Huckleberry Finn 1939

[Maurice Leakey]

I have just bought a 16mm copy of the 1939 "Huckleberry Finn" with Mickey Rooney. I enjoyed the film but it left me with some questions. Perhaps someone who knows the story can explain my queries.

1) Why did the townsfolk think Huck had been murdered?
2) Why did the townsfolk think that Jim (the slave) had killed Huck's father?
3) How did Huck's father die?
4) How did Jim get a "not guilty" verdict in his trial?

Perhaps I missed some important points as the story did weave away from the general story with the introduction of the two card sharpers who were thrown off the riverboat for cheating at their card play.

[Steve Lee]

Maurice. Are you sure your print is not missing a reel? Only joking.

[Maurice Leakey]

A polyester print on two 1600ft spools running a total of 91 minutes, as per the Internet Movie Database.

[Ed Gordon]

I have just bought a 16mm copy of the 1939 "Huckleberry Finn" with Mickey Rooney. I enjoyed the film but it left me with some questions. Perhaps someone who knows the story can explain my queries.

1) Why did the townsfolk think Huck had been murdered?
2) Why did the townsfolk think that Jim (the slave) had killed Huck's father?
3) How did Huck's father die?
4) How did Jim get a "not guilty" verdict in his trial?

Perhaps I missed some important points as the story did weave away from the general story with the introduction of the two card sharpers who were thrown off the riverboat for cheating at their card play.

Maurice, your questions are going to puzzle US forum members, since in the US, this book is often studied in schools. If you copy and paste your questions into an internet search you will get all of your questions answered. For instance the answer to question #3 is:

It is only at the end of the novel that Huck discovers that the dead man was in fact his dad. Jim tells Huck that his dad is never going to return because the dead man they found in the house on the river "wuz him." Jim says that this is why he didn't allow Huck to look at the dead man's face. He didn't want Huck to realize that the dead man, who had been shot in the back and left to die naked on the floor, was his dad.

The murderer responsible for the death of Huck's dad is not revealed, and the author does not describe Huck's reaction to the revelation.

Link: https://www.enotes.com/homework-help...ad-die-2744873

Some plot points are not fully explained by Twain, and of course screenplays are nothing more than a digest of the original work.

What is the best film version of Huckleberry Finn?

None so far.The 1939 version did not show what Twain wrote about Huck learning that Jim was a person, and the intrinsic evils of slavery in the first place.Later versions sought to make it so “suitable for children” that its underlying lessons were lost.What is most amusing is the use of “cute children” to play Huck. Huck was quite a rough-hewn person, full of cuss words and an official “hater of blacks.” No film so far has dared show his actual change as Twain wrote it.Dunno if anyone ever will.

Link: https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-be...y-Finn?share=1

[Maurice Leakey]

Many thanks for your comments, Ed.

I realise that MGM did somewhat alter the original story to fit their requirements of a movie.

A reviewer on the Internet Movie Database had this to say:-

"Louis B. Mayer just had to give it the MGM cornball effect with scenes which are not in the novel and which change the meaning and transformation of Huck's character."

However, the film was a box office hit of 1939 and a top 20 hit of its year.

Perhaps someone who has also seen this film may have the answers to my questions.