Hal Holbrook: Mark Twain Tonight! (1967)

“I used to tell lies, but I gave it up. The field is overrun with amateurs.” – Mark Twain

Number of Times Seen – 1 (6 Jun 2016)

Brief Synopsis – Famous one man show where Hal Holbrook portrays the great American author and humorist Mark Twain.

My Take on it – I have been interested in seeing this one man show for over a year ever since I watched the one-man show by James Whitmore who portrays Harry Truman in Give ’em Hell Harry (1975) and heard that this was done in a similar fashion.

After watching Barrymore (2011) which does the dame thing with the life of Lionel Barrymore, I was even more interested in seeing how Hal Holbrook does this.

Hal Holbrook has been playing this role for more than half a century and I’m interested to know whether much of the act has changed or evolved over the years.

The dialogue here is spectacularly written and manages to capture the wit and humor of Twain’s work.  Holbrook tell the stories in such a captivating way that we just want more and more from him.

The range of topics discussed here range from politics to family life to slavery but they all have one important factor in common and that’s the fact that the humoristic way it’s delivered hits it out of the park each and every time.

Bottom Line – Very entertaining one-man show that is one of a kind. Holbrook embodies the character so well and I’d be interested to see how he does the play now 50 years later.  The dialogue is spectacular and witty and the way that he tells the stories is extraordinary. The range of topics discussed vary so much, but they all have one thing in common; Twain’s wit hits it out of the park every time. Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – Although Hal Holbrook has been performing his Tony award winning one-man show of “Mark Twain Tonight” for over 55 years (2009), this Emmy Award winning presentation was the only time it was nationally televised. (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy

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