Customer Reviews

Adventures of Tom Sawyer [VHS]

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3 star:		(2)
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There have been numerous film adaptations of Mark Twain's beloved story, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," but few capture the boyish wonder and childlike bliss which permeates the classic yarn. Luckily, this 1938 rendition is one of the select few that do. The acting is first class; the directing often innovative, and the whimsical screenplay is faithful as possible to the novel.

The novel itself is entertainingly superior to Huckleberry Finn in its lack of a political agenda or societal commentary. Its sole objective is to return us once more to the naivety of youth when our life was far simpler and, in many cases, far happier.

For the older generation of film aficionados, child actor Tommy Kelly was the definitive Tom Sawyer. His winning smile, visible freckles and bright eyes encapsulate the literary character to a tee. After watching this film and re-reading Twain's novel, it is impossible to remove the image of Tommy Kelly from one's mind as he or she remembers Sawyer's antics.

It is in the supporting characters, however, that this film truly shines. The grade-A performances of Walter Brennan as the likeable Muff Potter, a make-up smeared Victory Jory as the menacing Injun Joe and Olin Howlin as the violent schoolmaster are highlights of the film. Brennan seems to infuse a perpetual helplessness in his inebriated character that epitomizes the small town bum of a forgotten America; Jory makes Injun Joe the personification of evil and a red-faced Howlin is superlative as an authoritarian teacher who makes the audience cringe when he canes Tom. Australian-native May Robeson, who portrays Aunt Polly, is able to make smooth, believable transitions from harsh severity to tender leniency as the script demands.

Remarkably, the numerous child stars in this film were destined for unhappy lives. David Holt (Sid) spent his early life as a child actor in poverty as he, much like Tommy Kelly, waited for star-making film roles which never came. Jackie Moran (Huckleberry Finn) soared briefly higher towards elusive stardom when he was cast as the energetic sidekick of Buster Crabbe in a "Buck Rogers" (1939) serial. Immediately afterwards, Moran's career plummeted into oblivion. Perhaps the only exception to this streak of bad luck was Ann Gillis (Becky Thatcher) who found herself always in demand to portray a screen brat. Upon coming of age and legally capable of making her own decisions, Gillis wisely left the film industry to find happiness elsewhere.

"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" (1938) is also significant in that its talented screenwriter, John V.A. Weaver, died shortly after its release of tuberculosis. His successful but altogether short career included writing screenplays for such cinematic classics as King Vidor's "The Crowd" (1928) and "The Saturday Night Kid" (1929). In a sense, this film was his last hurrah and it is only fitting that Weaver's last project in his old age should be subtly based upon the universal human longing to be young once again.

Film Rating: *** out of **** stars.
A must-view for all devout Twainians!

Young Tom Sawyer is a troublemaking boy being raised by his Aunt Polly in pre-Civil War America. His best friend is a wandering outcast of a boy named Huck Finn. Tom is a bit of a ladies' man, and his newest pursuit is the new Judge's daughter, Becky Thatcher. Through the course of the story we see his adventures with Huck, his troubles with Becky, and his encounters with a villain by the name of Injun' Joe. See, Tom and Huck witnessed Injun' Joe commit murder, so Joe is determined to shut them up permanently. Tom has to decide whether or not to break his oath with Huck and testify against Joe to save the wrongly accused Muff Potter(the friendly neighborhood drunk)'s life!
I picked this up on VHS a while back for around 5 bucks or so at my local retailer. I snatched it up because I LOVE Tom Sawyer/Huck Finn movies! For my money, the most enjoyable is Disney's Elijah Wood Film, from the early '90's I believe, called The Adventures of Huck Finn, though it doesn't have Tom at all. It's actually one of my all time favorite movies! Though, for a wonderful and more true to the book Huck movie you should go with the Patrick Day version. As for Tom Sawyer, this is the best version I've seen so far (and I have yet to see a good animated version of any of these stories, though I seem to recall seing a good Anime as a kid about Huck on Nickelodeon, years ago). This version is just so charming thanks to the time period in which it was made! It was odd that Jim was just a kid in it, but it doesn't prevent this film from being a masterpiece! I wouldn't have liked that in a Huck movie, but for Tom it was not a problem. The entire cast plays perfectly. Since I bought this movie a year or so ago, I've enjoyed it many times and hope it gets a DVD release someday. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys the Tom/Huck movies for the same reason as I do, not necessarily for their loyalty to the book, but more for the adventure and mostly carefree fun these stories portray!

