Tom Sawyer (1973) Reviews

• Mark Twain would have liked this one.

  dsayne2001-01-20

  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."

• Remembrances of the filming of Tom Sawyer

  k_scherer2007-07-03

  I have not seen this version of Tom Sawyer for quite a few years, but I did see it as a child on the "Big Screen". The fun part for me about this movie is that I grew up just a few miles from where most of it was filmed -- a small river town in Mid-Missouri called Arrow Rock. It's not the type of area where a person gets to see a lot of movies being filmed, so you can imagine that this was quite an event for a small rural area at the time. I was 12 at the time, same age as Johnny Whitaker when he played Tom, and I remember going to watch the filming of several scenes -- especially the "picnic scene". It was also interesting to see what was done to the town to prepare for the making of the film. The main street, which is paved asphalt, was covered with several inches of dirt. The concrete sidewalks were converted to boardwalk sidewalks, which still exist today! It was fun to watch the film in the theater, because many of the extras in the film were local townspeople, neighbors, and friends. You watched to pick out the scenes where you would recognize people you know. There is a special celebration in Arrow Rock this year for the July 4th festivities, celebrating the 35 years since the filming of Tom Sawyer (1972). Johnny Whitaker and Jeff East are returning to Arrow Rock to participate in the festivities... and I will be returning to partake also! If you're ever driving across Missouri on I-70, I invite you to take a slight detour on Hiway 41 North (just about 130 miles west of St. Louis) and visit the little historic town of Arrow Rock.... where for two months in 1972, Hollywood came to visit!

• Great film

  jpycior-12006-12-22

  I really enjoyed this movie and the music that was in it. Lots of good fun and adventure! I do believe Mr.Mark Twain would approve! This movie hits all the right notes and what an adventure! One can clearly see how the two lead actors make choices for their characters and the results are very good. I enjoyed the journey and the adventure the two went on, and I felt the movie was a very good adaptation of the novel. I can remember reading the book and not wanting to put it down, and was living in SC at the time the movie came out. We lived along a river as it was and as a 10 year old, I could somewhat relate to the main characters in the way of wanting to go on such an adventure. This movie was very good from start to finish, and I can distinctly recall to me, the scariest part..when they were all in the caves.

• DVD This movie now !

  adrian2umortal2003-02-26

  I love this version of the Tom Sawyer Story. I watched this movie as a kid and will still watch it today. Jodie Foster is really cute as Becky Thatcher. This movie was made and financed by Reader Digest but as I have seen it is now under ownership by MGM/UA Home Video and only available on the slowly decaying VHS format. Hey, MGM, get this movie digitally upgraded to DVD with all the bells and whistles digitally upgraded beyond what they originally were. DVD is the soon to be only video format and this movie needs to be on it. I also would like to see the musical sequel about Huck Finn done the same way.

• Relive the Olden Days of Freedom with Tom and Huck

  JLRMovieReviews2014-09-04

  Young Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn enjoy the free days of youth in this 1973 film adaptation of the classic Mark Twain story "Tom Sawyer." With their stories and lives of the two boys blending in together so much, it's hard to tell where one starts and the other leaves off. They both live in the same slow easy days, which are also fresh with rascally trouble and bristling with uncouth characters. Tom Sawyer lives with an Aunt played by Celeste Holm and her two children. The boy does not like him and continually sets up booby traps for Tom when he sneaks in his room late for supper, but the daughter thinks the world of him. On one of their many hikes, Tom and Huck witness a scuffle that leads to murder. And Tom has a love interest in the form of a new girl, played by Jodie Foster. But all this takes a back seat to the adventurous and easy-going spirits of the boys and the wonderful music score and songs by the Sherman brothers. The performances by Johnnie Whitaker as Tom and Jeff East as Huck are very natural (Jeff East was particularly memorable) and a lot of recognizable faces make up the colorful supporting cast. A true highlight of the film is Charley Pride's song about being young and free, sung at the beginning and end of the film. I looked into buying the cd. But it was way too expensive, being a very rare find. If you love musicals and the imagination of Mark Twain, then you need to find this right away and while away the hours doing something close to nothing but getting in trouble anyway.