The 1968 musical based on Charles Dickens’s novel that won Best Picture is Oliver!. It adapts Dickens’s 1838 novel Oliver Twist through Lionel Bart’s successful stage musical, bringing Victorian London, orphan Oliver, and the criminal Fagin’s gang to the screen.
Directed by Carol Reed, the film stars Mark Lester as Oliver, Ron Moody as Fagin, Shani Wallis as Nancy, and Jack Wild as the Artful Dodger. Its large-scale production used elaborate sets, choreography, and songs including “Food, Glorious Food,” “Consider Yourself,” and “As Long as He Needs Me.”
At the 41st Academy Awards, Oliver! won six Oscars from eleven nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director for Reed. A common mix-up is Fagin: he is a character in the story, not the film’s title. Great Expectations is another Dickens adaptation, while Scrooge refers to the central character of A Christmas Carol.