Tom Sawyer

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Tom Sawyer

G

1973

1h 44m

Kids & Family

Musical

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4 Reviews

54%

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2,500+ Ratings

Best friends Tom Sawyer (Johnnie Whitaker) and Huckleberry Finn (Jeff East) spend their days in their small Mississippi hometown causing havoc and having fun wherever they go. When the young Becky Thatcher (Jodie Foster) moves in to town, it throws an unexpected wrench into their friendship. But when one of Tom's friends finds himself in a jam, all three kids come together to help solve the problem in this musical retelling of the classic Mark Twain story.

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Penelope Gilliatt

The New Yorker

01/23/2024

What a deformity that an American film of a Mark Twain classic should transmit so little of its American guts, and comprehension of chicanery, and slowness to judge a world that the books judging itself.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

11/03/2021

3/4

The dramatic interludes with Injun Joe are filmed for maximum impact.

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Judith Crist

Texas Monthly

06/12/2020

And you have to have a passel of kids around you... to know that there's a children's classic at hand and that you can double your pleasure in adulthood by knowing the generations are ungapped thereby.

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Mattie Lucas

From the Front Row

06/04/2019

3/4

Has the sweep of grandeur of a musical in the classic Hollywood style, even if the songs don't always fit comfortably into the narrative.

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Sherri F

@SherriF308 Apr 17

Just came across this childhood favorite- Johnny Whitaker will always be Tom Sawyer to me.

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I. S. W

@RT97020096 02/28/2025

My ultimate escape back into boyhood. The tunes are infectious, especially "Gratifaction" and "Freebootin' ". Love the wiry Jeff East and my childhood heartthrob, believe it or not, Celeste Holme. (I bet you thought I was going to say Jodie Foster!)

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02/21/2021

Great movie filmed in Missouri, just like Tom Sawyer. The Missouri River is used instead of the Mississippi. There are some fantastic scenes in the movie. It captures the freedom of boyhood experience and community. Charlie Pride sings the theme song - what a job he does.

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steve d

@RT35616104 07/16/2020

Nothing new to this often told story.

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01/29/2017

One of my all time favorites growing up.

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07/17/2016

The Sherman's and John Williams make a musical.

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Don Taylor

Director

Johnny Whitaker

Tom Sawyer

Celeste Holm

Aunt Polly

Warren Oates

Muff Potter

Jeff East

Huckleberry Finn

Jodie Foster

Becky Thatcher

Tom Sawyer: Official Clip - Whipped for Becky

1:58

Tom Sawyer: Official Clip - Responsibility

2:03

Tom Sawyer: Official Clip - Getting Engaged

1:27

Tom Sawyer: Official Clip - A Man's Gotta Be What He's Born to Be

2:33

Tom Sawyer: Official Clip - Tom's Testimony

2:13

Tom Sawyer: Official Clip - Tom and Huck's Funeral

2:08

Tom Sawyer: Official Clip - Freebootin'

2:10

Tom Sawyer: Official Clip - If'n I Was God

2:07

Tom Sawyer: Official Clip - Gratifaction

2:32

Tom Sawyer: Official Clip - Becky Thatcher

1:43

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Synopsis

Best friends Tom Sawyer (Johnnie Whitaker) and Huckleberry Finn (Jeff East) spend their days in their small Mississippi hometown causing havoc and having fun wherever they go. When the young Becky Thatcher (Jodie Foster) moves in to town, it throws an unexpected wrench into their friendship. But when one of Tom's friends finds himself in a jam, all three kids come together to help solve the problem in this musical retelling of the classic Mark Twain story.

Director: Don Taylor
Producer: Arthur P. Jacobs
Screenwriter: Robert B. Sherman, Richard M. Sherman
Distributor: United Artists
Production Co: APJAC Productions
Rating: G
Genre: Kids & Family, Musical
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 15, 1973, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008
Runtime: 1h 44m