Huckleberry Finn (1974 film)
Encyclopedia
Huckleberry Finn is the 1974 musical film
version of Mark Twain
's American classic, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
The movie was produced by Reader's Digest
and Arthur P. Jacobs
(known for his role in the production of the Planet of the Apes
films) and starred Jeff East
as Huckleberry Finn
and Paul Winfield
as Jim
. The film contains original music and songs, such as "Freedom" and "Cairo, Illinois", by the popular Sherman Brothers
, Robert B. Sherman
and Richard M. Sherman
.
This film followed the previous year's highly successful Tom Sawyer, based on Twain's novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
, also produced and written by the same team and starring East in the role of Huckleberry Finn.
) is a boy from Missouri
living with a kindly widow and her sister who has taken him in.
One day his father (Gary Merrill
), previously thought dead, shows up because he heard of treasure Huck had found.
Huck's pap essentially kidnaps the boy, wanting $1000 for his safe return. Staging his own death, Huck escapes and meets up with the kindly slave Jim (Paul Winfield
). Together they travel up river, in search of Jim's freedom.
had problems with the synchronized musical direction. The third major problem was the unfortunate timing of writer Robert B. Sherman's knee
operation.
Without a producer, the film crew had difficulties managing the actors. Roberta Flack
sang the classic, "Freedom" but insisted on having a guitar
backing to her recording. She later threatened to sue if the original cast album was released with a dominant orchestral backing, and so although the album was recorded and printed, it was never released.
Despite these setbacks, the film still achieved some success and some of the film's songs, including "Freedom" are still considered classics.
.
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
version of Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
's American classic, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
The movie was produced by Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest
Reader's Digest is a general interest family magazine, published ten times annually. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, its headquarters is now in New York City. It was founded in 1922, by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace...
and Arthur P. Jacobs
Arthur P. Jacobs
Arthur Jacobs was a twentieth century film producer responsible for numerous classic films of the 1960s and 1970s, including the Planet of the Apes series, Doctor Dolittle, Goodbye, Mr. Chips, Play It Again, Sam and Tom Sawyer...
(known for his role in the production of the Planet of the Apes
Planet of the Apes (1968 film)
Planet of the Apes is a 1968 American science fiction film directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, based on the 1963 French novel La Planète des singes by Pierre Boulle. The film stars Charlton Heston, Roddy McDowall, Kim Hunter, Maurice Evans, James Whitmore, James Daly and Linda Harrison...
films) and starred Jeff East
Jeff East
Jeff East is an American actor. His best-known role is in the 1978 hit film Superman as the teenage Clark Kent.-Film and television credits:...
as Huckleberry Finn
Huckleberry Finn (character)
Huckleberry "Huck" Finn is a fictional character created by Mark Twain, who first appeared in the book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and is the protagonist and narrator of its sequel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. He is 12 or 13 years old during the former and a year older at the time of the latter...
and Paul Winfield
Paul Winfield
Paul Edward Winfield was an American television, film, and stage actor. He was known for his portrayal of a Louisiana sharecropper who struggles to support his family during the Great Depression in the landmark film Sounder which earned him an Academy Award nomination. Winfield also portrayed Dr....
as Jim
Jim (Huckleberry Finn)
Jim is one of two major fictional characters in the classic novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. The book chronicles the journey of Jim and Huckleberry "Huck" Finn down the Mississippi River in the antebellum Southern United States. Jim is an adult African American who has escaped...
. The film contains original music and songs, such as "Freedom" and "Cairo, Illinois", by the popular Sherman Brothers
Sherman Brothers
The Sherman Brothers are an American songwriting duo that specialize in musical films, made up of Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman ....
, Robert B. Sherman
Robert B. Sherman
Robert Bernard Sherman is an American songwriter who specializes in musical films with his brother Richard Morton Sherman...
and Richard M. Sherman
Richard M. Sherman
Richard Morton Sherman is an American songwriter who specializes in musical film with his brother Robert Bernard Sherman....
.
This film followed the previous year's highly successful Tom Sawyer, based on Twain's novel The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain is an 1876 novel about a young boy growing up along the Mississippi River. The story is set in the Town of "St...
, also produced and written by the same team and starring East in the role of Huckleberry Finn.
Synopsis
Huckleberry Finn (Jeff EastJeff East
Jeff East is an American actor. His best-known role is in the 1978 hit film Superman as the teenage Clark Kent.-Film and television credits:...
) is a boy from Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
living with a kindly widow and her sister who has taken him in.
One day his father (Gary Merrill
Gary Merrill
Gary Fred Merrill was an American film and television character actor whose credits included more than fifty feature films, a half-dozen mostly short-lived TV series, and dozens of television guest appearances....
), previously thought dead, shows up because he heard of treasure Huck had found.
Huck's pap essentially kidnaps the boy, wanting $1000 for his safe return. Staging his own death, Huck escapes and meets up with the kindly slave Jim (Paul Winfield
Paul Winfield
Paul Edward Winfield was an American television, film, and stage actor. He was known for his portrayal of a Louisiana sharecropper who struggles to support his family during the Great Depression in the landmark film Sounder which earned him an Academy Award nomination. Winfield also portrayed Dr....
). Together they travel up river, in search of Jim's freedom.
Setbacks in the film's production
The 1974 movie faced numerous setbacks in production. There was the sudden death of producer Arthur Jacobs halfway through the shoot. Director J. Lee ThompsonJ. Lee Thompson
John Lee Thompson , better known as J. Lee Thompson, was an English film director, active in England and Hollywood.- Early years :...
had problems with the synchronized musical direction. The third major problem was the unfortunate timing of writer Robert B. Sherman's knee
Knee
The knee joint joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two articulations: one between the fibula and tibia, and one between the femur and patella. It is the largest joint in the human body and is very complicated. The knee is a mobile trocho-ginglymus , which permits flexion and extension as...
operation.
