Tom Sawyer (1973)

A young orphaned boy (the charmless Johnny Whitaker) is being raised by his Aunt (Celeste Holm). But he's a wild child who plays hooky from school and hangs out with a drunk (Warren Oates) and the irresponsible Huckleberry Finn (Jeff East). A musical adaptation of the classic novel by Mark Twain and directed by Don Taylor (DAMIEN: OMEN II). I've never been a big fan of Twain's book so I suppose that was already a mark against it before I even watched it. Still, I love musicals so I was prepared to give it some slack. Alas, the songs by Robert B. and Richard M. Sherman (MARY POPPINS) are a dreary bunch, not a winner in the whole pack. It's not a Disney film but it has that wholesome family friendly Disney feel to it. But for a family musical there are some unsettling moments like Injun Joe's (Kunu Hank) cold blooded killing of the doctor (Richard Eastham) and the chase in the cave when Injun Joe pursues Tom and Becky Thatcher (Jodie Foster) that might give the little ones some nightmares! Outside of Warren Oates (who gives the best performance in the movie), the acting is negligible. With Henry Jones, Lucille Benson and Noah Keen.