The Adventures of Mark Twain

The Adventures of Mark Twain

Director: Irving Rapper Cast: Fredric March
Fredric March
, Alexis Smith
Alexis Smith
, Donald Crisp
Donald Crisp
, C. Aubrey Smith
C. Aubrey Smith
Irving Rapper
The Adventures of Mark Twain

The Adventures of Mark Twain

Director: Irving Rapper Cast: Fredric March
Fredric March
, Alexis Smith
Alexis Smith
, Donald Crisp
Donald Crisp
, C. Aubrey Smith
C. Aubrey Smith
Irving Rapper

DVD (Full Frame)

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Overview

Dismissed by critics as corny and obvious in 1944, this overlong but sincere biopic looks pretty good when seen today, cliches notwithstanding. Fredric March, 47 at the time, convincingly plays American author Sam Clemens, aka Mark Twain, from his early 20s to his death at 75. In typical movie-biography fashion, every single incident that happens in Twain's life is an INSPIRATION: he hears the depth-indication call "Mark Twain" while working on a riverboat and his face lights up; he engages in a jumping-frog contest against Bret Harte (John Carradine) and comes up with his first popular published story; and so on. Alexis Smith is better than usual in the role of Twain's wife Olivia Langdon, even keeping a straight face while Twain courts her in Fluent Quotation ("Everybody talks about the weather but nobody ever does anything about it", he says during a Hollywood-romance cloudburst). Though the script barely touches upon the dark side of Twain's nature, we are not spared his financial reverses (brought about by bad investments and his struggle to publish Ulysses S. Grant's memoirs. The closing sequence, with Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn beckoning the spirit of Mark Twain to heaven as Halley's Comet fills the skies, may seem laughable on paper, but works quite well on film; even director Irving Rapper expressed amazement at the effectiveness of this scene!

Product Details

Release Date: 03/03/2015
UPC: 0888574125745
Original Release: 1944
Rating: NR
Source: Warner Archives
Presentation: [B&W]
Sound: [Dolby Digital Mono]
Language: English
Time: 2:10:00
Sales rank: 29,829

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Fredric March Samuel Langhorne Clemens (Mark Twain)
Alexis Smith Olivia Langdon Clemens,Oxford Chancellor,Repeater
Donald Crisp J.B. Pond
John Carradine Bret Harte
William Henry Charles Langdon
Robert Barrat Horace E. Bixby,Horace E. Bixby
Walter Hampden Jervis Langdon
Joyce Reynolds Clara Clemens
Whitford Kane Joe Goodwin
Percy Kilbride Billings
Nana Bryant Mrs. Langdon
Dick Jones Sam Clemens (age 15)
Kay Johnson Jane Clemens
Jackie Brown Sam Clemens (age 12)
Eugene Holland Huck Finn
Michael Miller Tom Sawyer
Joseph Crehan Promoter/Ulysses.S. Grant
Cliff Saum Prospector
Harry Tyler Assistant Editor
Roland Drew Editor
Douglas Wood William Dean Howells
Willie Best George
Burr Caruth Oliver Wendell Holmes
Harry Hilliard John Greenleaf Whittier
Brandon Hurst Ralph Waldo Emerson
Davison Clark Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Monte Blue Captain
Paul 'Tiny' Newlan Boss Deckhand,Boss Deckhand
Ernest Whitman Stoker
Pat O'Malley Captain's Mate
Chester Conklin Judge
George Lessey Henry H. Rogers
Dorothy Vaughan Kate Leary
Gloria Ann Crawford Susie as a Child
Lynne Baggett Susie
Carol Coombs Clara as a Child
Charlene Salerno Jean as a Child
Joyce Tucker Jean
Charles Waldron Dr. Quintard
Paul Scardon Rudyard Kipling
Alan Hale Jr. Steve Gillis
Diana Barrymore Actor
Thurston Hall Actor
Bobby Larson Actor
Frank Mayo Actor
Lee Powell Actor
Frank Reicher Actor
Robert Homans Actor
Max Steiner Composer

Technical Credits
Irving Rapper Director
Alan LeMay Screenwriter
Harry Chandlee Screenwriter
John Crous Special Effects
Paul Detlefsen Special Effects
Jesse L. Lasky Producer,Producer
Lawrence Butler Special Effects
Eddie Linden Special Effects
Jack Warner Executive Producer
Robert B. Lee Sound/Sound Designer
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