The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

1938
Approved
1h 31m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

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.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.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.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.0/10

2.3K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 win & 2 nominations total

Photos100

+ 93

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Tom Sawyer

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Many disputes arose between photographer James Wong Howe and his associate, Technicolor photographer Wilfrid 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 using their process. Save for his uncredited work on the live-action segments for Fantasia (1940), Howe did not make another Technicolor film for 10 years.

Goofs
When Tom is wooing Becky by the river, the frog makes his hat jerk up and down. In the next shot, the string attached to the hat is clearly visible (at 25:40 in 91 minutes).

Quotes
Aunt Polly: Land o' Goshen! Your hair looks like a Hoorah's nest.

Crazy credits
The opening credits read "A Picturization in Technicolor of the Beloved Classic by Mark Twain 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'".

Alternate versions
Cut to 77 minutes for a 1959 reissue. The reissue print was the only version available for television for many years.

Connections
Featured in Family Classics: Family Classics: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1962)

Soundtracks
Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean
(1843) (uncredited)
Written by David T. Shaw
Arranged by Thomas A. Beckett
Sung by the schoolchildren at school

User reviews28

Review

Featured review

8/10

Very pleasant and well paced, overall very likable

I like the book a lot. It is quite episodic in structure, but the characters, dialogue and the story of Tom's adventures are very memorable. This is a very pleasant film and the best version by some considerable distance, like the book it is episodic but it does maintain its likability and charm with only Ann Gillis's rather coy performance and an underdeveloped Huck being the only real problems. Visually and technically, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is very impressive with gorgeous Technicolour, authentic costumes and lavish sets. (Uncredited) Max Steiner's score helps convey the moods of each scene, the film is faithful to the book(not that it needed to be particularly) with good dialogue and an intense confrontation with Injun Joe and it moves at a good pace. Tommy Kelly is a likable Tom, but it is May Robson and Victor Jory that make the film as memorable as it is. In conclusion, likable and pleasant and definitely something I would watch again willingly. 8/10 Bethany Cox