Tom Sawyer (1973)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Don Taylor

Writers:

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

Release Date:

15 March 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Musical | Family

Tagline:

The Great Family Musical !

Plot:

Tom Sawyer and his pal Huckleberry Finn have great adventures on the Mississippi River, pretending to be pirates...

Plot Keywords:

Mississippi River | River | Remake | Friendship | Switch

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 2 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. July 19

10:00 AM

TCM

Cast

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

Also Known As:

A Musical Adaptation of Mark Twain's 'Tom Sawyer' (USA) (promotional title)
Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer: A Musical Adaptation (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System) | 70 mm 6-Track

Certification:

Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | USA:G

Filming Locations:

Arrow Rock, Missouri, USA

Company:

Reader's Digest

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.

Movie Connections:

Remake of Tom Sawyer (1917)

Soundtrack:

River Song

Mark Twain would have liked this one.

This film captures the essence of Tom Sawyer. The wonder and freedom of childhood, and the struggles of growing up. Johnny Whitaker gives the best performance of his career, portraying Tom as mischievous and clever, yet lovable and innocent. This is not the Tom so often portrayed in films, who is a conniving brat. This is the Tom of the book who gets in trouble because he is curious and adventurous, whose mind wanders in church and school, and who stretches the truth or even fibs without malicious intent.

The rest of the cast is excellent, The production appears to be on location and is very authentic, and the music is well done. This is a true musical in that the lyrics serve to move the story along. If you like musicals, this is for you. If you don't, then concentrate on the lyrics and what they are telling you about the central character.

The book is timeless because of it's universal theme, the glory days of childhood. The Movie captures that. It will bring a tear to your eye as you hear the theme song "...a boy is gonna grow to be a man, be a man. Only once in his life is he free. Only one golden time in his life is he free."