Tom Jones (1963)

Robert Osborne, TCM host, introduced this film as being a "hoot" and said that the screen was filled with "hellzapoppin" visuals. Robert Osborne is losing his mind.

Basically, Tom Jones is a maid's illegitimate son, who's taken in by the master of the house and raised as a gentleman. But Tom just can't get enough of the ladies and that gets him into trouble. Once he's booted from his adoptive home resulting in the loss of the virginal true object of his affection and his inheritance, he sets off to find his own way in the world. This, for Tom, means finding ever more willing women to bed.

Wow -- that last paragraph makes the movie sound a lot more entertaining than it is. I'm not sure how, with such a winning star (Albert Finney) and lively base story, the film went so wrong. But, I'm here to tell you that it did. It's boring as all get-out. I can't believe this was named the top picture of 1963 over Cleopatra and Lilies of the Field, two far superior movies.

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