Mark Twain's beloved classic about a free-spirited Southern boy came to the big screen in 1939, featuring Mickey Rooney, star of numerous movies including the Andy Hardy series. The movie stayed fairly faithful to the book and was received well by audiences and critics alike.

Huck would rather idle away his days living by the Mississippi but his guardian, Widow Douglas, wants him to be a proper gentleman. The boy chafes under the rules of behavior and etiquette the old woman imposes on him but she's much preferable to his own father, the drunkard 'Pap' Finn. When Huck overhears his father extorting money from the widow (which she will pay if she wants to keep Huck), he decides to run away rather than impoverish the kindly old woman. Pap catches the boy and locks him in a shed, where Huck fakes his death and escapes down the river. Along the way, he meets his friend Jim, Widow Douglas's slave, who is running away to join his wife in  freedom. Unbeknownst to both of them, the whole town believes that Jim murdered Huck and dumped him in the river.

The two friends have many misadventures during their trip, mostly revolving around the schemes of two con men, the "King" and the "Duke." The two villains pretend to help Jim in his escape but are really after him for the reward money. The King and the Duke's plans are thwarted at the last time by Huck and an honest riverboat captain but Huck and Jim have to hide in the woods to escape a posse hunting for Jim. Huck is bitten by a snake and taken back to town by Jim, who chooses to save the boy even if it means facing a lynch mob. When Huck recovers from his wound, he finds that Captain Brandy has sent Jim back home to answer for the murder charge without knowing that Huck is the supposed murder victim. The two race back on Brandy's riverboat and save Jim just in the nick of time. Widow Douglas is overjoyed to have the boy back even though he's a monstrous pain in the neck and Huck resolves to be a little more obedient for his kindly guardian. The widow also frees Jim who travels on to join his wife.

The movie tried to explore most of the central themes of the book, including racial prejudice and segregation, despite attitudes of the time and censorship. Mickey Rooney shone in the lead role of the roguish boy and Rex Ingram turned in an equally strong performance as Jim. In the 1960s, the movie was re-edited into a 30-minute version that was shown in schools around the country, hopefully inspiring students to read the book.