mark.waltz Review of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1955 TV Movie)

Altering a timeless story defuses its original power.

[5/10 · 29 July 2014]

This is more of a sequel to "Tom Sawyer" than its own independent story. In the original "Huckleberry Finn", Huck ends up on the Mississippi without his pal Tom and with the companionship of Jim, the wise runaway slave. Here, Huck and Tom deal with the same con-artists that Huck and Jim encountered in the classic Mark Twain story, this time trying to con the Widow Douglas and Aunt Polly. Without the element of the escaped slave, this seems to have lost its original "meat", instead leaving only "gravy". Still, there's some great casting to be found here, with Thomas Mitchell unforgettable as Huck's embittered father, John Carradine spouting Shakespeare (as usual) as one of the con-men, and that wonderful character actress Elizabeth Patterson taking on the role of Aunt Polly. Fans of "General Hospital" (and various other soaps) will be surprised to see a very young Denise Alexander (years before taking on the role of Dr. Lesley Williams and becoming the loving mother to Laura Vining Webber Baldwin Spencer) as the young heroine staying with the Widow Douglas. So in spite of the changes to the story, there are some good things here, at least in the performances.