Tom Jones is a 1963 British adventure comedy film, an adaptation of Henry Fielding's classic novel The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (1749), starring Albert Finney as the titular hero. It was one of the most critically acclaimed and popular comedies of its time, winning four Academy Awards, including Best Picture. The film was directed by Tony Richardson and the screenplay was adapted by playwright John Osborne. The film is notable for its unusual comic style: the opening sequence is performed in the style of a silent film, and characters sometimes break the fourth wall, often by looking directly into the camera and addressing the audience, and going so far as to have the character of Tom Jones suddenly appearing to notice the camera and covering the lens with his hat.
Plot
The story begins with a silent film sequence during which the good Squire Allworthy (George Devine) returns home after a lengthy stay in London and discovers a baby (played by a girl, Lynn Goldsworthy) in his bed. Thinking that his barber, Mr. Partridge (Jack MacGowran), and one of his servants, Jenny Jones (Joyce Redman), have "birthed" the infant out of lust, the squire banishes them and chooses to raise little Tom Jones as if he were his own son.
Tom (Albert Finney) grows up to be a lively young man whose good looks and kind heart make him very popular with the opposite sex. However, he truly loves only one woman, the gentle Sophie Western (Susannah York), who returns his passion. Sadly, Tom is stigmatised as a "bastard" and cannot wed a young lady of her high station. Sophie, too, must hide her feelings while her aunt (Edith Evans) and her father, Squire Western (Hugh Griffith) try to coerce her to marry a more suitable man â€" a man whom she hates.
This young man is Blifil (David Warner, in his film debut), the son of the Squire's widowed sister Bridget (Rachel Kempson). Although he is of legitimate birth, he is an ill-natured fellow with plenty of hypocritical 'virtue' but none of Tom's warmth, honesty, or high spirits. When Bridget dies unexpectedly, Blifil intercepts a letter, which his mother intended for her brother's eyes only. What this letter contains is not revealed until the end of the movie; however, after his mother's funeral, Blifil and his two tutors, Mr. Thwackum (Peter Bull) and Mr. Square (John Moffatt), join forces to convince the squire that Tom is a villain. Allworthy gives Tom a small cash legacy and sorrowfully sends him out into the world to seek his fortune.
In his road-travelling odyssey, Tom is knocked unconscious while defending the good name of his beloved Sophie and robbed of his legacy. He also flees from a jealous Irishman who falsely accuses him of having an affair with his wife, engages in deadly swordfights, meets his alleged father and his alleged mother, a certain Mrs. Waters, whom he saves from an evil Redcoat Officer, and later beds the same Mrs. Waters. In a celebrated scene, Tom and Mrs. Waters sit opposite each other in the dining room of the Upton Inn, wordlessly consuming an enormous meal while gazing lustfully at each other.
Meanwhile, Sophie runs away from home soon after Tom's banishment to escape the attentions of the loathed Blifil. After narrowly missing each other at the Upton Inn, Tom and Sophie arrive separately in London. There, Tom attracts the attention of Lady Bellaston (Joan Greenwood), a promiscuous noblewoman over 40 years of age. She is rich, beautiful, and completely amoral, though it is worth noting that Tom goes to her bed willingly and is generously rewarded for his services. Eventually, Tom ends up at Tyburn Gaol, facing a boisterous hanging crowd after two blackguardly agents of Blifil frame him for robbery and attempted murder. Allworthy learns the contents of the mysterious letter: Tom is not Jenny Jones's child, but Bridget's illegitimate son and Allworthy's nephew. Furthermore, since Blifil knew this, concealed it, and tried to destroy his half-brother, he is now in disgrace and disinherited. Allworthy uses this knowledge to get Tom a pardon, but Tom has already been conveyed to the gallows; his hanging is begun, but is interrupted by Squire Western, who cuts him down and takes him to Sophie. Tom now has permission to court Sophie, and all ends well with Tom embracing Sophie with Squire Western's blessing.
In its original release, the film ran 2 hours and 7 minutes.
