Tom Browns Schulzeit

The film appears to show people who felt they knew what right was and who acted in harmony with that inner conviction , right as the bible describes it to be for the school headmaster reads the parable of seed from the bible and otherwise quotes from it, and appears to be a living example of its precepts in his comportment. His reasonableness is most winsome especially in the scene where he rebukes the younger teacher for lack of respect toward the older teachers, notwithstanding the fact that he agrees with the younger teachers argument, he nonetheless criticises the way he presented it. The compelling invisible force that made people believe that they knew the right they felt was....was ..right and the subsequent belief that good would eventually triumph over bad, evil, naughtiness call it what you like, is undeniable in this film, and if Flashman is symbolic of the axis of evil, then maybe expulsion of them is mankinds only hope. Who will do the expelling? Who decides what is right? Evil? I love films that get you thinking!

The film follows the trials and tribulations of a young schoolboy, Tom Brown, who is sent to Rugby public school.

Here he is looked after on arrival by "Scud" East who becomes his friend. East helps the young Brown to make his way through the initiations that each newcomer is expected to undergo. They include Singing in the Hall whilst being pelted with all manner of small objects, and also the tradition of "fagging" - this means running errands and doing small jobs for the 6th Formers.

The school bully , Flashman, although only being a 5th Former forces the younger boys to undertake these "fagging" tasks, failure on their part usually resulting in some kind of punishment. One of these is "Roasting' - the young boy being held against a hearth where an open fire singes their legs.

Tom is forced to undergo this treatment. Shortly afterwards he and East rebel against Flashman and a fight ensues with the two younger boys emerging victorious.This puts an end to the bullying.

All in all a very watchable film. Of course the discipline endured by the boys at Rugby in the 1830's is long gone. Maybe it a loss to modern society, of course we will never know.

Recommended viewing.

'Tom Brown's School Days', one of the best depictions of schoolboy life in literature, was previously adapted in 1940. While not the truest to the source material either, that was also a good film, especially for Cedric Hardwicke's performance, and it is hard to say which is the better one out of that and this film.

1951's adaptation is not perfect. The direction is a bit staid and lacklustre, Robert Stevenson in the 1940 film directed with more sympathy, energy and style to me, here the direction is not bad, just that it could have been more.

The story is sometimes a little too episodically told, and while it's well paced on the whole there are occasions where it sags. John Howard Davies is more age appropriate than Jimmy Lydon and has cuteness and charm, but is also a little too delicate and wistful in the title role, which due to being the main focus is more interestingly written, the earlier version focusing more on Arnold.

However, 'Tom Brown's School Days' looks great, beautifully shot and the period setting is suitably atmospheric and quaint. Richard Adinsell's score complements well and has the right amount of jauntiness and whimsy as well as stirring atmosphere. The script is very thought-provoking, with some nice charming, humorous and poignant moments, and much of the story is charming and lively, with Arnold's strictness and progressiveness and Flashman's very vindictive bullying (to the point of being reprehensible, have to agree that one cannot feel sympathy for him as a result) very well-realised.

Particularly notable here in 'Tom Brown's School Days' is the acting. A more restrained than usual Robert Newton gives an authoritative and very sincere performance as strict but saintly Arnold, while John Clarlesworth is appealing as East and John Forrest comes very close to stealing the show making for a viciously snobbish and quite intimidating bully in Flashman. Supporting turns are splendid, though some are brief.

Overall, solid film with the acting being especially noteworthy. 7/10 Bethany Cox

I caught this years ago on a classic movie station and I thought it might be another hopelessly dated "classic" movie. Classic in the sense that just because it's old it's good. When, more often than not, that is obviously not the friggin' case, Jack.

But this was a rousing fun tale of a young British dude and his trials and tribulations at a English boarding school. It's all about the revolution/revenge (good hearted arse kicking revenge, mind you) Tom Brown and the other underclassmen take on the bullying upperclass dudes.

The scene that got me most was the "roasting" scene. It involves the main character, the bad guy, and a turn of the century fireplace, what happens, well...you'll have to see the flick to find out. For an older movie it's a pretty brutal, wincing scene. Hooray for the revolution!

Comparisons with 'Goodbye, Mr Chips', 'The Winslow Boy' and 'The Browning Version' are inevitable, but this film just hasn't quite got the chops to compete. It's fascinating as a pseudo-historical record of public school life in the mid-19th Century, but the story fails to engage fully. However, it's an innocent enough way to pass the time without boring you rigid. Damned with faint praise.