Huckleberry Finn (1974 film)

Synopsis

Huckleberry Finn (Jeff East) is a boy from Missouri living with a kindly widow and her sister who has taken him in. One day his father (Gary Merrill), previously thought dead, shows up because he heard of treasure Huck had found. Huck's pap essentially kidnaps the boy, wanting $1000 for his safe return. Staging his own death, Huck escapes and meets up with the kindly slave Jim (Paul Winfield). Together they travel downriver, in search of Jim's freedom.

Cast

Filming locations

Like Tom Sawyer, the film was shot in Arrow Rock and Lupus, Missouri. It was also shot in Natchez, Mississippi.

Setbacks in the film's production

The 1974 movie faced numerous setbacks in production. There was the sudden death of producer Arthur Jacobs halfway through the shoot. Director J. Lee Thompson had problems with the synchronized musical direction. The third major problem was the unfortunate timing of writer Robert B. Sherman's knee operation.

Without a producer, the film crew had difficulties managing the actors. Roberta Flack sang the classic, "Freedom" but insisted on having a guitar backing to her recording. She later threatened to sue if the original cast album was released with a dominant orchestral backing, and so although the album was recorded and printed, it was never released.

Despite these setbacks, the film still achieved some success and some of the film's songs, including "Freedom" are still considered classics.

Songs

The songs and score were written by the Sherman Brothers.

1. "Freedom". Sung by Roberta Flack (who did not approve of the musical arrangement and threatened a lawsuit if the original cast album were not remixed to her liking).
2. "Someday, Honey Darlin'". Sung by Paul Winfield.
3. "Rotten Luck". Sung by Gary Merrill (the entire song was filmed sans-sync except for the final line of the song in which we see Merrill look back at the cabin and say, "And now my luck... It ain't so bad!").
4. "Cairo, Illinois". Sung by Jeff East and Paul Winfield.
5. "A Rose In A Bible".
6. "Royalty!". Sung by Harvey Korman and David Wayne.
7. "The Royal Nonesuch". Sung by Harvey Korman.
8. "What's Right, What's Wrong?" Sung by Jeff East.
9. "Into His Hands". Sung by Harvey Korman.