Tom Jones
Original film poster
Directed by	Tony Richardson
Produced by	Tony Richardson Michael Holden Oscar Lewenstein Michael Balcon
Written by	Henry Fielding (novel) John Osborne
Starring	Albert Finney Susannah York Hugh Griffith Edith Evans
Music by	John Addison
Cinematography	Walter Lassally
Editing by	Antony Gibbs
Distributed by	Lopert Pictures Corporation (US) United Artists Corporation (UK)
Release date(s)	September 29, 1963 (UK general release), October 6, 1963 (NYC premiere)
Running time	128 min.
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

Tom Jones is a 1963 British comedy film. It is 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,^[1] winning four Academy Awards. 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 movie, and characters sometimes break the fourth wall by looking directly into the camera and addressing the audience.

Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Production 3 Releases 4 Awards and nominations 4.1 Academy Awards 4.2 BAFTA Awards 4.3 Golden Globe Awards 4.4 Other awards 5 Cast 6 Footnotes 7 External links

[edit] Synopsis

The story begins with a silent-movie sequence during which the good Squire Allworthy returns home after a lengthy stay in London and discovers a baby in his bed. Thinking that his barber, Mr. Partridge, and one of his servants, Jenny Jones, 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 stigmatized 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 - 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 and Mr. Square, join forces to convince the squire that Tom is a villain. Allworthy (George Devine) gives Tom a small cash legacy and sorrowfully sends him out into the world to seek his fortune.

In his road-traveling 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, saves a certain Mrs. Waters 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. 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. Squire 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.

[edit] Production

Bridgwater's Castle Street was used as a location in several scenes.

[edit] Releases

The film was reissued in 1989; for this release, Richardson trimmed the film by seven minutes.^[1] The original full-length version is now once again available on DVD.

[edit] Awards and nominations

[edit] Academy Awards

Wins^[2]

• Best Picture
• Best Director
• Best Music, Score - Substantially Original (John Addison)
• Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium

Nominations

• Best Actor in a Leading Role (Albert Finney)
• Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Hugh Griffith)
• Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Diane Cilento)
• Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Dame Edith Evans)
• Best Actress in a Supporting Role (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.^[3] All three nominations were unsuccessful, however, as the Academy Award in this category went to Margaret Rutherford for her role in The V.I.P.s.

[edit] 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)

[edit] Golden Globe Awards

Wins

• Best English-Language Foreign Film
• Best Motion Picture - Comedy
• Most Promising Newcomer - Male (Albert Finney) (tied with Stathis Giallelis for America, America (1963) and Robert Walker Jr. for The Ceremony (1963).

Nominations

• Best Motion Picture Actor - Musical/Comedy (Albert Finney)
• Best Motion Picture Director (Tony Richardson)
• Best Supporting Actor (Hugh Griffith)
• Best Supporting Actress (Joan Greenwood)

[edit] 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)
• Best horse stunts and fencing sequence by stuntman & stunt director (Ray Austin)

[edit] Cast

[edit] Footnotes

[edit] External links

• Tom Jones at the Internet Movie Database
• Tom Jones at Allmovie
• Tom Jones at the TCM Movie Database

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Lawrence of Arabia	Academy Award for Best Picture 1963	Succeeded by My Fair Lady
Preceded by Lawrence of Arabia	BAFTA Award for Best Film from any Source 1963	Succeeded by Dr. Strangelove
Preceded by Lawrence of Arabia	BAFTA Award for Best British Film 1963	Succeeded by Dr. Strangelove

v • d • e The films of Tony Richardson 1950s Look Back in Anger 1960s The Entertainer • Sanctuary • A Taste of Honey • The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner • Tom Jones • The Loved One • Mademoiselle • The Sailor from Gibraltar • The Charge of the Light Brigade • Laughter in the Dark • Hamlet 1970s Nijinsky: Unfinshed Project • Ned Kelly • A Delicate Balance • Dead Cert • Joseph Andrews 1980s The Border • The Hotel New Hampshire 1990s Blue Sky Productions "Tales from Soho" (1956) • Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960) Television Othello (1955) • It Should Happen to a Dog (1955) • "BBC Sunday Night Theatre" (1955) • "ITV Play of the Week" (1956) • "The Sunday-Night Play" (1960) • A Death in Canaan (1978) • The Penalty Phase (1986) • Beryl Markham: A Shadow on the Sun (1988) • Women and Men: Stories of Seduction (1990) (with Frederic Raphael and Ken Russell) • The Phantom of the Opera (1990)

v • d • e Academy Award for Best Picture West Side Story (1961) · Lawrence of Arabia (1962) · Tom Jones (1963) · My Fair Lady (1964) · The Sound of Music (1965) · A Man for All Seasons (1966) · In the Heat of the Night (1967) · Oliver! (1968) · Midnight Cowboy (1969) · Patton (1970) · The French Connection (1971) · The Godfather (1972) · The Sting (1973) · The Godfather Part II (1974) · One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) · Rocky (1976) · Annie Hall (1977) · The Deer Hunter (1978) · Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) · Ordinary People (1980) Complete List · (1928–1940) · (1941–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001–present)

v • d • e Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy West Side Story/A Majority of One (1961) · The Music Man/That Touch of Mink (1962) · Tom Jones (1963) · My Fair Lady (1964) · The Sound of Music (1965) · The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming (1966) · The Graduate (1967) · Oliver! (1968) · The Secret of Santa Vittoria (1969) · MASH (1970) · Fiddler on the Roof (1971) · Cabaret (1972) · American Graffiti (1973) · The Longest Yard (1974) · The Sunshine Boys (1975) · A Star Is Born (1976) · The Goodbye Girl (1977) · Heaven Can Wait (1978) · Breaking Away (1979) · Coal Miner's Daughter (1980) Complete List · (1951–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001–present)