Best Picture Winner: 1963

Tom Jones (1963)

The reason why some have lavished so much praise on Tom Jones escapes this viewer. A chaotic, characterless period piece that delights in its sexual audacity, Tom Jones reminds me of a Benny Hill episode, except it isn’t nearly as funny. The first hour or so is at times almost painful. Luckily the second half picks up nicely thanks to some plot complications and an increase in laughs. But that’s not enough to make it a film that demands more than one viewing.

Tom Jones (Albert Finney) is an illegitimate child who is raised by a wealthy squire in 19th Century England. A dashing, handsome figure he is a hit with the ladies and is unable to turn any adoring woman down, even though he is in love with Sophie Western (Susannah York). He is intensely disliked by the squire’s nephew Blifil (David Warner) who plots to have Tom ejected from the family home. Can the flawed but decent Tom Jones find true love and clear his name?

For much of Tom Jones’ first half the movie feels utterly formless. Incident is stacked upon incident as director Tony Richardson’s camera careens merrily catching every tryst and confrontation, and at times speeds up to move things along. Drunken and stuffy character types are overplayed. Sometimes an off-screen narrator will make pithy observations. The problem is that this is all not that funny. Nor is there any real attempt at character. It’s hard to get involved in the story and Tom Jones never connects with the audience the way he should.

Finney is handsome and strapping as Tom Jones but fails to make this guy the ingratiating cad he’s supposed to be. He does not so much act as be acted upon, giving in to any lass who desires him. Only when he’s forced out on his own does he get to show some canastas, such as dueling with a soldier in defense of a lady’s honor. But most of the time he seems so aloof that it’s hard to really care about him.

Even if we’re not to take this all seriously there is still the problem that Tom Jones isn’t terribly humorous. Hugh Griffith is fun as Sophie Western’s besotted, belligerent father. But it seems like the film makers take it for granted that the audience will find any challenges to the aristocracy and social conventions amusing. Sure, the cast seems to be having a good time. The same cannot be said for the viewer.

With few laughs and no characters Tom Jones succeeds neither as a comedy or drama, or some combination of both. Perhaps to a 1963 audience this was something new. But today Tom Jones is a film where seeing it once is more than enough.