Mark Twain has always been my favorite author since I was a boy. I read voraciously but I always return to Mark Twain and if I was stranded on the proverbial deserted island and had to choose to take only books by one author, those books would be by Mark Twain.
This movie is wonderful although it takes great liberties with Twain's real life story. I have seen it several times over the years and, in fact, I am writing this review now because I just saw the last 20 minutes of it on a classic movie channel. The ending has to be the corniest tear-jerker of all times but it is also wonderful. Being a big, tough male, I have a total aversion to touchy-feely things and I am not one to cry even at funerals but the ending of this movie always makes me cry like a baby. It is shamelessly emotional but it is gets to me every time. If you haven't seen this movie, do so. The only problem is that I believe it is out-of-print on VHS and I don't think it has been released on DVD. Perhaps your local video store or your library has it. Don't confuse it with two more recent movies of the same name. One of those stars James Whitmore and I have not seen that one so I cannot comment on it. The other one is a claymation movie, presumably for kids.
Like another reviewer of this movie, Mark Twain changed my life. In fact, in many ways, he shaped my personality. That reminds me that I have not read any Twain works in a couple years so when I finish this review, I am going to start reading one again from my library. Those who only think of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn when they think of Mark Twain are missing so much. Many consider Twain to be the greatest American author of all time. I agree with those people. The world is a better place because of Twain.
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