Trivia / Oliver Twist

The novel

• Beam Me Up, Scotty!: The most famous line, "Please, sir, I want some more," is often misquoted as "Please, sir, may I have some more?"
• Write Who You Know: Charles Dickens is believed to have based Mr. Bronlow on John Brownlow, the director of the Foundling Hospital, which was dedicated to looking after abandoned and unwanted children.

Adaptations

• Acting for Two: Lysette Anthony plays both Rose and Agnes in the 1985 miniseries.
• Actor-Inspired Element: The wordless opening sequence of the 1948 film, in which Oliver's mother staggers over the rain-swept moors to give birth on the steps of the workhouse, was devised by actress Kay Walsh (Nancy).
• Adaptation Overdosed: With over a dozen cinematic adaptations, multiple tv adaptations, the musical theater adaptation Oliver!; which was subsequently adapted into the successful 1968 film of the same name. Adaptations range from faithful retellings of the source material to contemporary setting updates such as Disney's Oliver & Company. Oliver Twist remains one of Charles Dickens' most recognized and adapted works, beaten in sheer volume of adaptations only by A Christmas Carol.
• Banned in China:
  • The 1948 film with Alec Guinness as Fagin was banned in Israel for the antisemitic portrayal of the character.
  • It was also banned in Egypt... for making Fagin too sympathetic.
• Creator Couple: Kay Walsh, who played Nancy in the 1948 film, was married to David Lean at the time.
• Distanced from Current Events: As the portrayal of Fagin in the 1948 version was a sore spot, considering the recent Holocaust, many of his scenes were cut or edited to remove profile shots in the US release (where it didn't come out until 1951 either for that same reason). It was shown uncut in 1970.
• Missing Episode: The 1916 film is lost.
• Remake Cameo:
  • Lysette Anthony played Agnes in the 1982 film. In the 1985 miniseries she played both Rose and Agnes.
  • Timothy Spall had a minor role in the 1982 film. Years later he played Fagin in the 2007 miniseries.
• Role Reprise:
  • Marie Doro played Oliver on Broadway in 1912 and reprised her role in the 1916 film.
  • David Garlick played the Artful Dodger on Broadway and the West End in Oliver! and reprised his role in the 1985 miniseries.
  • Davy Jones, later of The Monkees, played The Artful Dodger in the original Broadway cast of Oliver! (and performed a number from it on the Ed Sullivan Show the same night four moptops made their debut on the show...). In 1974, he voiced the same character for Filmation's made-for-TV animated musical adaptation.
• Romance on the Set: Anthony Newley and Diana Dors had a brief fling while making the 1948 film.
• Setting Update:
  • Chitti Tammudu (1962) changes the setting from Victorian England to 1960s India.
  • Twist (2021) is set in modern London.
• What Could Have Been: Robert Donat was desperate to play Bill Sikes in the 1948 film, even doing a screen-test.

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