The Film Adaptation of Mark Twain’s Roughing It – “To wander, to learn, to waste, to build.”
There have been many movies and television shows made about Mark Twain, but perhaps the best is the film adaptation of Twain’s book Roughing It.
Released in 2002 starring James Garner as Old Mark Twain and Robin Dunne as Young Samuel Clemens it portrays Clemens during his years “lighting out for the territory” and in Nevada just before he became known as his chosen pen name of Mark Twain. If you have Amazon Prime it is included for free along with your membership and you can buy the movie below from Amazon.com. Below the Amazon.com link you will find videos of the Roughing It movie now available on YouTube.com, and as you watch this film adaptation of Roughing It keep in mind that it doesn’t follow precisely what Mark Twain wrote in Roughing It, but no one really believes that everything Twain wrote in Roughing It really happened! At the end of Part 2 of Roughing It at the end of speech that James Garner as Mark Twain is making to Twain’s daughter Suzi’s graduating college class is a quote that if it wasn’t said by Twain it certainly could and should have >
“So it was I found my calling. I took a long way to it I suppose but maybe that was the only way there was to it. It’s part of the mysterious adventure of your life. Cause that’s what it is…an adventure. Where things happen when you least expect them, and often while you are doing something entirely different. There are 1,440 minutes in every day, yours to use as you see fit. To wander, to learn, to waste, to build. We didn’t make this world, but maybe we can make it a little better than it was when we came into it. It’s all up to you. Be optimistic about yourself, about your talents, about your calling. Put all your eggs in one basket and watch that basket. So now before I embarrass my own daughter Suzi any further let me say finally. Congratulations on your graduation and good luck with your lives.”
It seems to us that Mark Twain would have loved the sentiments expressed above and that certainly Twain in his life as James Garner says playing the man > “wandered, learned, wasted, and built” and so should we all.
Roughing It – 2002 – James Garner and Robin Dunne
