Day 32: Oliver Twist (1948)

Charles Dickens’ “Oliver Twist” has always been a story about the polarization between hope and despair and David Lean’s film adaptation of the little orphan boy is right on target with these ideals. Filmed wonderfully in black and white, the color palette is used almost as an indicator of mood- shifting as poor Oliver and the audience go from the darkness of the workhouse and London streets to the brightness of Mr. Brownlow’s home. Fresh off adapting “Great Expectations” the year before, Lean again finds success in his retelling of another Dickensian tale thanks to his incredible ability to edit a story down to its core without losing its style.

In “Oliver Twist” we have the poor orphan Oliver, who grows up in a workhouse under the mistreatment of his caretaker Mr. Brumble. At age nine, little Oliver performs the greatest of workhouse sins by asking for a second helping of gruel (“Please sir, I want some more”) and for his actions he is promptly sold to the undertaker Mr. Sowerberry as an apprentice. Mistreated once again at the hands of Sowerberry and his employees, Oliver escapes to London, where he’s befriended in the streets by the Artful Dodger, a boy pickpocket (played by the very young Anthony Newley).

Needing food and shelter, Oliver follows Dodger into a life of stealing, which is overseen by the devious Fagin (Alex Guinness in full disguise) and the dangerous Bill Sikes (Robert Newton). One day, as Oliver is being taught the pickpocketing profession, a pinch by Dodger fails and, though he gets away, Oliver is captured and put on trial for the crime he didn’t commit. Luckily, his innocence is recognized by the theft’s victim, Mr. Brownlow and, instead of finding himself back on the street, Oliver is taken in by the kindly old man. But, London’s underworld has not yet lost its grip on the boy as Fagin and Sikes kidnap him from his new home in fear he will talk to the police and give them away. Back in the dismal streets of London, it will take all of Oliver’s wit to rid himself of the pickpocket life and reunite with Mr. Brownlow.

Throughout the years, cinema has told the tale of “Oliver Twist” over a dozen times (once even as an Academy awarding winning musical), but Lean’s depiction of both the characters and their atmosphere marks it as one of the best in the bunch. Through a keen use of shot juxtaposition, there are several times in the film where the character’s situation is made clearer by the use of other objects in the scene. For example, Oliver’s hunger and place in society is shown beautifully in one shot where he eats on a crate beside a dog. As we watch both devour their meager meals, we realize that they are one and the same in the eyes of everyone else- both animals and inconveniences.

Later, another shot helps us better understand Oliver’s predicament. On his first night as the undertaker’s apprentice, he is shoved into a dark room, where he is supposed to sleep. As he turns on his lantern, he realizes that he’s surrounded by coffins, all ready for cold bodies to fill them. With that, Oliver lays down on a mat underneath a workbench with a coffin above him and, as he grows still with sleep, we can’t help but feel his current predicament will eventually lead him to one of those pine boxes if he doesn’t find a way out.

With “Oliver Twist,” David Lean once again shines as the true director for the works Charles Dickens. Ever able to take the words from the page and mold them into full bodied images, Lean takes this simple orphan’s tale and definitely shows it at its best.

For more on “Oliver Twist,” check out Criterion’s page here.

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