Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

Dynamixor The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Haven Kaycee It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

preppy-3 This review is of the full 91 minute version. There's another one out that's about 77 minutes.I haven't read "Tomy Sawyer" since I was a kid (I'm in my 40s now) but this movie bought back a lot of good memories! Tom Sawyer (Tommy Kelly) is being bought up by his Aunt Polly (May Robson) along with cousin Mary and the vicious Sid (David Holt). Tom is constantly getting into trouble with his buddy Huckleberry Finn (Jackie Moran). In the course of the movie Tom falls for cute Becky Thatcher (Ann Gillis), runs away from home, witnesses a murder and it ends with him and Becky being chased by the killer. OK--this is far from perfect. Kelly was an unknown--and it shows. He's not good at all. Also the film is episodic...but so was the novel. There's also a young black kid here who comes across as an idiot and is treated pretty badly. I realize that's a sign of its time but it's uncomfortable to watch now. Still this is worth catching.The color is beautiful and the film moves very quickly. Kelly aside all the acting is good (Robson does wonders with her stereotypical role) and I was never bored. The very last bit with Sid and Aunt Polly was just perfect! It also bought back the book to me--I was remembering entire sequences I haven't read since I was a kid. This is also perfect viewing for the entire family. Well-made and worth catching. Try catching the full version.

xiaoqian1 I think ¡°The adventures of Tom Sawyer¡±I saw is an old old movie. And I ever thought that it must be a specific one for children. However£¬I found out the movie nowadays also has its own particular attraction. I still remember that Tom's aunt and half-brother Sid have not satisfied with him. But Tom is real a kind of clever boy. He can often get away with the punishment. In a brilliant scheme£¬Tom is able to con the neighborhood boy into completing the task for him. Besides£¬the episode which is full of children love is very interesting. Tom immediately falls in love with Becky at the first sight who is the Judge's daughter. He does everything just for winning her love even he asks for¡°get engaged¡±. Of course£¬it is arranged funny in the movie that he broke his relationship with Becky because he accidentally blusts that has been engaged before. Sometimes I can't help thinking about the fact how really mature Tom is. Also a romantic boy£¬right£¿Mentioned about honesty and courage£¬Tom indeed is a good example for all the children even for most of us¡ª¡ªadults. Because Tom and Huck are extremely scared that Injun Joe who is real the killer will attempts to seek revenge on them. According to Tom's sense of justice Tom decides to be the witness in the court. I think Tom does not want to burden the guilty consciences and then make up his mind to tell the truth to the town. Maybe most of us could not do that like Tom in the real situation . Therefore on the other hand£¬¡° The adventures of Tom Sawyer is for all the people including children and adults. In this sense, Tom is our good example in the modern society. Although our society is boomer than before, existence of conscience is more necessary than before. Guangxi University of Technology Foreign Language Department English Major Class022Qian Xiao (Rita)

flask There have been numerous film adaptations of Mark Twain's beloved story, "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," but few capture the boyish wonder and childlike bliss which permeates the classic yarn. Luckily, 1938 rendition is one of the select few that do. The acting is first class; the directing often innovative, and the whimsical screenplay is respectful of the novel.The novel itself is entertainingly superior to Huckleberry Finn in its lack of a political agenda or societal commentary. Its sole objective is to return us once more to the naivety of youth when our life was far simpler and, in many cases, far happier.For the older generation of film aficionados, child actor Tommy Kelly was the definitive Tom Sawyer. His winning smile, visible freckles and bright eyes encapsulate the literary character to a tee. After watching this film and re-reading Twain's novel, it is impossible to remove the image of Tommy Kelly from one's mind as he or she remembers Sawyer's antics.It is in the supporting characters, however, that this film truly shines. The grade-A performances of Walter Brennan as the likable Muff Potter, a make-up smeared Victory Jory as the menacing Injun Joe and Olin Howlin as the violent schoolmaster are highlights of the film. Brennan seems to infuse a perpetual helplessness in his inebriated character that epitomizes the small town bum of a forgotten America; Jory makes Injun Joe the personification of evil and a red-faced Howlin is superlative as an authoritarian teacher who makes the audience cringe when he canes Tom. Australian-native May Robeson, who portrays Aunt Polly, is able to make smooth, believable transitions from harsh severity to tender leniency as the script demands.Remarkably, the numerous child stars in this film were destined for unhappy lives. David Holt (Sid) spent his early life as a child actor in poverty as he, much like Tommy Kelly, waited for star-making film roles which never came. Jackie Moran (Huckleberry Finn) soared briefly higher towards elusive stardom when he was cast as the energetic sidekick of Buster Crabbe in a "Buck Rogers" (1939) serial. Immediately afterwards, Moran's career plummeted into oblivion. Perhaps the only exception to this streak of bad luck was Ann Gillis (Becky Thatcher) who found herself always in demand to portray a screen brat. Upon coming of age and legally capable of making her own decisions, Gillis wisely left the film industry to find happiness elsewhere."The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" (1938) is also significant in that its talented screenwriter, John V.A. Weaver, died shortly after its release of tuberculosis. His successful but altogether short career included writing screenplays for such cinematic classics as King Vidor's "The Crowd" (1928) and "The Saturday Night Kid" (1929). In a sense, this film was his last hurrah and it is only fitting that Weaver's last project in his old age should be subtly based upon the universal human longing to be young once again.

dwpollar 1st watched 10/14/2000 - (Dir-Norman Taurog): Well-done enactment of the popular Mark Twain novel with suspense, laughs & tears. Popular child director proves again that he can teach kids how to act on film.