Oliver Twist (1922)

Lon Chaney portrays the frightful, despicable Fagin in this richly atmospheric screen adaptation of Charles Dickens's OLIVER TWIST. Jackie Coogan stars as the irrepressible waif in 19th-century England whose adventures lead him from undernourished orphan to undertaker's apprentice, from novice pickpocket to pampered youth. Faithful in spirit and letter to Dickens's immortal story, OLIVER TWIST is an exquisitely designed film, re-creating with painterly care the firelit chambers, sepulchral basements, and sordid slums that confine its menagerie of eccentric and pathetic personages. Perhaps OLIVER TWIST is most notable for its talented cast of supporting players--who offer a kaleidoscopic view of the gifted artists whose company Chaney shared while establishing himself as a featured player in early 1920s Hollywood. With his pinched face, hooked nose, perpetual stoop, and trembling, clawlike hands, Chaney's rag-enshrouded Fagin is an unforgettable figure who adds immeasurably to the flavor of the narrative without resorting to the racial stereotypes of Dickens's text.