Produced by Selznick, this is one of the truest versions of Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer. Though liberties were taken with the character of Jim, the richness (done in color) and the acting are superb. From painting the fence to Becky Thatcher's hero to attending their own funeral to Injun Joe and the harrowing cave scene, this version still brings tears to the eye and a smile to the heart. The actress playing Aunt Polly hid her age from Selznick because she was afraid if he knew she was in her 80's, she wouldn't win the coveted role. Great for Kids of all ages, it's a wonderful introduction to Tom Sawyer and the world of Mark Twain's books. Rent, buy, and borrow. Watch it with your favorite child at heart.

Mark Twain's immortal story of a boy in a Mississippi River town in the 1840's must, by now, be familiar to most every American. Those who know and admire the book will be pleasantly surprised with this mostly-forgotton (and unjustifiably so) Technicolor gem from 1938. In its day, this version had all that money could buy (most notably Technicolor!) The previously unknown child actors amazingly look just like Tom and Becky should look; it just misses greatness (Tommy Kelly was no Freddie Bartholomew) but its still a film filled with endearing, nostalgic scenes, faithfully reproduced.......... After whitewashing Aunt Polly's fence, Tom and Huck visit the cemetery on a strange, nocturnal errand. Huck has a dead cat in a bag and a theory that by heaving it after the devils who carry off the corpse of a newly buried sinner, a boy can get rid of worts. In the cemetery, Tom and Huck witness a murder by Indian Joe; they sign in blood an agreement never to tell. Tom and Becky go exploring and get lost in a limestone cave, then there's the sequence where the pirates return to their own funeral..........Incredibly, more than 25,000 kids were interviewed in the search for suitable child actors to fit the roles of Tom and Becky. Tommy Kelly was found by one of Selznick's talent scouts in the sixth grade of a Parochial school in the Bronx; Ann Gillis hailed from Little Rock, Arkansas.

While David O. Selznick was making "Gone With The Wind", his studio was creating this wonderful adaptation of Mark Twain's unforgettable book. Included in the film is a wonderful Max Steiner score that is reminiscent of his work on GWTW. I've shown this version in my juvenile hall classroom many times over the years and it never fails with this hardcore audience.

I'm not going to rate this movie b/c I want to see it on DVD. This is the classic version of Twain's novel. It's out on DVD region 2, why doesn't Amazon have a copy for region 1?

This classic version of Tom Sawyer is by far the best that has been made. However, I was very disappointed when we received the DVD that it was in PAL format. Luckily we were able to play it on our computer. Why is an American story, filmed by an American company, sold in a format for Europeans? Why couldn't this be in the regular DVD format that all the other movies are?

This movie is simply wonderful. It is hard to believe that a movie that was made in 1938 would be in color. But it is, and the acting is great. It is a good old-fashioned story and movie. Great for the whole family!!!

The book and this movie became the staple of my childhood, Growing up less than 50 miles from where all this took place, I was enthralled with the museums, the cave and the other houses in Hannibal..This movie truly captured the romantic boyhood of Tom Sawyer (Sam Clemens). It is hard sometimes to know where the book stops and the movie takes over. Other Hollywood adaptations of this story have turned out silly, but this one will always hold up well. Buy it, watch it, treasure it, and go back to it again and again!

I had been looking for this movie for, literally, decades when I found it on Amazon.com. This is one of the greatest, most memorable, movies of my childhood. Although the dialog and production are very 30's and very dated now, Mark Twain's timeless writing and the believability of the prime actors make this movie one of the unforgettables. Unfortunately, this great American classic is produced overseas and delivered in Region 2 format on DVD. That means Americans can't view it, unless, of course, they have a universal player. But, only the geeks own those or know how to jimmy theirs. I excitedly bought this DVD from Caiman and found out too late. The picture of the product clearly shows a "triangle U" in the lower right corner, which means it's Universal format. The DVD itself is labeled "globe 0" which means it should play on any player worldwide. But, it would play on only 1 of my 3 players. Caiman insisted it was Region 2 and that it was my problem. After much arguing with them I had to escalate to a manager to get my money back by pointing out the "triangle U" in the picture. I sent a report to Amazon.com but they were no help. An American company needs to get on the ball with this one and produce it for Region 1, or true Universal format. It's Mark Twain, for crying out loud!!