Tom and Huck

Last updated
Tom and Huck (1995)
Tomandhuck poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Peter Hewitt
Screenplay by
Based on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by Mark Twain
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyBobby Bukowski
Edited byDavid Freeman
Music by Stephen Endelman
Production
company
Distributed by Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
Release date
  • December 22, 1995 (1995-12-22)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$23.9 million (US) [1]

Tom and Huck is a 1995 American adventure comedy-drama film based on Mark Twain's 1876 novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer , and starring Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Brad Renfro, Mike McShane, Eric Schweig, and Amy Wright. The film was directed by Peter Hewitt and produced/co-written by Stephen Sommers (who also worked on Disney's adaptation of Twain's 1884 novel, 1993's The Adventures of Huck Finn ). The movie was released in North America on December 22, 1995. [1]

Contents

In the film, mischievous young Tom Sawyer witnesses a murder by a vicious half-Native American criminal known as "Injun Joe". Tom befriends Huck Finn, a boy with no future and no family, and is forced to choose between honoring a friendship or honoring an oath, when the town drunk is accused of the murder.

Plot

One dark stormy night, Injun Joe goes to meet Doctor Jonas Robinson for some shady business. Meanwhile, a young boy named Tom Sawyer runs away from home with his friends to become steamboat men. This ultimately fails as their raft collides on a rock in the Mississippi River, throwing Tom into the water. His friends find him washed up on the shore, and Tom finds it was Huck Finn who carried him to safety. Tom later meets Huck discovering an unusual way to remove warts - by taking a dead cat to the graveyard at night. There, they witness Injun Joe and Muff Potter, the town drunk, digging up the grave of Vic "One-Eyed" Murrell for Doctor Robinson. A treasure map is discovered and Doc assaults Muff and Injun Joe in an attempt to take it for himself. Doc manages to knock out Muff, but Injun Joe fights back by fatally stabbing Doc with Muff's knife.

The next morning, Muff is charged for the murder. Tom and Huck had signed an oath saying that if either of them came forward about it, they would drop dead and rot. The boys embark on a search for the treasure map Injun Joe has, so they can declare Muff innocent while preserving their oath. Eventually, however, Joe finds the lost treasure and asks his partner to hide it in a cave before burning the map. With the only evidence to prove Muff's innocence destroyed, Tom and Huck's friendship starts to decline, and Huck eventually leaves Hannibal. Joe then discovers that Tom was a witness to the crime. He finds Tom and threatens he will kill him if he ever tells anyone about the murder.

At Muff Potter's trial, Tom decides that his friendship with Muff is more important than his oath with Huck and exposes the truth. Injun Joe, in fury, unsuccessfully attempts to kill Tom before leaving Hannibal. The townspeople declare Tom as a hero for his bravery and plans to throw a festival to commemorate the occasion. Tom, however, knowing Joe is after him, refuses to attend. Huck later sneaks into Tom's bedroom one night, criticizing Tom for breaking their oath before leaving town again.

The next day during the festival, a group of children, including Tom and his love interest Becky Thatcher, enter the caves, where Tom and Becky become lost. Meanwhile, the judge is alerted by the sheriff that Joe ended up killing one of his partners. Huck, who secretly attends the festival, overhears all this and goes after Tom. They eventually stumble upon Injun Joe in McDougal's Cave. He traps them, but Tom and Becky manage to escape. Tom later discovers the spot where Joe hid his treasure. He then finds an opening in the cave and asks Becky to get her father.

Injun Joe ultimately finds Tom and attempts to kill him before Huck suddenly shows up. After a brief struggle, Injun Joe easily overpowers Huck. Just as Joe is about to land a finishing blow, Tom quietly empties the contents from the treasure chest and threatens Joe by throwing the treasure chest over a chasm. Injun Joe then tries to get the chest from Tom, only to fall into the chasm to his death. The boys reconcile as they claim Joe's treasure and are declared heroes by the people. Tom is praised on the front page of the newspaper, and Widow Douglas adopts Huck Finn.

