The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1939)
Available on all-region DVD from Warner Brothers

Synopsis: This was a showcase for MGM's popular and versatile male star Mickey Rooney, who was Oscar-nominated the same year for Babes in Arms. Although it lacks the lavish Technicolor of David O Selznick's earlier The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, it does benefit from producer Joseph L Mankiewicz's insistence on filming on authentic river locations.

The members of the cast look perfect, as if they had just stepped out of Mark Twain's pages, particularly Rex Ingram, the genie in The Thief of Bagdad, as Jim the slave and Elizabeth Risdon as the Widow Douglass. Also wonderful to watch are Walter Connolly and William Frawley, who played Fred Mertz in I Love Lucy, as the two confidence tricksters. This was a mid-career work from prolific director Richard Thorpe, who made over a hundred films in 40-odd years.

Cast: Mickey Rooney
Runtime: 90 min