Huckleberry Finn

HUCKLEBERRY FINN (Paramount, 1931), directed by Norman Taurog, is an immediate sequel to Paramount's TOM SAWYER (1930), both screen adaptations by Mark Twain, starring Jackie Coogan (Tom) and Junior Durkin (Huck) reprising their original roles. As in most sequels where the original proved more favorable than the continuation saga, HUCKLEBERRY FINN could be said to be of equal status, with the secondary character becoming more of a central figure this time around.

Following the opening credits where staff and players names written on a wooden fence, HUCKLEBERRY FINN re-introduces the characters from TOM SAWYER, showing what's developed since they were last seen a year ago. The setting remains pre-Civil War Missouri where Tom Sawyer (Jackie Coogan) still has a crush on Becky Thatcher (Mitzi Green), awaiting for Tom to walk her to school; Aunt Polly (Clara Blandick) preparing for Sidney (Jackie Searle), Tom's little cousin and rival, for school; and Huckleberry Finn (Junior Durkin, Tom's best friend, now living in the home of the sympathetic Widow Douglas (Jane Darwell), while her spinster sister, Minnie Watson (Lillian Harmer) feels Huck will never amount to anything in life. While the teen-age Huck is a student at school, he must cope with being the tallest boy in the third grade. Huck is slow in learning, day dreams much of the time, and finds it hard to spell "PENNSYLVANIA" which he does ten different ways. Tom is invited to Becky's birthday party, but Huck is both hurt for being the only one not invited to attend, and jealous over Tom's attention towards Becky. On the night of the party, Huck is abducted by his drunken father, "Pap" Finn (Warner Richmond), forcing the boy to write a letter granting permission for him to obtain his son's money, as to be presented to Judge Thatcher (Guy Oliver). Because Pap cannot read, Huck puts it in different wording. Left inside a locked shack, through Slave Jim's (Clarence Muse) hairball, traces Huck's location where he and Tom come to Jackson Island to save him. While there Tom schemes to make it appear Huck broke out and drowned. The plan works, where Pap Finn returns and runs away from the law. Refusing to return home, Tom, Huck and Jim journey down the Mississippi by raft. They later encounter a couple of ham actors (Eugene Palette and Oscar Apfel) thrown off the steamer for cheating at cards, and pass themselves off as men of royalty. While trying to get a meal for themselves and the con-men with Jim awaiting at the raft, Tom and Huck meet with and become house guests to orphans sisters, Mary Jane (Charlotte V. Henry) and Ella (Dora Short), and their housekeeper, Rachel (Libby Taylor) instead. Learning the girls are expecting a visit from their rich uncles John and Ed from England, relatives they have never met, to come split the inheritance of $14,000, Tom passes off this news to the actors, who intend on playing a new "game" by posing as the uncles so to quietly steal the girls' fortune without Tom and Huck's knowledge.

As much as Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn books have become permanent fixtures in classic literature, the characters are also well known through their screen adaptations dating back to the silent era to present day. Better known stories to these boy characters were improved before the decades end with the retelling of THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER (United Artists, 1938) with Tommy Kelly, and THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1939) with Mickey Rooney (sans Tom Sawyer), to great satisfaction. Jackie Coogan, former child star of the 1920s, looks much older and taller from his previous film of 1930. Unlike Durkin, Coogan's voice hasn't grown deeper as of yet, so was able to retain his boyish charm of a 13-year-old. Mitzi Green and Jackie Searle, who had major roles in TOM SAWYER, would disappear from the story before reaching the midway point. Clarence Muse makes a memorable Slave Jim, as does Eugene Palette passing himself off as the Grand Duke Bridgewater.

Unseen on television since the late 1970s and never distributed to video cassette or cable television (thus far), HUCKLEBERRY FINN and TOM SAWYER would make great companion pieces if ever placed on DVD. Regardless of its age, this 80 minute adaptation to Mark Twain's friendship of two young boys remains timeless as well as entertaining. (***)

This film,the first talking version of "Huckleberry Finn", was made by the same production company (Paramount) which made the first talking version of "Tom Sawyer" the year before. Both of these films were shortly surpassed by better versions--David O.Selznick's beautiful, definitive "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" in 1938, and the best film version of "Huckleberry Finn", in 1939 (with Mickey Rooney). The 1931 "Huckleberry Finn" suffers from many of the problems of early talkies by being stagy and flat, with unimaginative camera-work, and overstated (though not really bad) performances. But the adaptation of the story is a valuable piece of instruction on the cowardice and racial attitudes of Hollywood at that time. Most of the film (it runs only about 75 minutes) is given over to comic escapades of Huck either invented or deliberately emphasized for this version. The slavery issue (and Huck's dilemma concerning Jim) is barely even mentioned,and not even resolved at film's end,though Jim DOES join Huck on the raft.The unfortunate Clarence Muse, an excellent actor, has been directed to play Jim in the bug-eyed, shuffling comic stereotyped manner of the time----at one point,he rushes out of a house "comically" screaming for help,and his face and wide-open mouth fill the ENTIRE screen---presumably for laughs!

