I like very much seen Fess Parker and Buddy Ebsen working very good together
Even doe the Script and the Director made this movie very hard for me to enjoy.
Its fine for children but not one that I recommend for mature audiences. The film is not accurate and it is mostly boring the final fighting scene at the Alamo is disappointing to say the least.
"Give 'em What Fer, Davy."
Story books tell they wuz all cut low,
Truth of it is, it jest ain't so.
Their spirits'll live
an' their legends grow
as long as we remember
the Al-a-mo!
Davy, Davy Crockett,
fightin' fer lib-er-ty!
This compilation brings together the two feature films edited from the two Crockett series runs from the mid-1950s, the original 3-part mini-series ("Davy Crockett, Indian Fighter","Davy Crockett Goes to Congress", and "Davy Crockett At the Alamo") and the 2-part second series ("Davy Crockett's Keelboat Race" and "Davy Crockett & the River Pirates"). It is a great transfer of all the materials and something to kick back and utterly enjoy, both as nostalgia and as good cinematic storytelling.
While some of the historicity here is arguable ( there was, for instance, no Creek war chief named "Red Stick"...the "Red Sticks" were a warrior clan WITHIN the Creek nation...and led by a WHITE man) , the depiction of Crockett's character and personality as interpreted by Fess Parker, seem just about dead-on . And the verve and spirit of the thing, enlivened by Tom Blackburn's jaunty balladry, is just a feast for the soul. And what more is there to say about the performances of Buddy Ebsen as George Russell and Jeff York as the irrepressable Mike Fink except "Bravo" (and let's not overlook Kenneth Tobey, who played
Jim Bowie in the "Alamo" episode, only to turn around just a year later to appear as Mike Fink's "Gullywhumper" first mate, "Jocko").
An earlier reviewer "Richard Ceourdelion" (I hope Robin Hood got him safely returned to his throne) complained about not liking these compilations as much as the "real t.v. show". Like another reviewer, I would ask "Why don't you have both?". The complete t.v. series...with hosted commentary by Leonard Maltin and with all the Walt Disney introductions, commercials, credits, etc., intact, has been out for several years now as part of the "Disney Treasures" Collection (comes packaged in an aluminum 'tin' that replicates a film cannister). I have one and watch it often. This is the only place you can hear the COMPLETE "Ballad of Davy Crockett", as well as see all the wonderful line drawings that used to frame each episode. And you will also discover something you never before realized...that the episodes you saw as a child of the fifties on a black & white t.v. were juxtapositions of SOME scenes shot in technicolor and SOME scenes done in black and white. Strikes you odd now when you see it today...this switching back and forth...but it worked fine on b & w television "way back then".
Of course for the theatrical release compilations---what you see in the versions specifically under review HERE---all the black & white shots have been dropped and only the Technicolor footage retained.
The "movie" versions reviewed here are just fine for all of us who just want to see it through. You get the "meat" of the thing without all the extras. But if you want to see the entire
series AS IT WAS BROADCAST, track down the Disney Treasures edition.
Now, if only they will bring out "The Story of Robin Hood & His Merrie Men" (Richard Todd, Peter Finch), the SECOND best Robin Hood film after Errol Flynn's, THIS boomer will be a happy camper indeed (since "Darby O'Gill" IS out now, with "The Scarecrow of Romney Marsh" (Patrick McGoohan), reputedly in DVD preparation).
Happy days !
Complete TV series already released..
To the other reviewer who complained about the Movie version included here, you should know that the TV series was already released in 2001 under the Disney Treasures line.
Being a George O'Brien fan l immediately jumped at the chance of buying this DVD.Unfortunately the quality (sound and picture) are terrible.There is so much damage done to this copy,that at times it is difficult to understand what the actors are saying. I will never buy a DVD from this company again.Don't waste your money. More Info about this DVD Director(s): David Howard DVD Release Date: Released the 19 March 2002 Usually ships within 24 hours
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Strap on your pantaloons and prepare to travel with Jim Hawkins and Blind Pew to one of the most famous fictional islands in history. Walt Disney's 1950 adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's swashbuckling masterpiece has held up extremely well, with action and characterizations that feel freshly minted (although it's unlikely that the Mouse of today would sanction the high level of booze flowing throughout the picture). Great fun, with nary a wasted frame and, in the character of Robert Newton's much-imitated Long John, one of cinema's most boisterously crowd-pleasing villains ever. (Proving that you can't keep a good--er, bad man down, Newton would return with director Byron Haskins for the enjoyable sequel, Long John Silver.) Watching this classic is like having a flashback to... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Bobby Driscoll - Robert Newton - Basil Sydney Director(s): Byron Haskin DVD Release Date: Released the 29 April 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Disney's Great Locomotive Chase relates a true Civil War story about the Andrews Raiders, a team of 22 Union spies. In 1862 they snatched a train out from under the normally watchful eyes of Confederate troops based near Atlanta in a daredevil attempt to wreck the track and bridges of the Western & Atlantic Railroad. It was a high-stakes operation with a huge payoff. If they succeeded, they would effectively win the war; if they were caught, they were sure to be hanged. This 1956 feature shores up the suspense of the scheme masterfully. We watch, transfixed, as the relentless Confederate train conductor, William Fuller (played by the all-business Jeffrey Hunter) roars through a bevy of Southern stations hot on the heels of his hijacked locomotive. Will James Andrews (Fess Parker),... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Francis D. Lyon DVD Release Date: Released the 04 May 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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The swashbuckler genre bumped into science fiction in 1954 for one of Hollywood's great entertainments. The Jules Verne story of adventure under the sea was Walt Disney's magnificent debut into live-action films. A professor (Paul Lukas) seeks the truth about a legendary sea monster in the years just after the Civil War. When his ship is sunk, he, his aide (Peter Lorre), and a harpoon master (Kirk Douglas) survive to discover that the monster is actually a metal submarine run by Captain Nemo (James Mason). Along with the rollicking adventure, it's fun to see the future technology that Verne dreamed up in his novel, including diving equipment and sea farming. The film's physical prowess is anchored by the Nautilus, an impressive full-scale gothic submarine complete with red carpet and... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Kirk Douglas - James Mason Director(s): Richard Fleischer DVD Release Date: Released the 20 May 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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Looking for a way to make the American Revolution come alive for your child? Based on Esther Forbes's book of the same name, Johnny Tremain takes place in Boston from July 1773 through April 1775, and tells the story of a young apprentice silversmith drawn into a fight for human rights. When an accident cripples Johnny Tremain's hand and ends his hopes of becoming a great silversmith, Tremain finds himself without work and accused of a crime he did not commit. Sons of Liberty members Paul Revere and Josiah Quincy are outraged by the circumstantial case against Tremain, agree to represent him free of charge, and win his acquittal in court. Through association with his new friends, Tremain begins to better understand the current political climate, and eventually... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Robert Stevenson DVD Release Date: Released the 02 August 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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