History Film / Oliver

* ResignationsNotAccepted: Fagin and Sykes ''could'' just let Oliver live a comfortable life in a rich person's house while they continue with their thieving. But a fear that Oliver might tell about them motivates them to kidnap him back, unleashing disaster for the gang in the end.

* TorchesAndPitchforks: The posse led by Brownlow that comes after Sykes at the end is wielding torches.

* ExcitedShowTitle: ''Oliver!''

It is an adaptation of the theatrical musical ''Theatre/{{Oliver}}'', which was itself an adaptation of the novel ''Literature/OliverTwist'' by Creator/CharlesDickens. The film opens with Oliver in a grim workhouse for orphans, where the orphans are fed just barely enough gruel to keep them alive. Oliver makes too much trouble at the workhouse (that is, he asks for more gruel), which gets him sold to an undertaker as basically a slave.

Oliver escapes from the undertaker and eventually winds up in the company of a thief named Fagin, who runs a gang of young urchins as pickpockets and thieves. Oliver learns pocket-picking from a fellow orphan and expert thief who is named Jack Dawkins but who is always called the "Artful Dodger" (Creator/JackWild). Eventually the Artful Dodger picks the pocket of a wealthy gentleman, Mr. Brownlow--one who has a surprising connection to Oliver.

* AwkwardSilenceEntrance: In the film adaptation, once the Artful Dodger believes Oliver Twist is an ideal fit for Fagin's gang, he drags Oliver through the city into the slums where he lives. When the two of them walk in, the rowdy boys playing card games, practising their tricks or chatting loudly over a cigarette, freeze and stare as Dodger and his guest walk past them towards Fagin's office. One boy is so suspicious, he jumps off a high ledge and lands behind Oliver to get a better look, his landing acting as a JumpScare.
* BadGuyBar: The tavern, which is obviously a den of prostitutes and also a rendezvous point for thieves like Fagin and BIll.

* CharacterDevelopment: Fagin provides a very interesting case study in the movie adaptation. When Oliver first meets him, he's a loud and frightening stranger who emerges from a cloud of smoke like the very Devil from Hell, bellowing at some random youngster who complains about the food to "Shut up and drink your gin!" Then, as Oliver gets introduced to everyone and he shows him around, Fagin starts looking a lot more like a [[LaughablyEvil comical villain]], particularly during the song "You've Got to Pick a Pocket Or Two" where he hams up his whole GreedyJew motif to pull some laughs. Later, as things get more serious, he reveals in his song "Reviewing the Situation" that he's tired of his whole criminal enterprise and wants out, but truly has nowhere to go, making him quite a sympathetic character indeed. By the end, he's pretty much run the entire range of Jewish villain characterizations from Shakespeare's time to ours.

* CriminalFoundFamily: The musical tones down the harsh character of the master thief Fagin, and his gang of apprentice pickpockets seem to be a found family for orphan Oliver. Both the stage and film versions include the rollicking song "Consider Yourself", and almost makes being a street urchin in Victorian London seem like fun. Oliver does want to be considered "one of" the gang. This is even further emphasized in the film, when The Artful Dodger and Fagin meet up again and decide to continue thieving. The Dodger suggests that he will be Fagin's partner and Fagin says "maybe a friend."

** Fagin, [[AdaptationalHeroism de-emphasizing]] his GreedyJew characterization in the original. Ron Moody's cheerfully hammy performance in the film makes for a significantly lighter character than the scary Fagin from the book. (He even stands up for Oliver on two occasions.)

* NoSongForTheWicked: In the film, Bill Sikes never sings, although other people sing about him.

* WheelOfPain: The film adaptation briefly shows a variation on the theme during the opening scene.

* CriminalFoundFamily: The musical tones down the harsh character of the master thief Fagin, and his gang of apprentice pickpockets seem to be a found family for orphan Oliver. Both the stage and film versions include the rollicking song "Consider Yourself", and almost makes being a street urchin in Victorian London seem like fun. Oliver does want to be considered "one of" the gang.

* HeelFaceTurn: Subverted with Fagin. He plans to do this, but instead chooses to leave with Dodger and continue a life of pickpocketing.

* AffablyEvil: Fagin and Dodger, who, while genuinely pleasant to the kids under their care, actively look for children to recruit using many of the same criteria as modern cults. [[spoiler: Fagin, however, after seeing how Nancy and Bill turned out, has something of a change of heart and, after some soul-searching and the destruction of his operation, resolves to turn over a new leaf.]]

* BadSamaritan: Fagin, though downplayed from the book. While still somewhat self-serving, he is portrayed as something of a whimsical LoveableRogue who does to some extent [[TeamDad care for his gang]] ([[EvenEvilHasStandards or at least loathes Sikes' treatment of them]]).

* EmergingFromTheShadows: Bill Sikes is introduced in a far more ominous way than his partner Fagin, who was introduced with a whimsical musical number. The film first shows Fagin's shadow, as he approaches through a tunnel that is lit from the other side. Then Fagin himself appears silhouetted against the light streaming through the tunnel. His face isn't shown until Fagin walks up to greet him.

* ResignationsNotAccepted: Fagin and Sykes ''could'' just let Oliver live a comfortable life in a rich person's house while they continue with their thieving. But a fear that Oliver might tell about them motivates them to kidnap him back.

* WheelOfPain: The film adaptation briefly shows a variation on the theme during the opening scene.

Oliver escapes from the undertaker and eventually winds up in the company of a thief named Fagin, who runs a gang of young urchins as pickpockets and thieves. Oliver learns pocket-picking from a fellow orphan and expert thief who is named Jack Dawkins but who is always called the "Artful Dodger" (Creator/JackReed). Eventually the Artful Dodger picks the pocket of a wealthy gentleman, Mr. Brownlow--one who has a surprising connection to Oliver.

Oliver escapes from the undertaker and eventually winds up in the company of a thief named Fagin, who runs a gang of young urchins as pickpockets and thieves. Oliver learns pocket-picking from a fellow orphan and expert thief who is named Jack Dawkins but who is always called the "Artful Dodger". Eventually the Artful Dodger picks the pocket of a wealthy gentleman, Mr. Brownlow--one who has a surprising connection to Oliver.

Oliver escapes from the undertaker and eventually winds up in the company of a thief named Fagin, who runs a gang of young urchins as pickpockets and thieves. Oliver learns pocket-picking from a fellow orphan and expert thief who is named Jack Dawkins but who is always called the "Artful Dodger". Eventually the Artful Dodger picks the pocket of a bookseller, Mr. Brownlow--one who has a surprising connection to Oliver.

* AFatherToHisMen: Fagin is actually surprisingly affectionate to the young pickpockets in his charge. When Oliver gets arrested, Fagin shakes the Artful Dodger by the lapels, saying "Why didn't you look after him? Why didn't you bring him back with you?"

* {{Intermission}}: The film version kept the intermission from the stage play. On the DVD, the intermission also doubles as a prompt to turn the disc over to continue the film.

* HeelFaceTurn: Subverted with [[spoiler:Fagin]]. He plans to do this, but [[spoiler:instead chooses to leave with Dodger and continue a life of pickpocketing]].

[[redirect:Theatre/{{Oliver}}]]