The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Mark Twain’s roguish boy hero Huck Finn came to the screen in 1939, as MGM presented its adaptation of the author's classic The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Roguish boy star Mickey Rooney took on the title role, a perfect fit for the Andy Hardy star.
Twain’s story chronicles the adventurous journey of Huckleberry
Finn and his friend Jim, a runaway slave, in the mid-19th-century
American South. Huck runs away for two good reasons: 1) He can’t stand
the smothering attention of his guardian, widow Douglas, and 2) He
fears the wrath of his wicked Pap.
Huck and Jim float down the Mississippi on a homemade raft,
encountering no small share of trouble on the way. Some of that trouble
comes in the form of con men “The King” and “The Duke,” who get Huck
and Jim mixed up in their schemes. Later, when Jim is arrested for
Huck’s murder (the boy is still in hiding), young Huck must decide
whether to save his friend or protect himself.
The novel was an adventure story with deeper issues of race and
loyalty. MGM’s version stayed fairly close to Twain’s original, with
strong performances from Rooney and from Rex Ingram as Jim to cement
the relationship between the two.
The film performed well in theaters, and in the 1960’s, a
thirty-minute version was released to schools, helping introduce
thousands of schoolchildren to the escapades of these classic
characters.
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