Mark Twain
Samuel Clemens, better known by his nautical non de plume, was a keen wit and a hugely popular humourist and speaker in his day. He travelled the world as a guest speaker, even visiting New Zealand in 1895. When he was four years old, his family moved to a port town on the Mississippi, the inspiration for his fictional St Petersburg that would feature in 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer' and its companion 'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'. His home state of Missouri was a slave state, and the impact of this would feature heavily in his writing and in his political beliefs. Beginning his writing career as a journalist, Twain wrote many entertaining travel logs and essays along with his famous novels. His later life was marked with tragedy as he out-lived his wife and three of his four children. Born in 1835 two weeks after Halley's Comet visited our orbit, he died in 1910, jsut after the comet had returned.
"I came in with Halley's Comet in 1835. It is coming again next year, and I expect to go out with it..." - Samuel Clemens
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court / The Emperor Waltz (1949)
Director: Billy Wilder, Tay Garnett
Starring: Bing Crosby, Rhonda Fleming, Cedric Hardwicke, William Bendix, Joan Fontaine, Ro...
This classic Bing Crosby Double Feature begins with 'A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court' (1949). Adapted from Mark Twain's story, Bing is a... Read more
Huck and the King of Hearts (1993)
5.5/10
Director: Michael Keusch
Starring: Chauncey Leopardi, Dee Wallace, Christopher Stone, Graham Greene, John Astin, Jo...
An updated version of Mark Twain's classic, this adaptation has the same adventurous young Huck in the world of early 1990's America, making his way a... Read more
Huckleberry Finn (1974)
5.4/10
Director: J Lee Thompson
Starring: Arthur O'Connell, David Wayne, Gary Merrill, Natalie Trundy, Paul Winfield, Harv...
A delightful musical adaptation of Mark Twain's most famous novel. Huckleberry Finn, a rambuctious boy adventurer chafing under the bonds of civilizat... Read more
Mark Twain (2001)
8.4/10
Director: Ken Burns
Nearly three years in the making and drawing from 63 hours of material, thousands of archival photographs and nearly 20 interviews with top writers an... Read more
The Million Pound Note (1953)
Director: Ronald Neame
Starring: Gregory Peck, Jane Griffiths, Ronald Squire
From the Mark Twain fable about an American receiving a one million pound note and the ensuing turmoil. This well-acted tale stars Gregory Peck, Jane... Read more
Tom and Huck (1995)
5.6/10
Director: Peter Hewitt
Starring: Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Brad Renfro, Eric Schweig
Those immortal Mark Twain heroes, Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn, are given the Disney treatment in this colourful and exciting family film. Follow their ad... Read more