PIC of the Week – The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Article series by Ray Schillaci
I know I’ll get hammered by some, but even though this was the release week of A Quiet Place, my PIC has to be the certifiable classic from 1938, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Brief explanation here. I did not get sucked up into the hype of A Quiet Place. I thought it was a well crafted film yet derivative of M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs and Spielberg’s version of War of the Worlds (although, I actually like AQP better than Spielberg’s effects laden invasion). Yet, I felt John Krasinski’s film never rose above the first ten minutes of its 90 minute trek. Onto a much more pleasant experience, Kino Lorber unearths a rare find, a wonderfully engaging tale by Mark Twain and adapted beautifully by David O. Selznick and his talented team. Selznick being the “hands-on” producer responsible for Gone With The Wind, Rebecca, and the original King Kong.
The film captures the innocence of youth in a simpler time and the heart of Twain’s tale of a boy and his adventures in a small town on the Mississippi River in the later 1800s. Twain’s adventures of Tom Sawyer would be retold on film and television over fifteen times including an adaptation from Russia, Mexico, Japan, the Czech Republic and a musical version as well. in other words, the story is not only timeless, but universal. Producer Selznick brought in director Norman Taurog who also had a great deal of success with the Spencer Tracy, Mickey Rooney film Boys Town that dealt with juvenile delinquency, and John V.A. Weaver to write the script, famous for King Vidor’s The Crowd.
Where the film really shined was with its actors. Tommy Kelly is a natural in his first film as Tom Sawyer, and would go on to work in film till 1950. May Robson as Sawyer’s Aunt Polly, who would raise the mischievous Tom much to her dismay, was a great supporting character who worked on such classics as Cary Grant’s Bringing Up Baby and the Janet Gaynor A Star is Born (That’s right, Streisand’s film was not the first. In fact, Judy Garland also did a version after Gaynor.). Sawyer’s story would also introduce his best friend Huckleberry Finn and Becky Thatcher. Between them, they would act out as pirates on a grand adventure, Tom and Huck would show up at their own funeral, and the three would witness a murder.
The special features are sparse, but significant with Kino Lorber giving us a remaster of the 91 minute 1938 cut and a 77-minute version of the 1954 re-issue. We also get the original trailer.
Here is a film the whole family can enjoy. It does not talk down to children, and it is far from boring for adults. It’s funny, suspenseful, and even scary at times. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, along with its companion The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, are a definite must for collectors.
Best Price – $19.99 – Best Buy
