When Charles Dickens published his second novel, Oliver Twist, in 1838, no loud cries of "anti-Semitism!" were raised though one of the principal characters in the book was a "villainous-looking and repulsive" old Jew named Fagin. Last week there was a chorus of loud cries in the U.S.* over the new movie version of Oliver Twist.
British Cinemogul J. Arthur Rank was probably wishing that his gifted director, David (Brief Encounter) Lean, had not been quite so conscientious in copying Dickens and his illustrator, George Cruikshank. Director Lean's Great Expectations was hailed wherever it...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
