This is generally regarded as the best screen version of the Dickens novel about an orphan who becomes involved with pickpockets in London. And it's easy to see why. The cinematography is opulent and the sets and costumes nicely evoke the period, just as one would imagine the world of Dickens to be. While it looks great, the script is muddled and the film becomes too melodramatic in the latter stages. Guinness has a field day as Fagin, but he tends to get too hammy at times, as does Newton as the singularly evil Sykes. Young Davies does well in the title role and Sykes's dog is cute. A more interesting version is the musicalized "Oliver!"
Review of Oliver Twist
