Classic Hollywood was named “classic” because the films of the era, even when not among the best, look like classics compared with their counterparts from later periods. That includes biopics, and one of the prime examples is The The Adventures of Mark Twain , a 1944 film directed by Irving Rapper.
The film follows the life of Mark Twain, the celebrated author of American literature, whose life began and ended with the passage of Halley's Comet. The script uses this as a framing device, starting in 1835 Missouri when Judge Clemens (played by Frank Wilcox), observing the comet, is summoned home for the birth of his son Samuel. The boy's life is shaped by the Mississippi River, where he spends many childhood adventures and later works as a riverboat pilot. A chance encounter with Charles Langdon (played by William Henry), during which Samuel glimpses a miniature picture of Langdon's beautiful sister Olivia (played by Alexis Smith), prompts him to seek his fortune in Nevada to marry her. His humorous story "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," published under the pen name "Mark Twain," makes him a rising literary star, and his wit and humour make him a popular lecturer. He marries Olivia, but his attempts to secure the family's finances through a new typesetting machine and publishing company lead him to the brink of bankruptcy, forcing him to write new novels and go on an international lecture tour, during which he receives an honorary doctorate from Oxford University. Shortly after this triumph, he becomes ill and dies, as he predicted, with the passage of Halley's Comet in 1910.
The Adventures of Mark Twain is a well-made but unimaginative film that epitomises Hollywood craftsmanship of its era. Director Irving Rapper provides solid direction and puts Warner Bros.' large budget to good use, reconstructing Twain's life mostly through studio sets. The script, based on a stage play by Harold M. Sherman and endorsed by Twain's estate, is subject to censorship issues with the Hays Code and the needs of World War II propaganda, leading to certain episodes of Twain's life being written out or given a romanticised or highly fictionalised treatment. The result is a series of vignettes that sometimes range in tone from humour to tragedy, with a relatively slow pace that makes the film over two hours long.
Rapper does experiment with style at times, using a ghostly Twain as a narrator breaking the fourth wall or portraying Twain's famous characters like Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn as real persons who appear as miniature apparitions talking to their creator. However, these scenes are short and serve as a distraction at best.
The film's standout feature is Fredric March's great performance as Twain, with the Oscar-winning actor intrigued by the idea of playing the same character as a young and old man. He is matched by Alexis Smith as the young and beautiful Olivia, though the makeup used in scenes when her character is older is not entirely convincing. The film is also helped by a very good music score by Classic Hollywood veteran composer Max Steiner.
Despite its flaws, The Adventures of Mark Twain represents a mostly satisfying biopic that serves as a good starting point for viewers who want to familiarize themselves with Classic Hollywood and one of the giants of American and world literature.
RATING: 6/10 (++)
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