The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Directed by Norman Taurog
Written by John V.A. Weaver based on the novel by Mark Twain
1938/USA
Selznick International Pictures
First viewing

[box] Tom said to himself that it was not such a hollow world, after all. He had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it — namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain. If he had been a great and wise philosopher, like the writer of this book, he would now have comprehended that Work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that Play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.” ― Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer[/box]

I had no idea what to expect from this and was very pleased with a surprisingly faithful adaptation of Twain’s novel.

Tom Sawyer (Tommy Kelly) is an imaginative scamp who lives in pre-Civil War Missouri with his perpetually exasperated Aunt Polly (May Robson) and his priggish half-brother Sid and sister Mary.  Tom gets into many scrapes with local pals Huckleberry Finn and Joe Harper.  Finally, he has a scary time lost in a cave with “girlfriend” Becky Thatcher (the fantastic Ann Gillis).  With Victor Jory as Injun Joe, Walter Brennan as Muff Porter, and Margaret Hamilton as Mrs. Harper.

I thought everybody was right on the money in capturing the characters I had envisioned when reading the book.  The kids were all great!  I wonder if Taurog, who had been a child actor, had a special gift for working with them.  The color isn’t anything to write home about but the screenwriters adapted the novel wonderfully.  Recommended.

Lyle R. Wheeler was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Art Direction for his work on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.  William Cameron Menzies designed the creepy cave.

Trailer