July 9, 2020
The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn – US, 1960
A narrative has emerged recently that slavery should be
presented on screen as it truly was. I understand these sentiments, and over
the years many such depictions have stayed with me, from the shocking scenes on
the slave ship in Steven Spielberg’s Amistad
to the willful cruelty depicted in 12
Years A Slave. Understandably, I wouldn’t want my five-year-old daughter to
see such images, and that begs the question: Just how do you begin to let
children know that mankind has not always been civil to its fellow man? Well,
showing them Michael Curtiz’s The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is one fairly sanitized option.
Why sanitized exactly? A few reasons. First, there’s the
complete absence of that particular word that has caused Mark Train’s book to
be the subject of conversations about book banning. Second, the film takes
place in Mississippi in 1851, yet the biggest threat to slaves seems to be that
their shackles will be too tight. Oh sure, there’s a remark here and there
about being whipped as punishment, but that possibility never elicits much of a
response, not even by the character most likely to be on the receiving end of
the torture. And then there’s the comedy. This comes in many forms – Tony Randall
and Mickey Shaughnessy as con men trying to swindle money from two young ladies
who have recently lost their father; Buster Keaton as a lion trainer/snake
charmer who keeps talking about radishes; and, it goes without saying, the
character of Huckleberry Finn, one of the more ingenious ones ever created.
Huck has the mind of a master improvisationalist, impressively finding creative
and humorous fixes for life’s everyday problems – well, his life’s that is.
Like the book, Curtiz’s film is essentially a boy’s personal
awakening to the evils of slavery. In an early scene, Huck loudly proclaims “I
ain’t no abolitionist,” and despite the fact that he says that to an abusive
father with a real loathing for such people, the sentiments are his. He expresses
the same ones later on to his friend Jim, who just happens to be one of his
aunt’s slaves. To escape his father’s drunken violence, Huck stages his own
death; meanwhile, Jim, upon hearing that he could be sold, decides to run away.
Together, the two of them board a raft and head down the Mississippi River,
each in pursuit of a freedom that neither has really known. As the journey
progresses, we witness Huck’s evolution on one of the most important issues of
his and our time.
Twain wrote The
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in the first person, thereby enabling
readers to follow along with Huck on his personal journey, and in perhaps its
most famous passage – and the one that I have vivid memories of my old friend
Tarrus Baker so elegantly reading in a high school English class – Huck
narrates his sudden awareness of the similarities between him and Jim. In doing
so, he is recognizing Jim’s humanity and sensing the righteousness of his quest
for freedom, and that shapes Huck’s actions from that point on in the story.
Screenplay writer James Lee elected not to have Huck narrate
his adventure, which makes sense if you want to avoid using offensive language
or make Huck likeable right off the bat. However, to have the same effect of
the printed word, the film needs a number of powerful close-ups of Huck - upon
hearing of Jim’s daughter, upon seeing a row of runaway prisoners being marched
back into bondage, upon seeing Jim in chains. Alas, most such moments are shot
from a distance, enabling the audience to see all of the key characters, but robbing
them of the raw emotions that would have been apparent had the camera simply
rested on Huck’s face for a few seconds.
So, the film is not as effective as the book, and Curtiz’s
momentary insertion of musical numbers is simply perplexing. Twice, Jim sings a
few bars of a song seemingly entitled “Huck Finn.” For what purpose, I’m not
entirely sure. And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the discomfort that some
might feel during Huck and Jim’s circus performance toward the end of the film,
for while I’m sure there were acts like theirs, it is harder to watch them nowadays
without cringing.
Eddie Hodges plays Huck exceptionally well, perfectly capturing
both his easy-going nature and his creative genius. However, the film is Archie
Moore’s on account of his brilliantly nuanced performance as Jim. Here is a
character living in a society that has legally stripped him of power, but not
been able to bend his will. Sure, there are times when Jim appears to be
ignorant of common things, which, if true, is not entire unexpected when people
are denied an education and not allowed to read. Still, he knows how to
survive, and this can involve playing naive at critical moments. Moore’s face
often hints that Jim knows a bit more than he lets on. He doesn’t overplay the
moment when Jim thinks he sees a ghost, and he absolutely nails the
conversations in which he opens up about his personal failings. We see why Huck
would change. The final exchange between the two characters is just beautiful, perfectly
conveying the bond that has developed between them, as well as
their understanding that this is likely the last time they’ll ever see each
other.
Inevitably, such films as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn are made for kids, and as such
they are stepping stones in their understanding of human beings and history.
Young viewers will leave the film having seen a transformation akin to the one
America experienced in the years preceding the American Civil War and which
readers have personally witnessed in the years since the release of Twain’s book
in 1884. The film is not perfect, but at a time when protesters are taking to
the streets to draw attention to the inequality that still exists and demanding
that society recognize the value of Black lives, it tells a tale that
demonstrates the value of listening and being willing and able to see our
common humanity. Huck puts himself in Jim’s shoes and is a better person for it. That remains a valuable lesson. (on DVD)
3 stars
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