The Adventures of Mark Twain (1944)
Has a deft lead performance by Fredric March in the title role and a fine first half which fulfills the narrator-hero’s opening statement that “I believe truth is a precious resource and ought to be used conservatively”.
Young Sam Clemens grows up on the Mississippi, becomes a riverboat pilot and casually performs incredible stunts of navigation, then goes out prospecting, leading to his making a hit wth his story “The Jumping Frog” culled from a scam he and a friend (Alan Hale) pull on John Carradine.
Has witty visual flourishes, like a miniature Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn abusing a dozing Twain from the page he’s working on to find out what happens next, and excellent special effects, this unfortunately finishes as an ordinary bio-pic, as Clemens marries the gorgeous Alexis Smith, who then has to deliver many speeches about how wonderful and important Mark is in case we don’t get it.
