by a score studded with standards such as "Who Will Buy?" and "Where Is Love?" and energized by Broadway-style choreography, OLIVER! is a model of what a film musical should be.

Directed by Carol Reed, who softens the edges of his social commentary as he heads into the slums of 19th-century London. The film is based on the stage musical Oliver!, with book, music and lyrics written by Lionel Bart. The screenplay was written by Vernon Harris.

Both the film and play are based on the famous Charles Dickens novel Oliver Twist. The musical includes several musical standards, including "Food Glorious Food", "Consider Yourself", "As Long as He Needs Me", "You've Got to Pick a Pocket or Two", "Oom-Pah-Pah" and "Where is Love?".

The film version was a Romulus Films production and was distributed internationally by Columbia Pictures. Filmed in Shepperton Film Studio in Surrey and various other locations in England.

In 1968 Oliver! won an Academy Award for Best Picture.

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