Les aventures de Tom Sawyer

Others have stated very eloquently how good this film is. I first saw it as a child on TV ages ago. I don't know if it was the 77 minute version, but the memory of it always stayed with me. Now I can see it in a beautiful blu ray version, that looks like one is looking at a film print. It's every bit as good as I remembered, and then some. The tone, the production design, the acting, the direction are all wonderful. Tommy Kelly is the personification of Tom Sawyer--mischievous, yet ultimately kind and loving. May Robson's aunt Polly is both stern and lovingly determined to raise Tom right. All the other supporting players are also well done. I love the prologue from Mark Twain about remembering how we were. Thanks for reminding us.

This film is in reality David O. Selznick's 1938 dress rehearsal for 1939's Gone With the Wind. Full length feature films in Technicolor weren't made until 1935 and there hadn't been many made by 1938. some studios didn't start using Technicolor until after 1940. Producer Selznick produced this big production film in Technicolor a year before he would masterfully capture the world's attention with it in Gone With the Wind. Production Designer William Cameron Menzies worked on both this film and GWTW for Selznick as did Art Director Lyle Wheeler, Special Effects Director Jack Cosgrove, Composer Max Steiner and Costume Designer Walter Plunkett. Wheeler was nominated for art direction for the 1938 Academy award for the Adentures of Tom Sawyer. He would received an astounding 26 nominations in his career including five wins including GWTW. Menzies got an Oscar and Cosgrove and Steiner were nominated for GWTW. Cinematographer James Wong Howe didn't join the others on GWTW but he had a cinematography career that spanned photographing Pola Negri movies in 1923 to Barbara Streisand in 1975 in Funny Lady a year before he died. Tom sawyer was directed by Norman Taurog who had a long directorial career from 1920 to almost 1970 and ended his career by directing nine of Elvis Presley's movies. Child actors Tommy Kelly as Tom Sawyer, Jackie Moran as Huckleberry Finn and Ann Gillis as Becky Thatcher. Veteran actors Walter Brennan is Muff Potter, Victory Jory is Injun Joe, Victor Kilian is the Sheriff, May Robson is Aunt Polly and Margaret Hamilton is Mrs. Harper. This film was trimmed from it's 93 minute run-time to 77 minutes when it was reissued in 1959 and that was the version that was shown on television that I saw when I was growing up. I've seen this a few times but haven't seen it in many years. It's one of the more faithful filmed adaptations of the many popular Mark Twain stories. I would give this an 8.5 of 10 but I would like to see the full version and see it on the big screen.

Mark Twain's classic characters are brought back to life, by David O. Selznick, for an updated movie adaptation. For the first time, Tom and Huck are seen in color (specifically, "Technicolor"), which contributes to the film's main strength: it looks storybook beautiful. The reliance on set pieces seems entirely appropriate, giving the film great style; and, they are very well done. The cinematography, by James Wong Howe, is remarkable.

The story wavers from true triumph, however, in the direction of the characters; the "cuteness quotient" is set far too high. Many tears flow. Tommy Kelly (as Tom Sawyer) suffers the most, of course, being the lead player. It should be emphasized, however, that this is not due to his effort; under the circumstances, Mr. Kelly performs well. Jackie Moran (as Huckleberry Finn) is a cute best friend; but, not much like the "Huck" from Twain's book. Ann Gillis (as Becky Thatcher) is a cute girl friend. The players are all good, but May Robson (as Aunt Polly) seems the truest.

While more cute than mischievous, and far too clean, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" is good enough to stand on its own. The familiar "lost in the caves" ending is a great climax; and, Victor Jory (as Injun Joe) still startles. The scene of "Tom" emerging, at last, from the caves - his black silhouette shot against the blue sky of freedom - is indelible.

******* The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (2/11/38) Norman Taurog ~ Tommy Kelly, Jackie Moran, May Robson, Victor Jory

THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER keep the small town of St. Petersburg, Missouri in constant turmoil, circa 1850...

