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As a change from watching movies I am at the theatre! Waiting for St Clere’s Players production of Oliver! to begin!
OLIVER! (Dir: Carol Reed, 1968).
Carol Reed’s movie adaptation of Lionel Bart’s blockbuster stage musical is a universally acclaimed, multi-award winning masterpiece.
Based, of course, on Charles Dickens’ novel Oliver Twist, it is certainly a sanitised depiction of Victorian East End London; a film about child exploitation populated by thieves and murderers should probably not make for suitable family entertainment, and yet it does.
A top drawer cast includes unknown juveniles Mark Lester, winsomely appealing in the title role and Jack Wild gives a spirited and charismatic performance as Dodger. Of the adults, Ron Moody as Fagin, Oliver Reed as Bill Sykes and Harry Secombe as Mr Bumble are all impressive but perhaps the stand out is the previously little known Shani Wallis. As Nancy, Ms Wallis gives a genuinely moving, sympathetic performance. It’s staggering to think that Oliver! did not launch her to international movie stardom.
Bart’s outstanding score is easily one of the best to grace stage or screen; unusually for any musical all 13 songs taken from the show, from Food Glorious Food to Om Pah Pah have entered the public conscious and are all exquisitely staged, lavish production numbers.
In spite of the tremendous critical and commercial success of Oliver! by 1968 the big budget family musical was becoming a less commercially viable prospect for Hollywood. The previous year had seen the commercial failure of Disney’s The Happiest Millionaire and Fox’s Doctor Doolittle and in the half decade since its initial release few non-animated film musicals have had anywhere near its impact. Although the genre has undergone a successful revival, such recent examples as Mary Poppins Returns and the live-action Beauty and the Beast, as good as those movies may be, have not managed to match it for artistry or sheer entertainment.
It is easy to see why critics and audiences were so enamoured by Oliver! as 50 years on it remains a genuinely fantastic film that withstands many repeated viewings.
100+ movie reviews now available on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME. Link below.
Movie number 83: FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (Dir: Terence Young, 1963).
Sean Connery returns as Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007 in this second movie in the series, From Russia with Love. Produced, once again, by ‘Cubby’ Broccoli and Harry Saltzman’s Eon Productions.
Here some double agent dupery sees Bond smuggling a Soviet Lektor decrypting device from East to West via the Orient Express. Pulling the strings are terrorist organisation SPECTRE, seeking to avenge the death of an agent who Bond bumped off previously.
Dr No director Terence Young returns to deliver another tight, action packed yet well paced thriller. I will admit the misogynistic tone of From Russia with Love leaves a bad taste. The sight of Bond slapping a woman about, even if she is a Russian agent, fills me with unease. That aspect aside, the movie ranks as one of the series’ best.
Many latter staples of the series are introduced here. SPECTRE head honcho Blofeld makes his first appearance, as does gadget man Q, a role Desmond Llewelyn would be associated with until his death in 1999. From Russia with Love also introduced the pre-title sequence and Lionel Bart provided the first Bond theme. Heard as an instrumental against the nudie ladies silhouette titles (another first - although here she is a belly dancer, nudieness would follow in later movies), Matt Monro’s beautiful vocal version is heard first over a transistor radio and later in the end credits.
Connery is fantastic; equal parts flirty and fighty, cool yet sophisticated. A quality supporting cast sees regulars Bernard Lee and Lois Maxwell return as M and Miss Moneypenny respectively; an amiable Pedro Armendáriz as Bond’s Istanbul M16 ally; Robert Shaw makes an impressive baddie and Daniela Bianchi gets to look lovely in a series of nighties as ambiguous Bond girl Tatiana. Best of all is the fabulous Lotte Lenya as SPECTRE agent and possessor of lethal footwear Rosa Klebb.
In my opinion the early Bond movies were never bettered. From Russia with Love, in particular, holds up as one of the series’ best and has stood the test of time as an exciting action adventure in its own right.
If you enjoyed this review check out my previous review of Dr No. A longer, more in-depth version of this review appears on my blog jinglebonesmovietime.blogspot.com
James Bond will return in my review of Goldfinger...