Without a producer, the film crew had difficulties managing the actors. Roberta Flack
Roberta Flack
Roberta Flack is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who is notable for jazz, soul, R&B, and folk music...
sang the classic, "Freedom" but insisted on having a guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
backing to her recording. She later threatened to sue if the original cast album was released with a dominant orchestral backing, and so although the album was recorded and printed, it was never released.
Despite these setbacks, the film still achieved some success and some of the film's songs, including "Freedom" are still considered classics.
Cast
- Jeff EastJeff EastJeff East is an American actor. His best-known role is in the 1978 hit film Superman as the teenage Clark Kent.-Film and television credits:...
as Huckleberry FinnHuckleberry FinnThe Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a classic Mark Twain novel.Huckleberry Finn may also refer to:*Huckleberry Finn , a fictional character in the Adventures of Tom Sawyer... - Paul WinfieldPaul WinfieldPaul Edward Winfield was an American television, film, and stage actor. He was known for his portrayal of a Louisiana sharecropper who struggles to support his family during the Great Depression in the landmark film Sounder which earned him an Academy Award nomination. Winfield also portrayed Dr....
as Jim - Harvey KormanHarvey KormanHarvey Herschel Korman was an American comedic actor who performed in television and movie productions beginning in 1960...
as The King - David WayneDavid WayneDavid Wayne was an American actor with a career spanning nearly 50 years.-Early life and career:...
as The Duke - Arthur O'ConnellArthur O'ConnellArthur O'Connell was an American stage and film actor. He appeared in films in 1941 and television programs...
as Col. Grangerford - Gary MerrillGary MerrillGary Fred Merrill was an American film and television character actor whose credits included more than fifty feature films, a half-dozen mostly short-lived TV series, and dozens of television guest appearances....
as Pap - Natalie TrundyNatalie TrundyNatalie Trundy is an American actress, and the widow of movie producer Arthur P. Jacobs.She made a sizeable contribution to the Planet of the Apes movie series during the 1970s. She appeared as the telepathic mutant Albina in the first sequel, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, as Dr...
as Mrs. Loftus - Lucille BensonLucille BensonLucille Benson was an American actress known for her roles in commercials, television, and movies in the 1970s and 1980s.-Personal life:...
as Widow Douglas - Kim O'Brien as Maryjane Wilks
- Jean Fay as Susan Wilks
- Ruby Leftwich as Miss Watson
- Odessa ClevelandOdessa ClevelandOdessa Cleveland is an American film and television actress.-Career:Odessa Cleveland is best known for her role as Lieutenant Ginger Bayliss, a recurring character on the television series M*A*S*H, on which she appeared for 20 episodes from 1972 to 1974; and 2 episodes in 1977.Cleveland also had a...
as Jim's wife
Songs
The songs and score were written by the Sherman BrothersSherman Brothers
The Sherman Brothers are an American songwriting duo that specialize in musical films, made up of Robert B. Sherman and Richard M. Sherman ....
.
- "Freedom". Sung by Roberta FlackRoberta FlackRoberta Flack is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who is notable for jazz, soul, R&B, and folk music...
who did not approve of the musical arrangement and threatened a lawsuit if the original cast album were not remastered to her liking. - "Someday, Honey Darlin'". Sung by Paul WinfieldPaul WinfieldPaul Edward Winfield was an American television, film, and stage actor. He was known for his portrayal of a Louisiana sharecropper who struggles to support his family during the Great Depression in the landmark film Sounder which earned him an Academy Award nomination. Winfield also portrayed Dr....
. - "Rotten Luck". Sung by Gary MerrillGary MerrillGary Fred Merrill was an American film and television character actor whose credits included more than fifty feature films, a half-dozen mostly short-lived TV series, and dozens of television guest appearances....
, the entire song was filmed sans-sync except for the final line of the song in which we see Merrill look back at the cabin and say, "And now my luck... It ain't so bad!". The unsynchronized direction of this musical number did not work very well and did not seem motivated or natural. - "Cairo, Illinois". Sung by Jeff EastJeff EastJeff East is an American actor. His best-known role is in the 1978 hit film Superman as the teenage Clark Kent.-Film and television credits:...
and Paul WinfieldPaul WinfieldPaul Edward Winfield was an American television, film, and stage actor. He was known for his portrayal of a Louisiana sharecropper who struggles to support his family during the Great Depression in the landmark film Sounder which earned him an Academy Award nomination. Winfield also portrayed Dr....
. - "A Rose In A Bible".
- "Royalty!". Sung by Harvey KormanHarvey KormanHarvey Herschel Korman was an American comedic actor who performed in television and movie productions beginning in 1960...
and David WayneDavid WayneDavid Wayne was an American actor with a career spanning nearly 50 years.-Early life and career:...
. - "The Royal Nonesuch". Sung by Harvey KormanHarvey KormanHarvey Herschel Korman was an American comedic actor who performed in television and movie productions beginning in 1960...
. - "What's Right, What's Wrong?" Sung by Jeff EastJeff EastJeff East is an American actor. His best-known role is in the 1978 hit film Superman as the teenage Clark Kent.-Film and television credits:...
. - "Into His Hands". Sung by Harvey KormanHarvey KormanHarvey Herschel Korman was an American comedic actor who performed in television and movie productions beginning in 1960...
.