Oliver! (film) in the United States, and Oliver Reed, who played Bill Sikes, had just begun to make a name for himself. Producer John Woolf suggested Oliver Reed for the role to the director Reed, without knowing that the two were in fact related. Ron Moody, who was also well known in Britain but not the US, recreated his London stage performance, after Peter Sellers, Dick Van Dyke and Peter O'Toole reportedly turned down the role. Elizabeth Taylor turned down the role of Nancy as well. Julie Andrews was also considered. Director Reed also had Shirley Bassey in mind, but his choice
Eric Sykes an all-star cast of British and American TV and film luminaries. The spy spoof "The Liquidator" was directed by Jack Cardiff and starred Rod Taylor with Sykes in a secondary role. His third film of that year was the Boulting brothers' "Rotten to the Core" starring Anton Rodgers (who replaced Peter Sellers) with Sykes. Sykes had a minor film role in another spy comedy "The Spy with a Cold Nose" (1966), written by Galton and Simpson. In 1967, Sykes expanded one of his routines into a 45-minute wordless colour short, "The Plank" which features, among others, Sykes, Tommy Cooper, Jimmy