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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
Directed by Norman Taurog
USA 1938
In this glorious adaptation of the Mark Twain classic, young Tom Sawyer (Tommy Kelly) is a big troublemaker. When he's not tricking others into doing his work, he's upsetting his aunt Polly (May Robson), or wooing his young love, Becky (Ann Gillis). But sometimes Tom's mischief gets him in over his head, and when he and his pal, Huckleberry Finn (Jackie Moran), witness a murder, they take a vow of silence and head down the river on a raft. The whole town believes they're dead, so when the boys return they're in a world of trouble. Norman Taurog (Boy's Town) directed this David O. Selznick (Duel in the Sun) production featuring Walter Brennan (Dakota), Victor Jory (Canadian Pacific) and Margaret Hamilton (Driftwood). *** The 1938 version of Adventures of Tom Sawyer appears to be producer David O. Selznick's dry run for Gone with the Wind, what with its similarities in period, costumes, color scheme and production design (both films shared the services of the great Hollywood art director William Cameron Menzies). Selected from hundreds of applicants (a precursor to Selznick's upcoming search for Wind's Scarlet O'Hara), Tommy Kelly is visually perfect as Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer though his acting varies from scene to scene. Better cast is Jackie Moran as the laconic, pipe-smoking Huck Finn (Moran would show up in Wind as Dr. Meade's son). Never forcing its pace, the film manages to include most of Twain's classic sequences, including the fence-whitewashing episode, Tom's rescue of Becky Thatcher (Anne Gillis) from the wrath of their schoolmaster (Olin Howlin), Tom and Huck's "death and resurrection" after the boys briefly skipped town for an idyll on a remote island, the murder trial of town drunk Muff Potter (Walter Brennan) and ultimately unmasking of the vicious Injun Joe (Victor Jory) as the real killer, and of course the chilling climax in the cave, wherein Tom protects Becky from the fugitive Injun Joe. Originally released at 93 minutes, Adventures of Tom Sawyer was trimmed to 77 minutes for a 1959 reissue; it has since been restored to its full length on videotape. In 1960, Tom Sawyer was syndicated to television by Selznick, with accompanying commentary by the film's now-grown-up "Becky Thatcher," Anne Gillis. |
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Theatrical Release: February 11th, 1938
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
Review: Kino Lorber - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
Box Cover |
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Distribution | Kino Lorber - Region 'A' - Blu-ray | |
Runtime | 1:30:42.979 | 1:17:03.619 |
Video |
Original Version: 1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rays Disc Size: 39,043,525,947 bytes Feature: 18,320,056,320 bytes Video Bitrate: 23.94 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video |
Reissue: 1.33:1 1080P Disc Size: 39,043,525,947 bytes Feature: 18,786,269,184 bytes Video Bitrate: 29.28 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video |
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Original Bitrate Blu-ray: |
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Reissue Bitrate Blu-ray: |
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Audio |
DTS-HD Master Audio English 1554 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1554 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit) |
DTS-HD Master Audio English 1558 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1558 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 16-bit |
Subtitles | None | None |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Kino Lorber
Original Version: 1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-rays Disc Size: 39,043,525,947 bytes Feature: 18,320,056,320 bytes Video Bitrate: 23.94 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Reissue: 1.33:1 1080P Feature: 18,786,269,184 bytes Video Bitrate: 29.28 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Edition Details: • Trailer (2:15)
Chapters 8 / 8 |
Comments: |
NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.
Kino special edition includes both the original, 1938,
91-minute cut and the, 1954, 77-minute reissue
on the same
Blu-ray. The HD
quality is very similar between the original and 13-minute shortened
version. Frankly, considering the age - the Technicolor losing
brilliance is what I anticipated. There are flashes of color depth
(ex. the tomatoes) and the art direction maintains the film's
adventuresque elements. The image has a thickness and inherent softness
connoting the era and is consistent throughout the entire presentation.
I expect this is pretty much how the existing source looks - heavy with
no gloss. It gave a very pleasing presentation. |
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CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION