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IMDb > The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938)
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938) More at IMDbPro »


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Overview

User Rating:
7.3/10   552 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 7% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
Mark Twain (novel)
John V.A. Weaver (screenplay)
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Contact:
View company contact information for The Adventures of Tom Sawyer on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
11 February 1938 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
Everybody knows him! Everybody loves him! He's everybody's favorite boy! Mark Twain's most beloved story more
Plot:
Misadventures of a mischievous boy in 1850 Missouri. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 nomination more
User Comments:
The Original Boys of Summer more (13 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
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Additional Details

Runtime:
Spain:77 min | USA:91 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (Western Electric Sound System)
Certification:
USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Finland:K-12 (1951) | Finland:S (1938) | USA:Approved (certificate #3745)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Many disputes arose between photographer James Wong Howe and his associate, Technicolor photographer Wilfred M. Cline about which colors to use in wardrobe and sets. Cline wanted bright primary colors, while Howe insisted on subdued earth tones. Since Howe got his way, after one week they were not on speaking terms and The Technicolor Company banned Howe from shooting further pictures in color; Howe did not make another color film for 10 years. more
Movie Connections:
Version of Tom and Huck (1995) more
Soundtrack:
Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful.
The Original Boys of Summer, 25 May 2007
8/10
Author: bkoganbing from Buffalo, New York

I suppose that if The Adventures of Tom Sawyer had been made at MGM we would have seen Mickey Rooney as Tom with possibly Freddie Bartholomew as Sid with maybe Judy Garland as Becky Thatcher. But David O. Selznick was out on his own as an independent at this point so he chose to use talented child performers who didn't quite have the name clout that those urchin titans of MGM did.

But this universally loved story by America's greatest author certainly had a built in market that had no need of name players to sell it. Selznick saved on player's salary and put the money into production values and he and the public came away winners.

Tommy Kelly, Ann Gillis, and Jackie Moran as Tom Sawyer, Becky Thatcher, and Huckleberry Finn fill just about everyone's conception of what those kids from Hannibal, Missouri in the 1850s were like. They are given able support from such beloved character players as May Robson as Aunt Polly, Walter Brennan as Muff Potter, Victor Jory as the villainous Indian Joe, Olin Howland as the Sunday school teacher, Margaret Hamilton as Mrs. Harper, and Donald Meek as the school superintendent.

Selznick did a faithful adaption of the novel, the famous fence whitewashing incident is there as well as Tom and Huck getting a glimpse of their own funerals when everyone assumes they've drowned and the climax, the chase with Indian Joe in the cave.

It's a timeless classic, it can be shown to kids of all ages for centuries.

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
GO HERE TO GET ON DVD projector2
Recycled Music? gosh717
MY FAVORITE MOVIE OF ALL TIME leroykevin
Restored print on TCM alan4artg
This movie needs to be on dvd. janvol22
A Wonderful Film csprin
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