The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939)

Director: Richard Thorpe                           Writers: Hugo Butler & Waldo Salt
Film Score: Franz Waxman                       Cinematography: John F. Seitz
Starring: Mickey Rooney, Rex Ingram, William Frawley and Walter Connolly

There’s a major irony about MGM’s production of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn that can’t be escaped. Every other version of the classic Mark Twain tale has failed miserably because of their misunderstanding of the text, and the subversion of Twain’s characters which either destroys his intended meaning or, worse, conveys completely the opposite meaning. This film, on the other hand, keeps the characters but does away with the original story almost completely and thereby makes it more successful as a film than any of the others. It still has nothing to do with Twain’s book, but at least it doesn’t pretend that it does.

This story begins at the fishing hole, with the boys talking to Huck about not being promoted to the next grade in school. After dinner with the Widow Douglas and Miss Watson, he reads a letter to Jim from his wife who, along with his son, are already free. When Pap shows up and demands eight hundred dollars from the women for Huck, this and Huck’s embarrassment over flunking school are what make him leave. All of the early set pieces are there but severely truncated, and the completely different dialogue changes things considerably. Floating down the Mississippi the duo encounter the King and the Duke when they’re tossed overboard from a steamboat, though this is the only early version that approximates the characters as they are in the book. And then they all go to the Wilkes’ house to fleece the girls--only two of them--out of their inheritance. And, like almost all filmed versions, the last third of the book with Tom Sawyer is omitted. The King and the Duke don’t even have to face the real brothers the way they do in most productions.

As with all filmed versions the understanding that Huck gains about slavery is taught to him by others instead of learning it himself as it is in the book, but at least it’s not taught to him by Jim directly the way it is in other films. The character of Jim is subverted to make him devious, but that is simply the racism of the day rearing it’s head and showing viewers what they expect about blacks. Instead of Huck being ashamed of his behavior toward Jim in the book, the racist expectations of the day demand that Huck be justifiably angry at Jim and the only way Jim can redeem himself is to save Huck’s life. Again, however, there is so much of Twain’s book that is missing, it is actually possible to see the film on it’s own and, despite the racism, to accept it on its own terms as worthy of watching.

Mickey Rooney has to be the most contrite Huck Finn in film history. Even at his angriest he still a very nice kid. Other than the destruction of his character in the script, Rex Ingram is probably the best of all the Jim’s on film. He stays consistent, and while Huck doesn’t have the opportunity to see his worth on his own, the audience can see it. William Frawley and Walter Connolly do a good job as the Duke and the King and don’t go over the top the way the characters do in most productions. The film score by Franz Waxman is not one of his most memorable, but it is quite serviceable and appropriate, though it would have been nice if there were more of it. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with Mickey Rooney is a fine film if nothing like the book and, as a film entirely separate from the book, is something that can be appreciated on its own merits. Just don’t go in expecting Twain, because he is nowhere in sight.