Feature on Oliver Twist, 1923

The 1923 film production of Oliver Twist received a mixed reception. American star Jackie Coogan as Oliver raised its profile, but a small scene was censored as it showed ‘the actual method of crime’ when Fagin instructs Oliver in pickpocketing. The owners of the film declared that everything Dickens wrote was fit for the screen, although the censor retorted asking if a realistic representation of Nancy’s murder would be suitable?

Feature on Oliver Twist, in 'Picture Show Art Supplement', 24 February 1923
[lib] 7391 © Charles Dickens Museum

Image taken by Lewis Bush, 2025. This image is provided under Creative Commons License 4.0 until 1 April 2031, made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund.