Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The (1939)
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Director: Richard Thorpe
Sometimes concepts for American motion picture productions are rather
easy. Case in point is MGM’s 1939 adaptation of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, simply take one of America’s
most popular stories of a juvenile boy and cast it with the most popular
juvenile star in Mickey Rooney. Together they make an uncomplicated achievement
at the box office. Taking the timeless tale penned by the infamous Mark Twain
MGM has yet additional vehicle for the young star as another boy who loves to
get himself into trouble.
The Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn is an adventure and somewhat coming of age tale about a reckless boy
who travels with a runaway slave in search for new lives in the free states and
their adventures along the way. The incomparable Mickey Rooney plays the
cunning Huck Finn who appears untamable by the women that are raising him when
he decides to run away after being kidnapped by his own father. Teaming up with
his his friend and runaway slave Jim (Rex Ingram), who after Huck faked his own
death is believed to be his murderer, they make way up the river hoping to lead
to Jim’s free family in the north. Along the way con men claiming to be an
European King (William Connolly) and a Duke (William Frawley) join their
journey and attempt to use Huck and Jim for their own gain. Huck and Jim escape
their dastardly plans, but Jim is captured and sentenced to death for Huck’s
believed murder. With help Huck makes a dramatic dash back home to clear Jim’s
name, teaching Huck a moral lesson that slaves are people who can be friends and
not just property.
The picture takes a classic Mark Twain story and tacks an important
modern ethical message to is with morals on race wrapped around a rather normal
Mickey Rooney vehicle. A simple produced picture, the film has everything one
would expect in film adaptation of the tale. Although Rooney was nineteen when
he was making the picture his easy boyish charm, high energy, and short stature
made it easy for him to take on the character that happened to be several years
younger than Rooney actually was. Rooney, with his popularity in the Andy Hardy
pictures, was a major draw to theaters across the nation and here in Huck Finn
the addition of previously known and highly praised material would add to the
attraction of the young actor’s latest film.
Believed to be sure money in the bank, the film was directed by Richard
Thorpe, a staple studio director at MGM, whose credits included a vast array of
pictures, including a Tarzan feature, another successful money-in-the-bank
picture. Thorpe’s work was rather simple as he achieved in capturing the
nuances of a boy that constantly thinks of way of getting himself in and out of
trouble. It would be a rather unassuming point-and-shoot type of film in this
production as the most important figure was to get Rooney of screen and let him
take charge of a role that seemed to fit him rather well.
To fill the very important role of Jim is the respected black actor Rex
Ingram. This gentle giant of a man was the African American actor most notable
for his appearance as “Da Laud” in the all black biblical production The Green Pastures. Being a bit on the
politically correct side of things as MGM tended to be, focusing primarily on
the family type audiences, Jim’s role as a slave is watered down to be a rather
happy individual and the rampant use of the derogatory “N” word is completely
removed from the material when compared to the original novel. Ingram brings a
likable innocence to Jim as is seen in his previous works as the character of Jim
becomes the focal point to the story and key to Huck’s growth as a boy in the
story.
Character actor Walter Connolly plays “The King” and is an easy
conniving villain you learn to hate as he plans to take advantage of Huck and
Jim for his own financial gain. His cohort known as “The Duke” is played by
William Frawley who in the 1950s would become famously known as Lucy and
Ricky’s lovable landlord and friend Fred Mertz in the all time classic
television sitcom I Love Lucy.
Together Connolly and Frawley provide comedy and tension to the story as they
are con men with unbelievable imaginations.
This Mickey Rooney version of The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn would not be the first version brought to
the screen, nor the last. In fact this version might be seen as taking more
liberties with Mark Twain’s source materials than any of the other adaptations.
Of course it was all done in the matter of getting one of the most recognizable
stars in Mickey Rooney on the screen, easily selling the movie to audiences.
With easy productions such as this and his many Andy Hardy pictures
Mickey Rooney would become the greatest box office draw of 1939. Movies that
starred Rooney collected more money than other actor’s body of work in the
year. He would keep up this title as Hollywood’s greatest draw for a remarkable
three years, entrenching him as the biggest star during this period in
Hollywood’s history.
The picture is simple. You get a bit of classic literature and one of
the best known names in the industry at the same time. This adaption would be
one the most popular in the slew of productions based on the Mark Twain
classic, even having its own liberties with the tale. What audiences get is a
charming movie that is enjoyable, albeit nothing significant in nature.
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