Tom Sawyer (1973)

(On Cable TV, January 2020) There’s a straight correlation between the crash of the movie musical in the 1970s and that decade’s insistence in adapting known properties as downbeat musicals. This being said, I’m not sure that Tom Sawyer is worth my usual eyerolls and criticism of 1970s musicals—in adapting the classic Mark Twain novel as a musical comedy largely shot on location, it avoids becoming an overly reverent stuffy take on the source material, and keeps its tone as a pleasantly mild comedy. It’s not that distinguished, but it’s not terrible either and things could get much, much worse in 1970s musicals. Amusingly produced by none other than Reader’s Digest magazine, the film hops from one episode to another in adapting the novel, and strings along the upbeat songs to go with the narrative. Jodie Foster shows up in one of her earliest roles. This version of Tom Sawyer is not something that you’ll remember for a long time, but it’s still an interesting take on one of the most sacred novels in American literature.