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From the Page to the Screen – The Adventures of Tom Sawyer

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is an 1876 novel by Mark Twain. It’s a classic of children’s literature and American literature in general. I personally find it way too problematic to have ever reached greatness, but a spirited, very charming read undoubtedly.

THE FILM ADAPTATION

The film was released in 1938 and it received great reviews and good box-office. This particular adaptation is universally acknowledged to be the best of the bunch, and I agree as it’s very faithful while also being incredibly cinematic and adventurous. It deserves its classic status without a doubt.

PLOT

The plot in the film closely follows the plot of the book, but with a few minor changes. The island part is unfortunately not as prominent in the movie, but the racist and sexist segments were removed quite a lot which I appreciated. And what the movie does great, it excels at. I just wish it was longer in length.

WINNER – TIE

CHARACTERIZATION

I personally found Tom’s maturation better done in the novel obviously, but in the movie he is for sure more likable, and Tommy Kelly was so well cast. Huck is unfortunately sidelined, but others such as Becky and Aunt Polly are even better than they were before.

WINNER – TIE

EMOTION

I would say that the book has its moving moments, but the cave sequence in the film is so brilliant and intense that it trumps anything in the novel itself.

WINNER – FILM

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THEMES

Obviously, the book is much more sophisticated as the film’s focus is never on the themes. The novel explores maturation from a child to an adult so well while the movie never really deals with that.

WINNER – BOOK

TECHNICAL ASPECTS

Mark Twain’s writing is great, especially his descriptions as he does truly create memorable imagery. However, this particular movie is a feast for the eyes with glorious Technicolor cinematography and absolutely brilliant production design.

WINNER – FILM

BOOK 3: FILM 4

Yes, the book is a renowned classic, but in my opinion the movie trumped it in the overall quality. By removing the questionable content and focusing even more on adventure, it was a wonderful genre flick with stunning production values. The book has its better merits, but at the end of the day I’ve had more fun with the film myself.