The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1938)

Director:

Norman Taurog

Writers:

Mark Twain (novel)
John V.A. Weaver (screenplay)

Release Date:

11 February 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Family | Adventure

Tagline:

Everybody knows him! Everybody loves him! He's everybody's favorite boy! Mark Twain's most beloved story

Plot:

Misadventures of a mischievous boy in 1850 Missouri.

Plot Keywords:

Missouri | Cave | Island | Murder | Graveyard

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 nomination

Cast

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

Runtime:

Spain:77 min | USA:91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:TV-G (TV rating) | Finland:K-12 (1951) | Finland:S (1938) | USA:Approved (certificate #3745)

Filming Locations:

Big Bear Lake, California, USA

Company:

Selznick International Pictures

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.

Movie Connections:

Version of Tom and Huck (1995)

Soundtrack:

Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean

The Original Boys of Summer

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.