Tom Brown's Schooldays

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.

John Howard Davies - probably most famous for his portrayal of orphan "Oliver Twist" in David Lean's classic - is a little too weedy, for me, as the title character in this adaptation of Thomas Hughes' story about a young boy sent to the prestigious Rugby School in the 1830's where he encounters bullies; brutality and ultimately kindness. Robert Newton turns in a great performance as "Dr. Arnold" who believes that the somewhat cruel educational practices are of the past, and so he and "Tom Brown" try to improve things. This film is not so faithful to the book; but uses the two lead performances, as well as a convincing effort from John Forrest as his nemesis "Flashman", to convey much of it's sentiment. I probably preferred the 1940 version, but there's not much in it.

"Tom Brown's Schooldays" is a semi-autobiographical novel by Thomas Hughes published in 1856. The author himself attended Rugby school as a boy & it is obvious that the book could only have been written by someone who had experienced life in an English public school firsthand. All English public schools, (& some quite ordinary boys schools), had a "fazing system". New boys were exposed to "initiation ceremonies" involving humiliation & bullying which was supposed to "toughen them up" & make men of them. In reality it was just an excuse for some of the older boys with a nasty nature to mete out punishment & degradation on innocent young boys. Such behaviour still takes place today for new Army recruits. Getting on to the 1951 movie it is a faithful adaptation of the novel. John Howard Davies plays young Tom Brown who when he first arrives at Rugby as an 11 year old is befriended by East (John Charlesworth). East is starting his second year & passes on what he has learned to his new friend & in particular he warns him to beware of Flashman. Flashman, (extremely well played by John Forrest), is a thoroughly obnoxious young man & a bully of the worst possible kind. At one point in the movie Tom Brown is "roasted" by Flashman against a roaring coal fire forcing him to give up a race ticket he has won in a lottery for the Derby favourite. Brown refuses to give it up & has his backside badly burned in what amounts to being tortured. He also refuses to tell the headmaster who did it to him. The headmaster Thomas Arnold is played by one of the great character actors of British cinema Robert Newton who gives, (for him), a fairly restrained performance. The full story is very entertaining & at the movies end Flashman, deservedly, gets his comeuppance by being expelled resulting from another incident involving Tom Brown & his friend East. Worthy of mention, too, is the musical score written for the movie by Richard Adinsell which is excellent. Great Stuff!.

I recently seen Tom Brown's Schooldays for the first time and enjoyed it.

Tom Brown starts Rugby School and it isn't long before he becomes one of the victims of the school bully, Flashman. A year later, he is assigned to look after a new starter, the rather nervous Arthur. He also becomes a victim of Flashman and together with Tom's friend East, they help Flashman to get his comeuppance at the end and he is thrown out and the bullying stops.

Tom Brown's Schooldays gives you an idea on what life was like in school many years ago.

Now to the cast with an excellent performance from John Howard Davies (Oliver Twist) as Tom, Robert Newton (Treasure Island) as the head, Diania Wynyard (On the Night of the Fire), James Hayter, Michael Hordern (Scrooge), Max Bygraves (who doesn't sing in this) and Francis De Wolff (Corriders of Blood). Also, John Charlesworth as East, Glyn Dearman as Arthur and John Forrest as the bully Flashman. Quite a collection of well known British talent there.

Tom Brown's Schooldays is certainly worth checking out if you get the chance. Great stuff.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5.

'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