It almost ruined a great film - #1: Mark Lester in Oliver!

Oliver and the Artful Dodger

It might seem a little churlish to suggest that Oliver almost ruined the fantastic Oliver! but for a film so perfectly cast poor Mark Lester seems a little too angelic, a little too naive, a little too clean. Maybe it's just that he had to act alongside the fantastic Jack Wild (as The Artful Dodger) that exposed these inadequacies or maybe the producers thought that in amongst all the grimy urchins they needed someone to stand out. Sadly he stands out like a sore thumb rather than a shining beacon.

Thankfully the rest of the cast and the phenomenal sets, songs and choreography make Oliver's wetness nothing more than a mild irritant.

Adam's school just put on a performance of Oliver - it was a valiant effort to cram as much of the story and the songs as they could into an hour. I enjoyed it but wished they'd found a way for it not to seem quite so rushed, they were too busy getting the songs and story in that they forgot to have any fun with it.

• 'Consider Yourself one of the Family!' a fantastic collection of stills and publicity (where I pinched the picture from).
• Oliver! on Wikipedia
• Oliver! on IMDB