The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (DVD) (*)

Out of Stock

Screened, competed or awarded at:
Oscar Academy Awards
Venice Film Festival

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital Stereo )

Product Origin/Format:
United Kingdom ( PAL/Region 2 )

Running Time:
87 min

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
Black & White

Movie filmed in 1938 and produced in:
United States ( USA, Canada )

Directed By:
Norman Taurog

Written By:
Mark Twain
John V.A. Weaver

Actors:
May Robson ..... Aunt Polly
Walter Brennan ..... Muff Potter
Victor Jory ..... Injun Joe
David Holt ..... Sid Sawyer
Victor Kilian ..... Sheriff
Nana Bryant ..... Mrs. Thatcher
Olin Howland ..... Mr. Dobbins - Schoolmaster
Donald Meek ..... Sunday School Superintendent
Charles Richman ..... Judge Thatcher
Margaret Hamilton ..... Mrs. Harper
Marcia Mae Jones ..... Mary Sawyer
Mickey Rentschler ..... Joe Harper
Cora Sue Collins ..... Amy Lawrence
Philip Hurlic ..... Little Jim
Ann Gillis ..... Becky Thatcher

Synopsis:

The 1938 version of Adventures of Tom Sawyer appears to be producer David O. Selznick's dry run for Gone with the Wind, what with its similarities in period, costumes, color scheme and production design (both films shared the services of the great Hollywood art director William Cameron Menzies). Selected from hundreds of applicants (a precursor to Selznick's upcoming search for Wind's Scarlet O'Hara), Tommy Kelly is visually perfect as Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer though his acting varies from scene to scene. Better cast is Jackie Moran as the laconic, pipe-smoking Huck Finn (Moran would show up in Wind as Dr. Meade's son). Never forcing its pace, the film manages to include most of Twain's classic sequences, including the fence-whitewashing episode, Tom's rescue of Becky Thatcher (Anne Gillis) from the wrath of their schoolmaster (Olin Howlin), Tom and Huck's "death and resurrection" after the boys briefly skipped town for an idyll on a remote island, the murder trial of town drunk Muff Potter (Walter Brennan) and ultimately unmasking of the vicious Injun Joe (Victor Jory) as the real killer, and of course the chilling climax in the cave, wherein Tom protects Becky from the fugitive Injun Joe. Originally released at 93 minutes, Adventures of Tom Sawyer was trimmed to 77 minutes for a 1959 reissue; it has since been restored to its full length on videotape. In 1960, Tom Sawyer was syndicated to television by Selznick, with accompanying commentary by the film's now-grown-up "Becky Thatcher", Anne Gillis.

After accidentally witnessing a murder, Tom and his pals Huck and Joe run away to become pirates, swearing to never reveal their secret. But when a man is wrongfully accused of the deed, they know they've got to come forward with the truth. A faithful adaptation of the Twain novel, with the exception of Jim's character alteration (from a man to boy). David O. Selznick produces, and William Cameron Menzies contributes wonderful Art Direction.

Tom Sawyer is a mischievous boy caught between the manners of his very proper home with Aunt Polly and his adventurous, trouble-making friend Huckleberry Finn.

This product was added to our catalog on Saturday 04 April, 2009.

Customers who bought this product also purchased

Last Embrace (DVD)	Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment (DVD)	Inferno (1953) (DVD)
Lloyd's of London (DVD)	Forever Amber (DVD)	The Road to Glory (DVD)