Cast

Reception

Box office

In its opening weekend, the film grossed $3,210,458 in 1,609 theaters in the United States and Canada, debuting at number 9 at the box office. [3] In its second week it rose to No. 8 where it grossed $6,789,871. [4] The U.S. and Canada box office for Tom and Huck was $23,920,048. [1]

Critical

The film received mixed to negative reviews. [5] [6] [7] [8] On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 25% of eight critics reviewed the film positively, with an average rating of 4.2/10, earning the film a score of "Rotten". [9]

Accolades

Awards
GroupCategoryRecipient(s)Outcome
First Americans in the Arts Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role (Film) Eric Schweig Won
Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards Favorite Movie Actor Jonathan Taylor Thomas Nominated
Young Artist Awards Best Young Leading Actor - Feature FilmNominated
YoungStar Awards Best Performance by a Young Actor in a Comedy FilmNominated
Brad Renfro Nominated
Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Comedy FilmRachael Leigh CookNominated

Home media

The film was released on VHS and LaserDisc on May 1, 1996. It was first released on DVD on May 6, 2003, and on February 10, 2009 was released as a double feature with The Adventures of Huck Finn (1993). The film was released on Blu-Ray on July 13, 2021. It is also included on Disney's streaming service, Disney+.

See also

Related Research Articles

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Tom Sawyer was a one-hour musical by Frank Luther, originally created for the television series The U.S. Steel Hour. It was broadcast live on CBS November 21, 1956, and marked the first time the anthology series had presented a musical. Luther said the show evolved from his re-reading of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer a few years earlier: "(W)henever an incident or character gave me an idea for a song, I'd write the music and words," Luther told an interviewer in 1957. "By the time I'd reached the end of the book, I found I had written 32 songs. The cast included John Sharpe as Tom Sawyer, Jimmy Boyd as Huckleberry Finn, Bennye Gatteys as Becky Thatcher, Rose Bampton as Aunt Polly, Matt Mattox as Injun Joe and Clarence Cooper as Jim the Narrator. A cast album was released on Decca Records shortly after the broadcast, featuring several songs omitted from the original show. The show's sets and backgrounds were designed by Thomas Hart Benton. At the time of the broadcast, Sharpe was performing in the Broadway cast of The Most Happy Fella. Luther was commissioned to follow up the show with a musical adaptation of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, also starring Boyd, which was broadcast on The U.S. Steel Hour November 22, 1957. There does not appear to be any existing film or kinescope of either broadcast. There is a recording of the original broadcast audio in the New York Public Library's Toscanini Legacy Collection of Sound Recordings.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Tom and Huck at Box Office Mojo
  2. ↑ Puig, Claudia (1995-12-21). "Little Big Man : Heartthrob and Hot Property at 14, Taylor Has a Veteran's View of Hollywood". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2012-06-14.
  3. ↑ Dutka, Elaine (1995-12-27). "Weekend Box Office : 'Exhale' Blows Down the Competition". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2012-06-14.
  4. ↑ Puig, Claudia (1996-01-03). "Weekend Box Office : A Very Happy New Year's Holiday for 'Toy Story' and 'Jumanji'". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2012-06-14.
  5. ↑ Anderson, John (1995-12-22). "MOVIE REVIEW : A Darker 'Tom and Huck' for a Modern Audience". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2012-06-14.
  6. ↑ Holden, Stephen (1995-12-22). "FILM REVIEW;Tom Sawyer as Gable". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
  7. ↑ Stack, Peter (1995-12-22). "FILM REVIEW -- A Likable Tom and Huck, With an Eerily '90s Twist". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
  8. ↑ Petrakis, John (1995-12-22). "'Tom And Huck' A Silly Take On Twain's Classic Tale". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2015-01-27. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
  9. ↑ Tom and Huck at Rotten Tomatoes
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