7 January (1962-01-07) – 1 April 1962 (1962-04-01)
Oliver Twist is a 1962 BBC TV adaptation of Charles Dickens' 1838 novel Oliver Twist, serialised in 13 episodes.[1][2] Due in part to its transmission at Sunday teatimes, the production proved to be controversial, with questions asked in Parliament and many viewer complaints over the brutal murder of Nancy by Bill Sikes in its eleventh episode.[3][4] The serial has survived intact, and was released to DVD in 2017 by Simply Media.[5]
Bruce Prochnik as Oliver had previously appeared in the part in the West End run of the musical version of the story, Oliver!, in 1961.[6] Both Prochnik as Oliver and Willoughby Goddard, who played Mr. Bumble, would subsequently go on to take the same roles in the original Broadway version of Oliver! in 1963.[7]
All episodes survived the BBC's junking intact. Although the original 405-line master videotapes were wiped or destroyed, copies survived in the form of telerecordings created for preservation and/or rebroadcast. The films received restoration by Peter Crocker at SVS (known for classic Doctor Who restoration for DVD releases), although some faults such as high pitched ringing over the audio and a lack of VidFIRE due to the low quality of the reels are evident on the release, which is displayed as a warning on the DVD.
Critical reception
Of its DVD release, Archive Television Musings wrote “Whilst there’s numerous adaptations of Olivier Twist to choose from, this one – thanks to the fidelity it displays to Dickens’ original novel and the performances (especially Peter Vaughan's rampaging Bill Sikes) – is certainly worth checking out. Recommended. “[8]
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