Tom and Huck

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]

Not to be confused with Huck and Tom.
Tom and Huck
Theatrical release poster
Directed byPeter Hewitt
Produced byLaurence Mark
Stephen Sommers
Screenplay byStephen Sommers
David Loughery
Story byThe Adventures of Tom Sawyer
by Mark Twain
Starring
Music byStephen Endelman
CinematographyBobby Bukowski
Edited byDavid Freeman
Production
company
Distributed byBuena Vista Pictures
Release date
  • December 22, 1995 (1995-12-22)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$23.9 million[1]

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. Tom Sawyer is then seen running away from home. He and his friends ride down the Mississippi River on a raft, but hit a sharp rock, which throws 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. Huck learns of 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, and 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 Injun Joe's treasure map, so they can declare Muff innocent and still keep their oath. The only problem is, the map is in Injun Joe's pocket. After Injun Joe finds the last treasure, he burns the map, leaving no evidence to claim Muff innocent. 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. However, at the time, the entire community believed that he was dead, and the friendship between Tom and Huck starts to decline because their only evidence (the map) to prove Muff innocent, while preserving their oath, is destroyed.

At Muff Potter's trial, Tom decides that his friendship with Muff is more important than his oath with Huck and tells the truth. The court finds Muff innocent of all charges and goes after Injun Joe. As a result, Injun Joe attempts to kill Tom, but Tom shields himself with the bible to avoid Joe’s dagger. When Injun Joe returns to the tavern, he sees accomplice Emmett gathering shovels and accuses him of cheating him by claiming the treasure for himself and Joe kills Emmett with a toss of his dagger. Huck becomes angry with Tom for breaking their oath and leaves town.

During a festival the next day, a group of children, including Tom and his love interest Becky Thatcher, enter the caves, where Tom and Becky become lost. They eventually stumble upon Injun Joe (who was looking for Tom) in McDougal's Cave. He traps them, but Tom and Becky manage to escape. When they find the treasure, Tom tells Becky to go get her father and bring him back.

Injun Joe ultimately finds Tom by himself and again tries to kill him, but Huck shows up to rescue Tom and battles Injun Joe. But Injun Joe easily overpowers Huck; just as he is about to kill him, Tom holds 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 (with the chest which was empty). The boys reconcile, 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

The film debuted at No. 9.[3] In its second week it rose to No. 8.[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] with a 'rotten' 25% on review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes.[9]

See also

References
  1. 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. Retrieved 2012-06-14.
  9. Tom and Huck at Rotten Tomatoes
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