Cast
- Albert Finney as Tom Jones
- Susannah York as Sophie Western
- Hugh Griffith as Squire Western
- Edith Evans as Miss Western
- Joan Greenwood as Lady Bellaston
- Diane Cilento as Molly Seagrim
- George Devine as Squire Allworthy
- David Tomlinson as Lord Fellamar
- Rosalind Atkinson as Mrs. Millar
- Wilfrid Lawson as Black George
- Rosalind Knight as Mrs. Fitzpatrick
- Jack MacGowran as Partridge
- Freda Jackson as Mrs. Seagrim
- David Warner as Blifil
- Joyce Redman as Mrs. Waters/Jenny Jones
- James Cairncross as Parson Supple
- Rachel Kempson as Bridget Allworthy
- Peter Bull as Thwackum
- Angela Baddeley as Mrs. Wilkins
- George A. Cooper as Fitzpatrick
- Jack Stewart as MacLachlan
- Patsy Rowlands as Honour
- John Moffatt as Square
- Avis Bunnage as Innkeeper
- Mark Dignam as Lieutenant
- Michael Brennan as Jailer at Newgate
- Lynn Redgrave as Susan
- Redmond Phillips as Lawyer Dowling
- Julian Glover as Northerton
- Ray Austin as Henchman / stunt Director
Production
Bridgwater's Castle Street was used as a location in several scenes. Bryanston Films hesitated to make the film in colour and shortly went bankrupt. The film was financed by American production money through United Artists.
The production suffered from more than the usual disasters, near-disasters and squabbles attending films shot on location in English weather. Tony Richardson was dissatisfied with the final product, notwithstanding its acclaim by others. In his autobiography Richardson wrote:
"I felt the movie to be incomplete and botched in much of its execution. I am not knocking that kind of success â€" everyone should have it â€" but whenever someone gushes to me about Tom Jones, I always cringe a little inside."
Cinematographer Walter Lassally has said that in his opinion the location unit got on very well together under the circumstances, and that the experience was satisfying. He thought Richardson rather lost his way in post-production, endlessly fixing what was not really broken.
Several of the sequences are regarded as brilliantly photographed by Lassally, such as the hunt scene and the village square scene.
Box office
The film was highly successful financially, becoming the third most popular at the British box office in 1963, and the 4th most popular in the United States. Produced on a budget of $1 million, it grossed $37,600,000 domestically, earning $16 million in rentals in North America and $4 million in the rest of the world.
Releases
The film was reissued in 1989; for this release, Richardson trimmed the film by seven minutes. The original full-length version is now once again available on DVD.
Awards and nominations
Academy Awards
- Wins
- Best Picture (Tony Richardson, Michael Holden, Oscar Lewenstein, producers)
- Best Director (Tony Richardson)
- Best Substantially Original Score (John Addison)
- Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium (John Osborne)
- Nominations
- Best Actor â€" Albert Finney
- Best Supporting Actor â€" Hugh Griffith
- Best Supporting Actress â€" Diane Cilento
- Best Supporting Actress â€" Dame Edith Evans
- Best Supporting Actress â€" Joyce Redman
- Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color (Ralph W. Brinton, Ted Marshall, Jocelyn Herbert, Josie MacAvin).
Tom Jones is the only film in the history of the Academy in which three actresses were nominated for Best Supporting Actress Oscar. All three nominations were unsuccessful, however, as the Award went to Margaret Rutherford for her role in The V.I.P.s. Tom Jones's five unsuccessful acting nominations matched the record set by Peyton Place at the 30th Academy Awards, the last film to date to do so.
Ilya Lopert accepted the Academy Award for Best Picture on behalf of the producers. Upon Lopert's death the award was passed on to Finney, who played the title role.
BAFTA Awards
- Wins
- Best Film from any source
- Best British Film
- Best British Screenplay (John Osborne)
- Nominations
- Best British Actor (Albert Finney)
- Best British Actor (Hugh Griffith)
- Best British Actress (Edith Evans)
Golden Globe Awards
- Wins
- Best English-Language Foreign Film
- Best Motion Picture â€" Comedy
- Most Promising Newcomer â€" Male (Albert Finney) (tied with Stathis Giallelis for America, America (1963) and Robert Walker Jr. for The Ceremony (1963).
- Nominations
- Best Motion Picture Actor â€" Musical/Comedy (Albert Finney)
- Best Motion Picture Director (Tony Richardson)
- Best Supporting Actor (Hugh Griffith)
- Best Supporting Actress (Joan Greenwood)
Other awards
New York Film Critics Circle Awards
- Best Actor (Albert Finney)
- Best Director (Tony Richardson)
- Best Picture
Venice Film Festival
- Volpi Cup: Best Actor (Albert Finney)
- Golden Lion: Tony Richardson (nom)
Writers' Guild of Great Britain
- Best British Comedy Screenplay (John Osborne)
Grammy Awards
- Best Original Score from a Motion Picture (John Addison)
See also
- BFI Top 100 British films
References
External links
- Tom Jones at the Internet Movie Database
- Tom Jones at the TCM Movie Database
- Tom Jones at AllMovie
- Tom Jones at Rotten Tomatoes