Tom Sawyer (1973)

Tom Sawyer and his pal Huckleberry Finn have great adventures on the Mississippi River, pretending to be pirates, attending their own funeral, and witnessing a murder.

Director:

Don Taylor

Writers:

Mark Twain (novel), Robert B. Sherman (screenplay)

Stars:

Johnny Whitaker, Celeste Holm, Warren Oates

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Johnny Whitaker	...	Tom Sawyer
Celeste Holm	...	Aunt Polly
Warren Oates	...	Muff Potter
Jeff East	...	Huckleberry Finn
Jodie Foster	...	Becky Thatcher
Lucille Benson	...	Widder Martha Douglas
Henry Jones	...	Mr. Dobbins
Noah Keen	...	Judge Cyrus Thatcher
Dub Taylor	...	Clayton
Richard Eastham	...	Doctor P. R. Robinson
Sandy Kenyon	...	Constable Clemmens
Joshua Hill Lewis	...	Cousin Sidney
Susan Joyce	...	Cousin Mary
Steve Hogg	...	Ben Rogers
Sean Summers	...	Billy Fisher

Storyline

Tom Sawyer and his pal Huckleberry Finn have great adventures on the Mississippi River, pretending to be pirates, attending their own funeral, and witnessing a murder.

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Plot Keywords:

mississippi river | river | spanking | corporal punishment | friendship | 

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Taglines:

The Great Family Musical!

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Genres:

Adventure | Musical | Family

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Certificate:

G

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer was actually part of a series. The other books in the series are; Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) Tom Sawyer Abroad (1894) and Tom Sawyer, Detective. There were also two unfinished books after that Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer and the Indians; which Author Lee Nelson finished for Clemens and was published; and another book called The Mysterious Stranger which was unfinished and unpublished.

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Goofs

Injun Joe leaps out of the courtroom window and lands on the ground. When he gets up and starts to run, the covering used to hide whatever soft surface he landed on flips up for a second.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Tom Sawyer: Hello Huckleberry.
Huckleberry Finn: How come you're playin' hooky?
Tom Sawyer: Same as you.
Huckleberry Finn: Never spent a day in school in my life.

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Connections

Version of Tom Sawyer (1907)

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Soundtracks

Tom Sawyer!
Written by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
Performed by Celeste Holm, Susan Joyce and Joshua Hill Lewis

User Reviews

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer adapted into a nice musical version

Adaptation-wise, the best version is the 1938 film(though it occasionally suffers from being too faithful). This 1973 musical version is not one to dismiss either, in regard to the adapting the main events are intact and with the right impact. Though it could've stuck to Mark Twain's prose a little more, the script is fine and witty in quality but the simplifying of the philosophising of Twain's writing makes Tom not quite as interesting or in depth as he is in the book. But it is a nice and really quite good film on its own. It does get off to a slow start and feels for the first 15 minutes or so a little aimless, and while the songs are very pleasant only Freebootin', Gratifaction and River Song stood out properly. The rest aren't bad at all but somewhat too short and incidental. John Williams does arrange and conduct them beautifully though so further credit is due. The film looks absolutely beautiful though, the costumes and sets are great and the photography evocative, at its best it is absolutely splendid. The story has a real innocence and charm and is paced generally very well, the standouts being the charming picnic scene, the riverboat encounter, the intense confrontation in the caves, Tom and Huck's "funeral" and Injun Joe's spectacular leap from the courtroom. The choreography/staging of the musical numbers are appropriately lively too especially in Gratifaction. Johnny Whitaker is very well-cast as Tom, and Jeff East and particularly Jodie Foster match him in spirited and charming performances. In support, Celeste Holm impresses as Aunt Polly being overbearing yet loving- exactly the right approach for the character, Warren Oates seems to be really enjoying himself as Muff Potter and Kuna Hank is one creepy Injun Joe. Overall, a nice if not exceptional musical version of a classic. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

15 March 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Musical Adaptation of Mark Twain's 'Tom Sawyer'

Filming Locations:

Julia Belle Swain River Boat as "River Queen"

Company Credits

Production Co:

Reader's Digest, Apjac International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) 70 mm 6-Track

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1