Tom Jones (1963)

Directed by: Tony Richardson | 120 minutes | comedy, adventure, romance | Actors: Albert Finney, Susannah York, Hugh Griffith, Edith Evans, Joan Greenwood, Diane Cilento, George Devine, David Tomlinson, Rosalind Atkinson, Angela Baddeley, Avis Bunnage, Peter Bull, James Cairncross, George A. Cooper, Mark Dignam, David Warner

Returning home after a few weeks in London, the squire Allworthy finds a strange surprise in his bed: a cute little baby. Inquiry learns that the baby was put there by Jenny Jones, one of the maids at his mansion. Jenny had hoped to hide so much that she gave birth to an illegitimate child. Jenny and her lover are expelled from the estate in disgrace, but childless nobleman Allworthy decides to raise the boy as his own son. Tom grows up in prosperity and is surrounded with love. The fact that he can be a bit wild and is not averse to physical contact with women makes him extra popular. Also at Landsquire Western, the owner of the neighboring estate. Western thinks Tom is a great guy because of his excesses. This sympathy turns into aversion when Tom, a bastard and therefore by definition of low birth, expresses his love for Western’s daughter Sophie. Then it’s very wrong. But Sophie does look like a sweet doll, she knows very well what she wants. When Tom is forced to wander due to circumstances, a series of adventures begins for her too.

This film adaptation of ‘Tom Jones’ is an exuberantly acted, exuberant farce with a lot of throw and fling and bold humor. Not a refined costume film, but one made of very thick wood. And you have to love that. In any case, it’s a refreshing way to film a novel that’s a few centuries old in such a juicy way. At the same time, it is also somewhat reminiscent of amateur theater because of the grand gestures and unambiguously portrayed emotions that leave little room for nuances. The advantage is that the world is nice and clear in this way and that also has something. It’s funny to watch Albert Finney at work as a beautiful, somewhat empty-headed young man with a good disposition, if only because of his almost unrecognizable appearance: slender build with a full head of hair and a beautiful smooth skin. However, he clearly feels more at ease in the scenes that require more refined play than in the farcical parts, as if he has to do violence to himself and doesn’t always seem to know what to do with this almost peasant character. But the abundance of talent and his strong personality are already attracting attention here.

‘Tom Jones’ is a tasty farce with little nuanced acting, but otherwise fine to watch. And because of the lead role of a young Albert Finney, it’s worth watching anyway.