A filmic record of Mark Twain's America, effectively using contemporary prints of that period. The use of photographs to tell an historical story is not a new technique, although this film by N.B.C. Television is probably one of the longest and most elaborate. The subject matter is selected to sustain interest in that robust and charming world.

Mark Twain is, of course, very much an American Institution, and the film conveys a good deal of the fascination which this outstanding philosopher and wit holds out for the American imagination The commentary by Howard Lindsay makes use of a number of quotations from the author's work.