The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn *** (1939, Mickey Rooney, Walter Connolly, William Frawley) – Classic Movie Review 9488

Director Richard Thorpe’s 1939 MGM movie The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn [Huckleberry Finn] is a very pleasant, pacey version of the Mark Twain classic, with lively Mickey Rooney as Huckleberry Finn and black star Rex Ingram as the fleeing slave Jim, with whom he takes a river raft trip, winning the day.

Rooney and Ingram are perfect in among their most memorable roles. Walter Connolly and William Frawley as ‘the King’ and ‘the Duke’, and Clara Blandick, who recreates her role from the 1931 Huckleberry Finn as Aunt Polly Watson, are the other hits among the adults.

With an unfussy, focused script, a pretty, colourful MGM production (though no actual colour, alas) and tidy, sparky direction, there is a lot of careful professionalism all round to admire and enjoy.

Also in the cast are Lynn Carver, Jo Ann Sayers, Minor Watson, Elisabeth Risdon, and Victor Kilian.

Rex (Clifford) Ingram was born on 20 October 1895 in Cairo, Illinois. He graduated from Northwestern University with a degree in medicine before an acting career that lasted 50 years. Ingram made his screen debut in the silent Tarzan of the Apes (1918).

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 9488

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