Tom Jones

In 1962, the epic Lawrence of Arabia took home the Academy Award for Best Picture, as was expected. It was, after all, a monumental achievement in filmmaking on every level. There was little doubt that it would be the victor when that envelope was opened and the title was read out. The same could not be said the following year when the nominees included Lilies of the Field; How the West Was Won; America, America; Cleopatra; and Tom Jones. Tom Jonesseemed like the opposite of what was traditionally the winner for Best Picture: a bawdy sex comedy that didn’t take itself too seriously. For some, this film didn’t belong listed amongst the best there was to offer, yet it managed to not only get the nomination that year, it actually won it, beating out traditional frontrunners in favor of a different, more unique film. We will never know how close the voting was that year, only that when all the ballots were tallied Tom Jones had won. 

To say that Tom Jones has not grown in estimation over the years would be an understatement. To this date, it is still considered a head-scratcher over how it managed to secure that win. But something about Tom Jones struck a chord with critics and the Academy in 1963; something that propelled it to eight Academy Award nominations, winning four. It had the fourth highest box-office returns in America for any film that year and the third highest in British returns. Its popularity is not in denial. But popularity and box office do not always make for the Best Picture of the year. 

The film opens with a direct homage to the silent era of films. While it is not in black-and-white, it is silent with dialogue cards and a silent film score to accompany the comically sped up actions. This opening sequence is perhaps the most interesting part of the entire film, viewing it as a tribute to the silent comedies of yesteryear. In this sequence, we learn everything we need to know about the humble beginnings of our protagonist. Tom Jones (Albert Finney) is found, as an infant, and is assumed to be the illegitimate child of one of the maids, Jenny Jones (Joyce Redman), and the barber, Mr. Partridge (Jack MacGowran). Squire Allworthy (George Devine), in whose house this is taking place, banishes the two and takes Tom to raise as his son. 

Tom grows up to be a lively individual, in part because of his social station, which denies him any real position of respect despite having money. While he is often chasing after whatever women he comes into contact with, his true love is for Sophie Western (Susannah York), the daughter of his neighbor. Sophie loves him, too, but Tom’s social status prevents their marriage, and her father is intent on her marrying Mr. Blifil (David Warner) instead. When his adoptive mother, Bridget, dies, she leaves him a note with information that could drastically change his future. But that letter is intercepted by Blifil, who withholds it from him. Instead, Tom is given a substantial cash legacy and sent out into the world to seek his fortune. Sophie runs away, refusing the advances of Blifil, but upon overhearing that Tom has been caught in bed with another woman, runs from him, too. The rest of the film is Tom’s attempts to find her again and convince her that he does love her, even though his social situation would seemingly prevent them from ever being married. 

Tom Jones is a unique film for a lot of reasons. For one, it is designed to feel like a silent picture, even after the introductory scenes. This is backed up by a score that is very reminiscent of the types you would hear coming from an in-theater pianist accompanying the show. This score, composed by John Addison, did such a good job of invoking this feel that it won the Oscar that year. It’s upbeat and old-timey in all the right ways, and older audience members, ones who would remember going to silent films just thirty-some years earlier, would have felt the nostalgia it was meant to stir up. 

The film also heavily relies on breaking the fourth wall. There is winking at the camera, double-takes, and even one moment when Tom Jones covers up the camera with his hat to avoid an unintentional glimpse at a woman caught in a compromising state of dress. There is also a narrator that calls out the old-fashioned edits where the camera moves away during the more steamy encounters, stating flat-out that it would be indecent to linger on such moments. Other times there are clear euphemisms for sex on full display, including the most bizarre scene in the entire film when Tom and Mrs. Waters (Joyce Redman), who also happens to be Jenny Jones from the beginning of the film, are sitting around a table and devouring fruit while staring into each other’s eyes. This scene is simultaneously hilarious and uncomfortable, even more so when realizing that, unknown to him, this may be his real mother. 

Tom Jones holds the distinction of being the only film in Academy Awards history to have three actresses nominated for supporting performances. Of the five performers nominated across the various acting categories, none took home the statue, a record that stands to this date, tied for that dubious honor with 1957’s Peyton Place. While it got blanked in those categories, it virtually cleaned up elsewhere, winning every other category it was nominated for with the sole exception being the Art Direction; that award went to the Elia Kazan film America, America, a movie about immigration in the late 1800s. 

Tom Jones is bawdy and off-color. There are times when the comedy overwhelms the drama in such a way that it loses track of the emotional narrative. The lead is also hard to get behind as he chases after woman after woman while at the same time loving Sophie. The film tries to excuse this by telling us he can’t have her so he pursues others, but that excuse can only take us so far. By the end, he has spent more time in the comfort of other women than his so-called true love, and so when he ends the film in her arms, there isn’t a feeling of triumph such a moment should have. We get no real sense that he is the type of man who could settle down with one woman, and that undercuts the romance of the moment. Ultimately, that makes Tom Jones, the movie, a letdown of an experience that worked better as a novel than it ever could pared down to a two-hour film. 

Academy Award Nominations:

Best Picture: Tony Richardson (won)

Best Director: Tony Richardson (won)

Best Actor: Albert Finney

Best Supporting Actor: Hugh Griffith

Best Supporting Actress: Diane Cilento

Best Supporting Actress: Edith Evans

Best Supporting Actress: Joyce Redman

Best Screenplay - Based on Material from Another Medium: John Osbourne (won)

Best Art Direction - Color: Ralph W. Brinton, Ted Marshall, Jocelyn Herbert, and Josie MacAvin

Best Music Score - Substantially Original: John Addison (won)

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Release Date: June 26, 1963

Running Time: 128 Minutes

Not Rated

Starring: Albert Finney, Susannah York, Hugh Griffith, Edith Evans, Joan Greenwood, Diane Cilento, George Devine, and David Tomlinson

Directed by: Tony Richardson