In a remarkably poor year for films, Tom Jones snagged the Academy's Best Picture Oscar. It was an inexplicable choice.

The movie's biggest asset is the young Albert Finney in the title role. He's incorrigibly spirited in the part, outrageously bawdy and boisterous to the last. The film, however, despite frequent bursts of energy and ingenuity, often looks forced, preventing it from sustaining the momentum that would have made this a great period comedy. The dinner scene, however, is a classic.