Tom Jones (1963)

Tom Jones begins life under unusual circumstances when he is abandoned at the doorstep of Squire Allworthy. He grows to be quite the lady’s man, competing for the lovely Sophie with the jealous and manipulative Blifil, the legitimate heir of Allworthy.

Well, that was a surprise. After a few consecutive historical war epics and sweeping musicals, Tom Jones is a pretty cheap-looking Monty Python-esque comedy that’s only one poked eye or jabbed rib away from being slapstick. The film is silly as hell but luckily it’s silly on purpose and it is legitimately charming and funny until it overstays its welcome in the last half hour or so. I’ve always wondered what a young Albert Finney would look like and he’s a sharp-looking guy- he has to be for this comedy of errors to work. Lessons learned from Tom Jones? It seems that all you needed to do to get laid in 18^th century England was pelvic thrust behind a woman without permission and push her into the hay, and if that didn’t work then just drunkenly stumble into the forest until you find a wandering whore. Those are just a few of the misadventures that lie in store for you with Tom Jones. It’s worth the trip for a few good laughs at least, but enter at your own risk if you’re not a fan of goofy British antics or harpsichord.


Tim pretty much summed it up.  Play boy Tom Jones gets all the sex.  The slogan for this movie is, "The Whole World Loves Tom Jones!"  And boy, do they.  In the woods - mostly.  The restoration of this movie was the worst of any best picture winner so far and I bet ever.  There are scenes when it's so grainy it looks very green and shadowy.  This movie was funny and kitschy but kind of a weird best picture.  I mean, it definitely was refreshing.  I would much rather watch this than yet another three hour WWII film.  They were good... but come on.  It was crude, vulgar, and pretty funny.  Quite a welcome surprise!


Susannah York (Sophie Western) and David Warner (Blifil) would later play Superman's biological Kryptonian parents, though not in the same production. York played Lara Lar-Van in Superman and Superman II and Warner played Jor-El in Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman. 

Narrator: [after Tom celebrates Squire Allworthy's recovery with too much wine] "It is widely held that too much wine will dull a man's desire. Indeed it will... in a dull man."