This film was one of the big hits of the year 1930, and the first sound film version of the book, and yet it is never mentioned. So when it showed up on youtube I thought I'd give it a whirl. It actually is nothing to write home about. It is true to the novel, although it just does a sharp transition at points because there was probably no artful way to move between chapters of the book. Also, the performances are quite natural. And maybe THAT is the reason it was a hit with 1930 audiences. If you look at other films from the same year - and I've looked at a bunch of them - very few have such good performances. There are lots of holdovers in acting style from the silent era with all of the broad exaggerated expressions that go with that. That would improve greatly in just the following year, but for the time this film was in the theaters, it was like a breath of fresh air.
David O. Selznick's more polished Technicolor 1938 version has seemed to bury this one in obscurity, so that most people, when they think about a 30s version of Tom Sawyer, think of that version. But if this one ever comes your way it is worth watching if just for Jackie Coogan's last juvenile role. He played the same part in 1931's Huckleberry Finn and at that point was aged out of childhood parts.
David O. Selznick's more polished Technicolor 1938 version has seemed to bury this one in obscurity, so that most people, when they think about a 30s version of Tom Sawyer, think of that version. But if this one ever comes your way it is worth watching if just for Jackie Coogan's last juvenile role. He played the same part in 1931's Huckleberry Finn and at that point was aged out of childhood parts.