Oliver Twist (1922)

Director:

Frank Lloyd

Writers:

Walter Anthony (titles)
Charles Dickens (novel)
(more)

Release Date:

30 October 1922 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

The GREATEST FILM TRIUMPH of the DECADE. A MATCHLESS CAST of SCREEN CELEBRITIES SUPPORTING JACKIE in THIS, HIS FINEST ACHIEVEMENT. Starring the GREATEST BOY ACTOR in the WORLD.

Plot:

Oliver's mother, a penniless outcast, died giving birth to him. As a young boy Oliver is brought up in a workhouse...

Plot Keywords:

1830s | England | Orphanage | Adoption | Children

Cast

Jackie Coogan	...	Oliver Twist
James A. Marcus	...	Mr. Bumble (as James Marcus)
Aggie Herring	...	Mrs. Corney
Lewis Sargent	...	Noah Claypole
Joan Standing	...	Charlotte
Carl Stockdale	...	Monks
Edouard Trebaol	...	The Artful Dodger
Lon Chaney	...	Fagin
Taylor Graves	...	Charley Bates
George Siegmann	...	Bill Sikes
Gladys Brockwell	...	Nancy
Lionel Belmore	...	Mr. Brownlow
Florence Hale	...	Mrs. Bedwin
Joseph Hazelton	...	Mr. Grimwig
Gertrude Claire	...	Mrs. Maylie
Esther Ralston	...	Rose Maylie
Eddie Boland	...	Toby Crackit
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nelson McDowell	...	Sowerberry (uncredited)

Directed by
Frank Lloyd

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Walter Anthony		titles
Charles Dickens		novel
Frank Lloyd		writer
Harry Weil		writer

Produced by
Sol Lesser	....	producer

Original Music by
John Muri		(1975)

Cinematography by
Glen MacWilliams
Robert Martin

Film Editing by
Irene Morra

Art Direction by
Stephen Goosson

Costume Design by
Walter J. Israel

Camera and Electrical Department
Louis Johnson	....	lighting technician

Production Companies

• Associated First National Pictures
• Jackie Coogan Productions

Distributors

• First National Pictures (1922) (USA) (theatrical)
• Maxim (1923) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Universum Film (UFA) (1925) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Blackhawk Films (197?) (USA) (all media) (16 mm) (non-theatrical)
• Viking Video Classics (1986) (USA) (VHS)
• Circulo Digital (DVD)
• Grapevine Video (video)
• Image Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Kino International
• Kino Video (video)
• Madacy Entertainment (USA) (VHS)
• Video Yesteryear

Runtime:

74 min (video version) | Spain:98 min (DVD version)

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Finland:S

Company:

Associated First National Pictures

Trivia:

When it was found without intertitles in the 1970s, the film was restored with the help of Jackie Coogan and Sol Lesser. The intertitles were created by Blackhawk Films.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Man of a Thousand Faces (1957)

A little disappointing.

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.