Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1985 – 86)

American Playhouse, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1985 – 86)

Time and tenacity were important factors in the broadcasting of Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn the following winter (1986) on educational television stations. There is no doubt that Twain’s Huckleberry Finn is an important American novel. Whether it is the American masterpiece will always be a topic of debate.

Twain’s compelling portrait of two dispossessed souls (Huck, a poor, beaten white boy, and Jim, a black man on the run from the degradation of slavery) is a powerful image. The television adaptation of Huckleberry Finn in four episodes over a month’s duration was not necessarily the most convincing way to bring this classic to the small screen. Although the story was approached with care and sensitivity, Jim, no matter how clean cut and sanitized, is still believed by many black Americans to be a cultural stereotype, so that he is articulate and does not rely on dialect does not raise his station.

In the second episode, Lillian appeared as Mrs. Judith Loftus, an elderly lady who lives in a shack away from the town and senses that the young girl who calls herself Sarah Mary Williams or Mary Sarah Williams doesn’t catch a tossed lump of yarn like a young girl would.

While the production utilized the top drawer talents of Richard Kiley, Barnard Highes, Sada Thompson, Jim Dale, and Geraldine Page in supporting roles, their appearances, wrote television critic John O’Connor for The New York Times, “fell into the category of standard guest shots, mildly interesting and looking a bit hurried.”  (Stuart Oderman)

Huckleberry Finn, a rambunctious boy adventurer chafing under the bonds of civilization, escapes his humdrum world and his selfish, plotting father by sailing a raft down the Mississippi River.

• Director: Peter H. Hunt
• Writers: Guy Gallo, Mark Twain (novel)
• Stars: Patrick Day, Jim Dale, Frederic Forrest

The cast:

Huck	Patrick Day	………………………………	Huck
Miss Watson	Anne Shropshire	………………………………	Miss Watson
Widow Douglas	Sada Thompson	………………………………	Widow Douglas
Tom Sawyer	Eugene Oakes	………………………………	Tom Sawyer
Jim	Samm-Art Williams	………………………………	Jim
Pap Finn	Frederic Forrest	………………………………	Pap Finn
Mrs Loftus	Lillian Gish	………………………………	Mrs Loftus
Col. Grangerford	Richard Kiley	………………………………	Col. Grangerford
The Duke	Jim Dale	………………………………	The Duke
The King	Barnard Hughes	………………………………	The King
Blind Negress	Butterfly McQueen	………………………………	Blind Negress
Sally Phelps	Geraldine Page	………………………………	Sally Phelps
Billy	Jason Hankins	………………………………	Billy

Based on the beloved tale by Mark Twain, this made-for-television movie follows tenacious young Huckleberry Finn (Patrick Day) as he fakes his own death to escape his abusive father, Pap (Frederic Forrest). Heading down the Mississippi River, Huck encounters a runaway slave, Jim (Samm-Art Williams), and joins him on his travels. Along the way, Huck and Jim run into an array of eccentric characters, including a shifty duo known as the Duke (Jim Dale) and the King (Barnard Hughes).

Adventures of Huck Finn PBS Playhouse 1986 Houston Chronicle Library

Back to Lillian Gish Home page