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THN Advent Calendar Day 18: Oliver!

Christmas is a time for tradition – presents, decorations, carols, and mince pies. But what better tradition to celebrate than the Christmas movie? Join The Hollywood News for the Movie Advent Calendar – a film each day ’til Christmas. For the full Advent Calendar so far, click here.

So, why have OLIVER! on this list of all things Christmassy I hear you ask? Especially considering that apart from a drop of snow in the first fifteen minutes, as Mr Bumble parades Oliver up and down the streets, trying to sell him for a few quid, it has absolutely nothing to do with this most wonderful time of the year?

Firstly, Charles Dickens and his festive ghostly stories are synonymous with Christmas. ‘Oliver Twist’ was originally published in the 19th Century, when the country was experiencing a nostalgic interest in its forgotten Christmas traditions, and when new customs such as the Christmas tree were being introduced thanks Queen Victoria’s new chap Prince Albert. The most popular of these books, ‘A Christmas Carol’ – the classic tale of Mr Scrooge and his nighttime hallucinations has been retold for generations every December to try and encourage misers to change their ways and get involved with Christmas. From Bill Murray to Scrooge McDuck and even Ian Beale, it has been endlessly retold helping it become engrained in our popular culture.

Secondly, musicals are as much a part of Christmas day as turkey, sprouts and presents. When the TV schedulers need something to bulk out the usual yuletide rubbish, what better way to do it than with a three hour plus, song and dance number that can be enjoyed year upon year by the whole family?

OLIVER!, in my opinion, is the better of these big screen renditions from the stage. Briefly, Oliver Twist (other than being rhyming slang for having a few too many drinks) is the story of a orphan boy who legs it from a workhouse somewhere up North and makes his way to London. Upon arrival he begins work for a gang of adolescent cockney villains (with ‘earts of gold of course) led by the Artful Dodger (Jack Wild) and their boss Fagin (Ron Moody), who’s magnificent introduction – as he emerges from a smoke filled hole in the wall holding a sizzling sausage on a carving fork – is cinema gold. After a short while in the capital, a run in with the law, and somehow managing to get on the wrong side of the unnervingly sinister Bill Sykes (brilliantly played by Oliver Reed) he lands himself a Manor in none other than Bloomsbury Square and everything turns out roses. Lovely stuff.

There are, of course, the songs too, which the film bursts into every now and then to further the plot. The music, composed by Lionel Bart is what makes this film so memorable, with many of the songs ingrained in the public’s conscience. ‘Consider yourself’, Oliver’s first encounter with the hustle and bustle of 19th century London is brilliantly over the top and one of the most enjoyable. After meeting Dodger he is greeted by hundreds of everyday folk, waving all manner of fish, meat, fruit, veg, bread, rolling pins, bottles, news papers and meat cleavers, not to mention a brass section, a gang of mincing policemen, several local drunks and an entire circus act that are all in their own way asking Oliver to consider himself ‘well in’. Only in Shoreditch.

Musically and lyrically this is possibly the best introduction to the criminal underworld ever seen in cinemas. ‘Charity’s fine, subscribe to mine. Get out and pick a pocket or two’. Job done.

This is in contrast to ‘Who Will Buy?’ an hour or so later, when Oliver awakes for the first time in his new Bloomsbury manor, realizing he’s done alright for himself as he peeks out of the window and is fortunate enough to be offered sweet red roses (at a very reasonable price, two blooms for penny, if your asking), fresh milk, ripe strawberries, wonderful mornings and so on, in what appears to be a ridiculously animated capitalist free for all, being played out in his new front garden.

There is a charming mix of life on either side of the class divide. The brightly lit gleam of the houses in Bloomsbury square compared to the grey stone blocks of the workhouse, the decadence and darkness of life in the 19th Century crafted perfectly by the set designers.

This film deserves a spot up there with the classics of the season. The painted backdrops of London, smog-filled skies, busy street markets, dodgy alleyways and shady east end boozers may not conjure up many thoughts of Christmas, but they do paint a truly wonderful image of a London that no longer exists. Maybe it’s the feeling of nostalgia every time we see these scenes? Knowing that we watched them at this time of year as children and thus helping to create that warm Christmassy feeling for us to continue enjoying year after year when there is nothing else on. No? Probably just me then.

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