Tom Brown's School Days

Sir Cedric Hardwick is superb as Doctor Arnold.

It is hard to over-estimate the importance of this headmaster in the history of education. Singlehanded, he revolutionised not only school discipline but also curriculum in one of England's oldest and most famous Public Schools. From Rugby the reforms spread out to Eton, to Harrow and to Winchester. The ideologies were carried by students of these colleges to the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge and out into the world.

To our modern eyes, the notion of a master whipping a student with a birch for fighting and expelling a boy for telling a lie seems a bit extreme. But prior to Dr Arnold, punishments were brutal and were administered in an arbitrary manner by each teacher. Boys were exploited by the masters, and junior boys were exploited by the seniors.

Hardwick's portrayal of Arnold as a dour, devout and almost obsessively righteous man is wonderful. Arnold hates bullying, but more than anything, he hates lies. Lies, to Arnold, are the mark of real cowardice. Where there are lies, there is Sin and Corruption. A boy that lied to Arnold was immediately expelled.

There is an aspect of Dr Arnold's reformation that is only hinted at- It was he who brought modern subjects such as History and Geography to the school syllabus, to stand alongside the Classic as valuable learning.

Jimmy Lydon is wonderful as Tom. His emotions, be they glee, grief, pain or loneliness are expressed in an irrepressible manner by this lovely boy with his mobile face and eager expression.

This work is primarily occupied with the major incidents in the life of Thomas Arnold, headmaster of Rugby, and his overcoming of a good deal of resistance in lifting that institution from a tepid state to a position of England's finest public school. The strong direction is by Robert Stevenson, who also contributed mightily to the script, which is rather faithfully based upon the novel of the same name by Thomas Hughes, and which employs the student Tom Brown as Arnold's tactical and ethical surrogate within the scholastic body. Arnold, who must find an answer to the prevalent bullying of the day, is portrayed by Sir Cedric Hardwicke with a stunning performance, ably supported by Josephine Hutchinson as Mrs. Arnold. The film proceeds at a very crisp pace, with the scenario building well as Brown, played with feeling by Jimmy Lydon, prepares to make a stand against older and tyrannical students led by Billy Halop as Flashman. The arteries of the novel are presented with some depth, demonstrating the inculcation into the students of the importance of physical and mental courage, loyalty, and self-reliance, albeit apparently at the cost of some amount of intellectual achievement. The love of the students for Rugby and for their headmaster is presented throughout, the production design, costumes, and editing are all first-rate, and a superb musical score is contributed by Anthony Collins.

Comparing this, 'Little Men' and 'Swiss Family Robinson', all made in 1940 by RKO and based, 'Tom Brown's School Days' is not as good as the unjustly forgotten and actually very good 'Swiss Family Robinson' but it does fare much better than the terribly adapted and mediocre at best 'Little Men'.

As an adaptation, 'Tom Brown's School Days' doesn't have a huge amount to do with the original source material, which is one of the best books depicting schoolboy life. However, it is a quite good film on its own, haven't seen any other adaptations yet so can't compare.

It does have its flaws as a standalone, the ending agreed does feel rushed, anticlimactic and not as complete as it could be, some of the script does lay it on a bit too thickly with the sentimentality and juvenility and although a more dominant focus on Arnold comes off well because Arnold is an interesting character for a titular character there should have been more of Tom Brown, who sometimes did feel like too much of a supporting character in his own story.

On the other hand, 'Tom Brown's School Days' is a beautifully shot and very capably directed film (though Robert Stevenson did go on to even better things), and the period setting is both quaint and austere and suitably so. Anthony Collins' score is superb, it complements the film beautifully and fares even better on its own. The script is not perfect but has some nice doses of humour, poignancy and charm. The story is told with a great charm and lively pace, with plenty for youngsters to delight in and enough for adults to be interested too.

Cedric Hardwicke, benefited by Arnold being very interestingly written, is wonderful in the role, appropriately stern and authoritative. He was a fine actor and his performance ranks up there with his best in my opinion. The three juveniles fare just as well, Jimmy Lydon handles the title role exceptionally, Freddie Bartholomew plays East with an appealing charm and Billy Halop is a suitably intimidating bully.

To conclude, flawed but quite good and worth seeing, especially for Hardwicke. 7/10 Bethany Cox

In 1842 England, Rugby School students Jimmy Lydon (as Tom Brown) and Freddie Bartholomew (as Harry East) meet, after the death of beloved headmaster Cedric Hardwicke (as Thomas Arnold). The lads agree to "be friends again" as Mr. Hardwicke would have wanted… Then, in flashback, young Mr. Lydon recalls his education at Rugby, where he went to war with bullying Billy Halop (as Flashman) and his gang, ended his friendship with Mr. Bartholomew through misunderstanding, and watched as Hardwicke's Thomas Arnold (1795-1842) reform British education.

This interpretation of Thomas Hughes' classic "Tom Brown's School Days" isn't the most faithful to the book; but it's close enough for Hollywood, and the tightening makes it a finer film. The RKO production team does great work. They found the perfect director by importing England's Robert Stevenson. And, Anthony Collins' musical score is outstanding (he received "Oscar" nominations 1940-1942). It also helps to have Sir Hardwicke head the school, as he registers a British headmaster you can use as a standard. As a bonus, debuting Gale Storm (as Effie) makes heads turn.

The three youngsters are a nice surprise. Lydon handles his part exceptionally well; this could be his best juvenile lead. To great effect, they let Bartholomew act, and in a supporting role. And, Mr. Halop is a believable punk Brit. Coincidently, "Harry" is the first name given for the characters played by Bartholomew ("Harry East" in the original novel) and Halop ("Harry Flashman" in a spin-off series). So, it may be no wonder J.K. Rowling found it a perfect surname for "Happy Potter" of Hogwarts. By the way, this film will give you a sense of what those British Public Schools were like...

******* Tom Brown's School Days (6/27/40) Robert Stevenson ~ Jimmy Lydon, Cedric Hardwicke, Freddie Bartholomew, Billy Halop

Since this was made, there have been some other very good movie versions of the story, but this adaptation of "Tom Brown's School Days" is still worth seeing. It has a good cast and good atmosphere, with effective story-telling by Robert Stevenson.

Cedric Hardwicke is well cast as the stern headmaster Arnold, and the three most important young characters also work well. Jimmy Lydon as Tom, Freddie Bartholomew as his friend and rival East, and Billy Halop as the bully Flashman all give good performances.

The boarding school setting is also done effectively, and it works both in creating the right atmosphere and as a period setting. There are times when it pulls you right into the world of the young characters, a world in which they are their own masters in many ways. Their boyish loyalties, threats, fears, rivalries, and misunderstandings all come across believably.

On a broader level, it also succeeds in establishing the tension between the adult's (i.e. the headmaster's) goals and the students' goals. Some of the more recent versions have probably done an even better job of communicating the themes while also making the story entertaining, but this one does a solid job as well, and it deserves also to be remembered.