Producer: Jesse L. Lasky. Copyright 13 May 1944 by Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc. New York opening at the Hollywood: 3 May 1944. U.S. release: 6 May 1944. Australian release: 10 January 1946 (sic). 11, 928 feet. 132 minutes.SYNOPSIS: The life and careers of Samuel Langhorne Clemens from his birth in Florida, Mo., on 30 November 1835 to his death in Elmira, N.Y., on 21 April 1910.NOTES: Nominated for Academy Awards for Art Direction (black and white) (lost to Gaslight); Music Scoring of a Drama or Comedy (lost to Steiner's own Since You Went Away); Special Effects for which oddly neither Butler nor Linden were nominated. Instead the nominees were Paul Detlefsen and John Crouse for the photography, Nathan Levinson for the sound. (Lost to Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo).COMMENT: Produced on a remarkably lavish scale, this long film traces Twain's career from his birth in 1835 to his death in 1910. This is not the usual reverent, inaccurate Hollywood hodgepodge. The lively, witty script deals first with Twain's boyhood in the Mississippi of Tom Sawyer. The 12-year-old Clemens is well played by Jackie Brown. After glimpsing Twain as an apprentice printer to his brother Orion (played by Russell Gleason), we are plunged into an exciting section dealing with Twain's experiences as a river pilot, based on "Life on the Mississippi". After this, Twain turns to prospecting with Alan Hale and we are introduced to the celebrated jumping frog. I always imagined this incident would defy screen adaptation, but the writers and the director have not only succeeded in doing the impossible, they have turned it into sparkling entertainment. Later, Twain goes on lecture tours and, as they are presented in this film, it is not difficult to imagine why Twain was so popular. He was the Bob Hope of his era - save that he wrote his own material and his jokes are still so fresh they even have present-day audiences convulsed with laughter. Of course, a great deal of the film's success is due to the splendid playing of Fredric March and the very able supporting cast. The sets are also most impressive, ranging from the plush gambling saloon of the "Queen of Dixie" to an accurate reproduction of the Great Hall at Sydney University, and the number of extras is phenomenal. Max Steiner's music score is very effective, particularly in the riverboat-in-the-fog sequence where it is quite out of character with the composer's usual approach - and all the better for this innovation! The fine photography is the work of Sol Polito.

I sort of chuckled when I read a few of the other reviews. I didn't know anyone realistically expected biopics from the 1930s through 1950s to be accurate. I'm not sure I've ever seen one that was. What I realistically expect is to sometimes find biopics from that era to have a shade of truth and some good acting. From that perspective, this is pretty darned good! Frederick March is far from one of my favorite actors, but as he matured I found him to be quite good, and in this film, excellent. Most of the supporting actors do fine, including Alexis Smith, Alan Hale, and the always welcome Donald Crisp. The production values are surprisingly good, although as one reviewer pointed out, the ship Twain piloted couldn't have possibly had the gambling hall depicted. As one reviewer pointed out, the details of Twain's bankruptcy were botched, but in terms of being an entertaining movie, it was close enough to keep the plot moving forward. If you want an accurate biography, this isn't it (although it's certainly closer to the truth than, for example, the Cary Grant biopic of Cole Porter).

Of course, this biography of Mark Twain will be of interest to any admirer of the man - which is why I rented it - or to any fan of Fredric March, who gives a fine performance as usual...however, the complexity and objectivity we'd expect of a modern biography is sorely lacking. Sure, some of Twain's less successful moments and un-PC jokes are depicted in this movie, but the overall tone is 100% laudatory. This movie indulges in several clichés of the biopic genre, such as the twirling-newspaper montage sequences, as well as a greatest-hits jokes montage featuring audiences cackling like they're on drugs. Many plot points seem manipulatively sentimental, and the performances by some supporting players are mawkishly earnest and come off as laughable to the modern viewer. And - of course - the portrayal of African Americans is, to put it politely, unfortunate. The movie, in order to end on a relatively high note, leaves out some of Twain's later life tragedies and more bitter attitudes he adopted in his old age. Happily, this first big attempt at a Twain film biography was not the last and Twain fans received better film portraits of the author in subsequent years.

I really enjoy movies like this one, it tells not only about the life of a real person, the the time he grew up in, & lived it, I feel at least once in a person's life they should take the time to watch this movie~ the actor Fredric March gave a brilliant performance.I can't think of any actor today except maybe for Harrison Ford, that could play this role, with realism. It takes a very gifted actor to play this part and Fredric March even looks and acts more like Mark Twain, then even Mark Twain himself. I would like to know how others feel about this movie, and if it had any effect on their lives at all? I know it did me, I began to write, keep notes in my notebook in high school, I wanted to be a writer, and over the years I have had several articles published and a book. Thanks~