The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Richard Thorpe

Writers:

Hugo Butler (writer)
Mark Twain (novel)

Release Date:

10 February 1939 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Adventure

Plot:

Huckleberry Finn, a rambunctious boy adventurer chafing under the bonds of civilization, escapes his humdrum world and his selfish...

Plot Keywords:

Escape | Raft | Mississippi River | Mark Twain | Murder

US TV Schedule:

Fri. July 17

8:00 AM

TCM

Cast

Mickey Rooney	...	Huckleberry Finn
Walter Connolly	...	The 'King'
William Frawley	...	The 'Duke'
Rex Ingram	...	Jim
Lynne Carver	...	Mary Jane
Jo Ann Sayers	...	Susan
Minor Watson	...	Captain Brandy
Elisabeth Risdon	...	Widow Douglass (as Elizabeth Risdon)
Victor Kilian	...	'Pap' Finn
Clara Blandick	...	Miss Watson

Also Known As:

Huckleberry Finn (USA) (TV title)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:S | USA:G (re-rating) (1970) | USA:Passed (PCA #5021) (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Alabama, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

MGM bought the rights to Mark Twain's novel specifically for Mickey Rooney.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Classified X (1998) (TV)

A fine performance, no justice to the novel

Mickey Rooney dropped his Andy Hardy gimmicks (at last) to give a fine performance in 'The adventures of Huckleberry Finn'. He was partnered with Rex Ingram who had just won fame in 'The green pastures'.

Hugo Butler wrote a straightforward script from Mark Twain's masterpiece, which had been previously filmed in 1920 and 1931 by Paramount studios. The script unfortunately does not do a great justice to the original novel.

It's delightful the way Rooney's character acts in the beginning of the film smoking and skipping school, but when he helps Jim to escape all that charming stuff has to be thrown out of the window and Huckleberry Finn must at last wake up to reality.