As an acting and museum piece, this movie is a curiosity. As a cultural representation of Mark Twain,it's a disgrace. Fortunately, the later Mickey Rooney version of the book made amends for this by restoring the full dramatic impact of the racial issue, and Rex Ingram gave a beautiful, deeply felt performance as Jim. See this version for curiosity's sake, but then rent and enjoy the MGM 1939 version.

TOM SAWYER proved to be one of the biggest box office successes of 1930, so naturally Paramount hurried to reteam Jackie Coogan and Junior Durkin in HUCKLEBERRY FINN. The problem: Tom plays a fairly minor role in the novel, and Coogan was too big a star to play a supporting role. The screenwriters' solution was to have Tom tag along with Huck and Jim on their journey. Fidelity to the source material is far less important to Hollywood than pacifying a star. Coogan, who was a bit too much of a goody-goody to make a convincing Tom (he wasn't capable of capturing the character's penchant for mischief and rule-breaking), is more aggravating than endearing here and you'll soon wish Huck and Jim had sailed without him. But Junior Durkin, as he was in TOM SAWYER, is a letter-perfect Huck, with the perfect mix of charm and laissez-faire attitude. His natural charisma and potent personality shine through, even in this somewhat creaky rewrite of Twain. HUCKLEBERRY was a solid success at the box office and Paramount announced plans to bring back Coogan and Durkin in TOM SAWYER, DETECTIVE and TOM SAWYER ABROAD, but the projects never got off the ground. Tragically, the Broadway-trained Durkin would die in a car accident (that nearly killed fellow passenger Coogan as well) in 1935. It would have been fascinating to see what he might have done in more complex, adult roles.

I ordered this finding it on e-bay. I went to college in Hannibal, Missouri so anything related to Mark Twain tweaks my interest. I have the 1930 Tom Sawyer, so finding this 1931 sequel is a real find. Yes it is a early talkie. And Tom on the raft with Huck and Jim is not from Twain, but Tom always wanting to play pirates makes the story fun.

I recommend this version only if one is attempting to add to their collection. If you really want to see a great version, the 1920 version- silent, is far superior.

I realize there has been several versions of this classic. Again I it was fun, with Tom along for the ride.

Who hasn't heard of Huckleberry Finn and his barefoot adventures on a raft down the river? There have been a multitude of movie versions about him as well as a TV series at one point and it seems that the constant depictions of him throughout the decades rival those of Ebenezer Scrooge.

It's a tiring tale from the Ol' South which propelled me to look further back to see how the earliest depictions were. I watched this flick tonight and as primitive and dated as it was, I found a certain charm towards the whole thing.

The title character was played by Junior Durkin and he was indeed the true star of this ancient flick, but he never received top billing. That honor went to Jackie Coogan who was a major star back then which wouldn't have made it acceptable if he had been placed into a secondary role with a limited screen appearance.

No, he was thrown right in there as a major showcase even though it showed that he wasn't really necessary. Huck & Jim could've pretty well carried the whole flick themselves.

The homeless and uneducated Huck is thrust into the care of the dear Widow Douglas and her uptight sister and adapting to being clean and civilized doesn't suit him too well. He constantly craves to escape all that and head on "down the river" but the kindness and compassion showed towards him by the Widow Douglas causes him to continue tolerating it. He evidently liked and cared about her too and it showed.

Well, Huck's alcoholic and arrogant father enters the picture and he wants to cash in on the situation his son was now in. He even forcibly kidnaps the boy and makes him prisoner in an old shack.

Well, Tom Sawyer and Jim come to the rescue and they all ultimately end up rafting down the river to escape everything and to fall into the pretend world of being "pirates". It's quite noticeable too how Jim was depicted as a subservient African American man who's only purpose was to try and always please the "white folks". A racist depiction from that long ago era.

There are "villains" who enter the story and who pretend to be "nobles" to fool the boys and Jim into catering to them and making sure they got the VIP treatment. It's a ruse that caused the boys to feel obligated in making sure that royalty were fed so they head out to score food in one town.

I did enjoy this antique version of Mark Twain's famous iconic character, but felt that Junior Durkin should've been given the star billing he deserved in this film. He gave a great performance and clearly showed the talented qualities he had for being an actor.

Jackie Coogan just seemed to be "in the way" of it all, most especially when it was obvious the story was focused on Huck and not Tom Sawyer. That was one of the major peeves.

Yeah, Trent Junior Durkin was a rising star back then who had his chance to shine in the early 1930s. But whose life was tragically cut short in a car accident in 1935. What would his Hollywood have been like if he lived to an old age? Well, chances are he might've hit legendary status along with such classic icons as Mickey Rooney. Then again, when he got older and was no longer a fresh face in Hollywood, he might've hit a decline in his career.

He might've been reduced to minor roles in films and would 've later surfaced as a guest star on "The Love Boat" in the 1970s and later on "Fantasy Island". Who knows what could've been, but from what I saw in this film tonight, he was indeed a very talented young man. The potential was there, but sadly, he didn't have the chance to fulfill that due to his early death.