This is a splendid family film, one of producer David O. Selznick's very best. Presented in wonderful Technicolor, it is like looking through the pages of an illustrated copy of the classic novel. All the favorite episodes are here. All of the performers are perfect in their roles. It is difficult to imagine a better transition from book to screen.

Elderly May Robson has one of her finest roles as harried, temperamental, lovable Aunt Polly. She easily steals every scene she's in & provides the sentimental heart of the movie. However, breaking out a bit, her last scene at the film's conclusion is hilarious. A small cluster of veteran character actors - Walter Brennan, Victor Jory, Donald Meek & Margaret Hamilton - are also exceptional in their roles.

12-year-old Tommy Kelly IS Tom Sawyer - he will instantly gain the respect & admiration of every prepubescent male in the audience. Beguiling & mischievous, with an infectious grin & sad eyes, he admirably fills the bare feet of America's most famous literary kid. The movie's other child actors - David Holt, Marcia Mae Jones, Ann Gillis & Jackie Moran - give excellent support. (Legend has it that Selznick found young Master Kelly in an orphanage. True or not, this was his best role. Very soon he was playing only bit parts and eventually left films around the age of 25.)

The cave sequence is especially noteworthy, thanks to the art design of William Cameron Menzies, the flickering camera work of James Wong Howe, and the moody music of Max Steiner. Spooky & claustrophobic, these scenes are the embodiment of every viewer's nightmares, and, thus, are tremendously entertaining.

It should be noted that while the character of Jim is correctly depicted as a slave, the film itself is blessedly free of the racism that blights so many Hollywood films of the 1930's.

There have been numerous film adaptations of Mark Twain's beloved story, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," but few capture the boyish wonder and childlike bliss which permeates the classic yarn. Luckily, 1938 rendition is one of the select few that do. The acting is first class; the directing often innovative, and the whimsical screenplay is respectful of the novel.

The novel itself is entertainingly superior to Huckleberry Finn in its lack of a political agenda or societal commentary. Its sole objective is to return us once more to the naivety of youth when our life was far simpler and, in many cases, far happier.

For the older generation of film aficionados, child actor Tommy Kelly was the definitive Tom Sawyer. His winning smile, visible freckles and bright eyes encapsulate the literary character to a tee. After watching this film and re-reading Twain's novel, it is impossible to remove the image of Tommy Kelly from one's mind as he or she remembers Sawyer's antics.

It is in the supporting characters, however, that this film truly shines. The grade-A performances of Walter Brennan as the likable Muff Potter, a make-up smeared Victory Jory as the menacing Injun Joe and Olin Howlin as the violent schoolmaster are highlights of the film. Brennan seems to infuse a perpetual helplessness in his inebriated character that epitomizes the small town bum of a forgotten America; Jory makes Injun Joe the personification of evil and a red-faced Howlin is superlative as an authoritarian teacher who makes the audience cringe when he canes Tom. Australian-native May Robeson, who portrays Aunt Polly, is able to make smooth, believable transitions from harsh severity to tender leniency as the script demands.

Remarkably, the numerous child stars in this film were destined for unhappy lives. David Holt (Sid) spent his early life as a child actor in poverty as he, much like Tommy Kelly, waited for star-making film roles which never came. Jackie Moran (Huckleberry Finn) soared briefly higher towards elusive stardom when he was cast as the energetic sidekick of Buster Crabbe in a "Buck Rogers" (1939) serial. Immediately afterwards, Moran's career plummeted into oblivion. Perhaps the only exception to this streak of bad luck was Ann Gillis (Becky Thatcher) who found herself always in demand to portray a screen brat. Upon coming of age and legally capable of making her own decisions, Gillis wisely left the film industry to find happiness elsewhere.

"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" (1938) is also significant in that its talented screenwriter, John V.A. Weaver, died shortly after its release of tuberculosis. His successful but altogether short career included writing screenplays for such cinematic classics as King Vidor's "The Crowd" (1928) and "The Saturday Night Kid" (1929). In a sense, this film was his last hurrah and it is only fitting that Weaver's last project in his old age should be subtly based upon the universal human longing to be young once again.