70
It has sex, Eastmancolor, some prime performers and plenty of action. Tony Richardson has directed John Osborne’s screenplay with verve, though, occasionally, he falls back on camera tricks and editing which are disconcerting.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
90
The New York Times by Bosley Crowther
One of the wildest, bawdiest and funniest comedies that a refreshingly agile filmmaker has ever brought to the screen.
75
ReelViews by James Berardinelli
Tom Jones succeeded in large part because of its wit, its performances, and its energy.
50
Chicago Reader by Jonathan Rosenbaum
Despite the fitful energy and the beauty of the settings, the ugliness of the mise en scene and the crudity of the editing tend to triumph.
80
New York Daily News by Kate Cameron
A fast-paced, tongue-in-cheek movie about an engaging foundling.
70
The New Yorker by Pauline Kael
Tony Richardson whizzes through the Henry Fielding novel, but he pauses long enough for a great lewd eating scene.
75
Entertainment Weekly by Ty Burr
Screenwriter John Osborne and Richardson (both received Oscars as well) came up with a smart solution to the problem of adapting an 18th-century literary classic: Turn it into bawdy slapstick with generous helpings of then- daring sex and violence.