Tom Sawyer (1917)

I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

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

Julia Crawford Ivers' adaptation of Mark Twain's classic 1876 novel is faithful to the highlights of the first half of the book, and since the sequel 'Huck and Tom' hit screens just three months later this film was presumably always intended as Part One of a lengthy two part film. We therefore get the whitewashing episode, the introduction of Becky Thatcher into Tom's life, the business with the bible study tickets and the exaggerated reports of Tom's death, concluding with his appearance at his own funeral.But Muff Potter, Injun Joe and the scenes in the caves would have to wait for the appearance of 'Huck and Tom' (1918), in which the amiable tone that has so far prevailed presumably darkens considerably. Robert Gordon doesn't actually have that much screen time as Huck Finn in this first film and presumably comes into his own in the sequel (especially with his name coming first in the title).

A remarkably sophisticated offering for 1917, although I have the feeling that the surviving 60-minutes version is actually the Kodascope cutdown and not the original length at all. Some scenes seem truncated and it's hard to believe that a director as sophisticated and acute as William Desmond Taylor would go out of his way to cut scenes off in mid-stride as it were, even though all the pertinent points had been made. This makes the flow of the film somewhat jerky. It would be nice to get hold of the original orchestral music score and find out how long it played. Anyway, for once, Alpha has provided a really good score for the DVD version. So many of Taylor's films have disappeared, it's good to have this one, especially as Jack Pickford so brilliantly overcomes the fact that he's actually too old for the title role. I'd put this down as Jack's best surviving performance.

Jack Pickford (as Tom Sawyer) is not the model boy of his village; in fact, he beats up the model boy (Carl Goetz). Mr. Pickford is impressed with the "juvenile pariah" of the village, Robert Gordon (as Huckleberry Finn) - although Pickford is "under strict orders not to play" with Mr. Gordon, the boys are attracted to each other; and, Gordon brings Pickford a large watermelon to eat. Sore from tussling with the model boy, and sporting a "sore toe", Pickford is, nevertheless, ordered to whitewash the Sawyer fence. Along comes Antrim Short (as Joe Harper), eating an apple, and pretending to be a Mississippi river steamboat; Pickford tricks Short into giving up his apple, and whitewashing the fence. Pickford is munching on a different apple when he notices "new girl in town" Clara Horton (as Becky Thatcher)… Director William Desmond Taylor and writer Julia Crawford Ivers' adaptation is first rate; the production team would finish the lads' adventures with "Huck and Tom" (1918) and "Huckleberry Finn" (1920). This beginning is a surprisingly good, and relatively faithful, version of the Mark Twain classic. The focus is on Pickford's "Tom", and his friendships with Gordon's "Huck" and Short's "Joe". The three boys take off together, going down the Mississippi river; while, back home, the villagers think they are dead. Jack Pickford proves himself to be as good a performer as his more famous sister (Mary Pickford); he is more than capable in the "Tom Sawyer" role - skipping, pouting, flirting, jumping fences, and getting sick on fresh catfish; he brings the character to life. He and the other "children" appear too old for their roles in many instances; so, for example, Pickford stealing a kiss from Horton loses its innocence, and looks more like an attack. Yet, most of the time, the performers make themselves believable. Though most faithful, this is definitely an interpretation of Twain's characters. There is some symbolism in this film that I don't recall from the novel (which I will have to re-read); director Taylor uses food (like the Apple) from the novel; but, possibly, in a different way. Pickford and Gordon create a particularly interesting dynamic: drawing lines with their feet, rubbing shoulders, and drawing in their knees. I found the recurring "sore toe" of Tom's fascinating; and, note that when the boys "escape", he is relieved from this malady. This is another nuance to track in a re-reading of "Tom Sawyer". ******** Tom Sawyer (12/2/17) William Desmond Taylor ~ Jack Pickford, Robert Gordon, Antrim Short

Mark Twain's immortal TOM SAWYER flirts with Becky Thatcher, goes rafting with Huckleberry Finn on the Mississippi River & generally makes life a sore tribulation for the law-abiding citizens of St. Petersburg, Missouri.Produced only seven years after the death of Mark Twain, this rousing, action packed silent film remains faithful to the original classic novel. The fine production values lavished upon it give it the feel of an old photo album. Many of the favorite episodes from the first half of the book are included and filmed with much charm.Jack Pickford gives a hardy, robust portrayal of Tom, the eternal companion of millions of American boys. Although a bit tall & old (he was 21) to be an authentic portrait of the real Tom, he comes close enough. Tattered, begrimed Robert Gordon as Huckleberry Finn also scores in his small role.The film concludes with the boys interrupting their own funeral, after being assumed drowned while river rafting. Director William Desmond Taylor decided to film the rest of the book and release it as a sequel, which he did the following year as HUCK AND TOM (1918). Four years later, in 1922, Taylor's still unsolved murder would give Hollywood one of its most sensational scandals.Almost forgotten today, Jack Pickford, Mary's younger brother, was a movie star in his own right, appearing in 106 films between 1909 & 1928. Lacking his sister's intense dedication & drive, he gave his life over to riotous living - to the detriment of his career. Personal tragedy & dissipation would haunt him until his death in 1933 at the age of 36.