Tom Sawyer

Watched "Tom Sawyer" (1917) with Jack Pickford (as Tom), George Hackathorne, Alice Marvin, Edythe Chapman, Robert Gordon, Antrim Short, Clara Horton, and others (including an uncredited Olive Thomas singing in the choir near the end). I thought the beginning 10 minutes or so rather pedestrian, but then the film picked up and became a lovely example of the book's contents - for the first half of the book. The second half of the book, with the sorrier scenes, including the scene in the cave with Injun' Joe, were put into a sequel called "Huck and Tom" (1918) which came out later. Pickford, even though he was 21 when he made the picture, not the 12 to 14 year old Tom was in the book, did a very creditable job in the rôle, in my opinion. He was certainly the perfect person to play the rôle, based on his own life! Edythe Chapman as Tom's aunt is also quite enjoyable in the film. This may not be perfect, but for 1917 I think this is a lovely representation of the story. No, it doesn't present the entire story, and the about 59 minutes or so that remain probably represent a good watching time for youngsters in the day, with the sequel later taking up the slack, so to speak, but this still plays well today. I really enjoyed the film overall, although I'll repeat: the first 10 minutes or so has expository material that seems just a tad cheesy and even sophomoric; but after the beginning, this little train really chugs.

The Unknown Video print is actually not too bad. David Shepard had a hand in the restoration. It looks as if several prints were used to put this together. Some of the scenes are toned, especially the later night scenes which are done in blue. Overall, very watchable. I've read reviews of some people who've seen this who say that the print they watched was pretty bad. This particular print I watched is not "bad" at all. Some jumps here and there, and there might be parts of some scenes missing, but not much. As I said, overall, quite good.

It is said that director William Desmond Taylor intended a sequel that would detail the rest of Mark Twain's classic. Two hour movies were not popular in 1917, despite the success of D.W. Griffith's work. Since the original book was just a series of episodes, it is surely no grounds for condemning this old film for the same quality. Actually, it is rather entertaining and faithful to the book for the episodes it contains. For proper enjoyment, though, you have to project yourself via mental time warp back to 1917 and the film technology of the era. If you can, you can see Mary Pickford's brother Jack doing a good job of bringing that eternal scamp Tom Sawyer to life. And it is a chance to see the work of William Desmond Taylor whose death a few years later was one of the greatest Hollywood mysteries of all time.

Mark Twain had just died six years earlier when the first feature film, the earliest existing film on his character Tom Sawyer, was released in December 1917. Called simply "Tom Sawyer," the Paramount Pictures movie starred Jack Pickford as Tom.

If the last name sounds familiar, yes, Jack was Mary Pickford's younger brother. "Tom Sawyer" was one of his first starring roles. His debut in a major part occurred earlier in the year when he played Pip in the feature "Great Expectations."

Jack, along with his older sisters Mary (Gladys at the time) and Lottie exhibited a talent in acting as youngsters. Their from improvised mother, Charlotte, deserted by her alcoholic husband, saw an opportunity to make some money and allowed the three to go on the Canadian stage. The trio were so talented and successful that by 1900 the kids and mom relocated to New York City where the action was for theater. Once Mary signed with Biograph Studios in 1910, she was able to get acting jobs for Lottie and 14-year-old Jack. Her brother appeared in several bit parts while in New York City before Mary signed that very lucrative contract with Paramount (specifically Famous Players-Lasky) in 1917. One of the clauses in her million dollar pact was for the studio to sign her two siblings to lucrative salaries.

On the 80-plus films Jack was in before Mary's arrangement, the consensus was her brother was a pretty decent actor. He gained good notices in his "Great Expectations" role as Pip, positive reviews as Tom in "Tom Sawyer" (even though his 21-year-old age belied the younger fictional Sawyer), as well as his follow-up in May 1918's "Tom And Huck."

A year earlier, Jack had met and married rising movie actress Olive Thomas, a former Ziegfeld Follies star who had an affair with the married founder Florence Ziegfed. A former model who won the "Most Beautiful Girl in New York City," sponsored by a New York artist, she appeared on several magazine covers, including the Saturday Evening Post, before getting the Ziegfeld chorus girl position. Olive became the first "Vargas Girl," drawn by a famous Peruvian artist noted for his racy portraits. Ziegfeld bought a Vargas nude of Thomas and hung it up on his office wall.

She and Jack met in 1916 just as she was getting into film and before Mary signed her contract. A quickie marriage, without the Pickfords present, turned out to be one of the wildest marriages Hollywood would ever see. Screenwriter Francis Marion, who had rubbed elbows with them frequently at Mary's house, described them as "two innocent-looking children; they were the gayest, wildest brats who ever stirred the stardust on Broadway. Both were talented, but they were much more interested in playing the roulette of life than in concentrating on their careers."

After "Huck And Tom," Jack volunteered in the United States Navy in 1918. He got in trouble for operating a bribery scheme where he received money from rich men who wanted to avoid the military during World War One. He also was caught running a racquet where he arranged young women for the officers where he was stationed. Jack survived the accusations leveled at him and returned to film acting after he was discharged.

The production quality and techniques are about par for Hollywood at the time. But the story is very erratic. So much stuff happens over the course of just an hour that it feels almost disconnected. I guess they were going for a faithful adaptation of the novel but it ends up feeling more like a highlight reel of the events from the book instead of its own story. Maybe I would've liked this film more had I actually ever read the novel but here we are.

Also a novelty for starring Jack Pickford, written by Julia Crawford Ivers, and directed by William Desmond Taylor. Maybe I'll go deeper into their work but probably not. I do actually want to read Twain's novel some day though. From this film alone I actually hate the character of Tom Sawyer.

Julia Crawford Ivers' adaptation of Mark Twain's classic 1876 novel is faithful to the highlights of the first half of the book, and since the sequel 'Huck and Tom' hit screens just three months later this film was presumably always intended as Part One of a lengthy two part film. We therefore get the whitewashing episode, the introduction of Becky Thatcher into Tom's life, the business with the bible study tickets and the exaggerated reports of Tom's death, concluding with his appearance at his own funeral.

But Muff Potter, Injun Joe and the scenes in the caves would have to wait for the appearance of 'Huck and Tom' (1918), in which the amiable tone that has so far prevailed presumably darkens considerably. Robert Gordon doesn't actually have that much screen time as Huck Finn in this first film and presumably comes into his own in the sequel (especially with his name coming first in the title).