Re the musical ( play and movie ), the play and staging owes VERY MUCH INDEED, to the 1985 London stage play "THE SCARLETT PIMPERNEL" and the 1960 ""OLIVER" for the staging!
1934 The Scarlet Pimpernel Leslie Howard & Merle Oberon Harold Young
(both links claim “full movie”, but they’re different lengths, haven’t tried viewing them yet)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfZo07fEktU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmCbKQqLyI4
and I think I went to school with Lester. Kinda quiet. Kept to himself.