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“Oliver Twist” (The Musical)

“Oliver! The Musical” is probably the well known musical of all time because of how the story conveys of the problems during that time. The film which is based on Lionel Bart`s musical adaptation of Charles Dickens`s novel, Oliver Twist, had been produced for the stage in London before they decided to turn it into a film. The screenplay adaptation for the movie was written by Vernon Harris.

The movie begins in a workhouse several miles from London where several young orphans are forced to work and live under harsh conditions. One of the orphans, Oliver Twist (Mark Lester) is chosen by the rest of the kids to ask for more food because it is hardly enough for them. Oliver is a shy good looking kid, but when he asks Mr. Bumble (Harry Secombe) for more food he is instantly put in discipline for his rude attitude. He decides to sell the boy because he has become an problem in the workhouse. Oliver then escapes and is able to arrive at London where he meets another young boy about his age who introduces himself as The Artful Dodger (Jack Wild). The Dodger offers Oliver a place to sleep and introduces him to Fagin (Ron Moody) and the rest of the boys. Fagin happens to be a thief who trains the children how to pick a pocket and steal valuable goods like wallets and handkerchiefs from distracted men in the streets. Oliver is innocent and doesn’t really understand what is going on until the day he goes on his very first mission with the Dodger and he is mistakenly accused of stealing a man`s wallet. Oliver is finally declared innocent after an eyewitness claims it was another boy who was trying to steal the wallet and Mr. Brownlow (Joseph O`Conner) apologizes to him and adopts him at his home. In the meantime Fagin is worried the boy will give up his hideout along with his partner in crime, Bill Sikes (Oliver Reed). Bill forces his girlfriend Nancy (played by Shani Wallis) to kidnap Oliver and bring him back and the plot develops from that point on.

Though I haven’t got a chance to finish the musical film, the characters themselves made a big role to make the story more realistic and more conveying to the problems of life during that time. There were no problems about the characters like Fagin and The Artful Dodger stealing the show from the main protagonist thus they became the remarkable characters in the movie and it made the movie humorous enough for the people watching to enjoy it. Oliver Twist has also given a big impact of every people’s hearts. Mark Lester’s role as Oliver Twist has indeed given him popularity among the

crowd and even in the film industry so as the film which won six Oscars in 1968.

But what was the main reason of Oliver Twist is for people to see the evil side of the worlds through people themselves. Oliver Twist is a symbol of innocence and purity among an evil world that has turned its back on him, and his goodness proves to be incorruptible even among these peoples who ruined his life. This film lived up to it although it was very loosely based on the novel because you just can`t fit everything into the movie and some of the characters had to be left out or they didn`t have much screen time. Thus, it became really popular not only to adults and kids but also those who were fond of reading Dickens novel.