Customer Reviews

Walt Disney Treasures: Davy Crockett - The Complete Televised Series

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3 star:		(1)
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Davy Crockett is sometimes cheesy but it never fails to entertain. It has that Disney magic to it that we dont see anymore and probably never will see again from Disney. This collection of all of Davy's adventures gets its deserving treatment in the Walt Disney Treasures series and it truly is just that. I will admit, I bought this really to just complete my Treasures collection, but when I first saw it I was wowed. I was born a long time after this first aired, yet I could imagine what it would have been like. A great hero of American history coming to the tv screen on Sunday night back in the 60's. Davy Crockett, played by Fess Parker, starred in 5 features, all presented uncut as they were seen then, only now they are in color. That is a good thing though. All of the features have the original Walt Disney introduction from "Frontierland" and it is great to see classic footage restored this beautifully. The episodes included are:
Davy Crockett Indian Fighter
Davy Crockett Goes to Congress
Davy Crockett at the Alamo
Davy Crockett's Keelboat Race
Davy Crockett and the River Pirates

Davy dies in the third installment, only to return in two more adventures. Walt Disney explains why this is, as he was brought back due to the popularity of the character. This, along with the extras make this a great set to own, or at least watch once. Extras include:
"A Conversation with Fess Parker" Leonard Maltin & Fess Parker
"The Davy Crockett Craze" with Leonard Maltin
Easter Egg: "The Ballad of Davy Crockett"
Still Gallery

Normally I dont like watching cowboy/frontier/indian movies but I instantly loved these episodes. It is pure and simple entertainment that you wont see in today's more complicated time. But this is a great set, and also has a cool collectible tin to hold the case. This is a nice set, and although out of print you can find this without paying too much for it. No complaints on this dvd from me though, and I highly recommend it to Disney fans or anyone else in general. All I can say is check it out for yourself.

Walt Disney Treaures Review 4 of 11

Sorry, no easter eggs on this set. (hidden DVD features)

Disneyland USA, the fourth and final volume of wave 1, is probaly the most important. Here, as with all the others, the DVD is enclosed in a numbered tin, along with a lithograph of the poster for Autopia, and a program booklet with a list of features and a letter from Leonard Maltin, the host of the series. On disc 1, we trace the early years of Disneyland with two complete episodes from the original TV show. Each have an intro by Maltin

The Disneyland Story: The very first episode of the Disneyland Television series, which give clips of whats to come in each section of the Disneyland television series anthology. There is a sneak peek of Disneyland, a peek at the new Davy Crockett series, and a tribute to Mickey featuring two entire cartoons.

Dateline Disneyland: Join your hosts Art Linkletter, Ronald Reagan, and Bob Cummings as they cover live, the inagural day at Disneyland, with the late Reagan covering the dedication. This is the most important of the set, and is a treat for Disneyland film buffs and fans alike.

On disc two, there are two more shows in full color, with intros by Maltin.

Disneyland After Dark: Here, we get to meet amazing stars from the sixties, journey through Disneyland after dark, and meet a couple of the famous "Mouseketeers," including Annete Funicello.

Disneyland 10th Anniversary: This piece has two parts. One showing new attractions at Disneyland, mainly the then in progress Pirates of the Carribean, Haunted Manision and Its a Small World. Then the history of the park, during construction, new attractions and a lot of other juicy stuff.

Finally there are the bonus features.

The Magic Kingdom and the Magic of Television: This documentary gives a short history of the park and the Disneyland TV Show with Leonard Maltin

Gallery: A gallery of photographs and posters, as well as merchandise.

The smallest of the four in wave 1, Disneyland USA could have a little more material. However, that is a small price to pay for the historical broadcasts in this wonderful set. I'll write the reviews for Wave 2 tomorrow. See you then.

List of Reviews of Walt Disney Treasures:

Silly Symphonies
Mickey Mouse in Living Color
Davy Crockett
Disneyland USA
Mickey Mouse in Black and White
The Complete Goofy
Behind the Scenes at Walt Disney Studios
Mickey Mouse in Living Color Volume 2

The Chronological Doand Volume 1
On Front Lines
Tomorrowland

All with the complete list of features, including Easter Eggs! (hidden DVD features)

Walt Disney Treasures Review 3 of 11

This review tells you where to find the Easter Eggs! (hidden DVD features)

The third Walt Disney Treasure of Wave 1 is Davy Crockett, the Complete Televised Series. Here, there is a showcase of the complete episodes, with Walt's intros on the set. As all of them, this set features a limited numbered tin, a lithograph of the movie poster Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier, and a program booklet with the list of features and a letter from Leonard Maltin, host of the series.

On disc 1, there is an into that both discs share, then the fun begins. Each episode includes an intro by Leonard. Most of the show is in color, but there are parts where color footage could not be located.

Davy Crockett, Indian Fighter: This is the show that started it all. Basically all Davy does in this episode is fight indians, which results in piece with the Creeks at the end.

Davy Crockett Goes to Congress: Here, Davy tends to be more peaceful towards the indians. His whole amazing career begins when moving to find a cabin, buys the land, and fights Bigfoot Mason, who stole a piece of indian land. He gets elected to the state legislature and later to congress. He defends the indians in his brief stint there.

Davy Crockett at the Alamo: Walt admitted he would not kill of his hero here if he didn't know how popular he would be. This is one of the most accuracte portraits of a great moment of American history. (Unlike the crappy new Alamo Disney pumped out)

Well, that's disc one. 3 hours of fun. On disc 2, we get into a couple of legends of Davy.

Davy Crockett's Keelboat Race: The first of two films with Mike Fink, King of the River, Crockett race Fink to keep his furs he hunted for over a year that his partner, Russel, bet they could win while drunk.

Davy Crockett and the River Pirates: The indians are going to hit the warpath if they do not find out who the pirates hiding out in the cave are. Davy, along with Mike Fink, set out to kill the pirates.

EASTER EGG! On the bonus features menu, click on Davy's hat and see a clip from "The Disneyland Story" TV Show about Crockett.

The Davy Crockett Craze: Maltin is joined by Paul Anderson, auther of the book The Davy Crockett Craze, and talk about how successful and amazing the series was.

A Conversation with Fess Parker: At his winery in California, Leonard joins Fess Parker, the actor who played Davy in the series, to talk about his role in the series and the history of it.

Gallery: As with the otheres, here is a gallery of production photos and merchandise.

That is a smaller DVD and didn't take up as much space. I could tell you one thing, the quality is stunning, and the features are amazing. Now onto the final set in Wave 1.

I bought this DVD as a Christmas present for my 4 year old son, anticipating the "crockett craze" that I went through as a child. However, that didn't happen. The commentary just isn't necessary. Disney just as easily could have made the commentary a special feature, rather than showing it at the beginning of each feature. My kids don't care much for it, they just want to see the film. I really enjoyed the DVD, hence 3 stars rather than 1 or 2. If you're older, enjoyed the Crockett series as a child and really want to see an excellent film to DVD transfer, buy this DVD.

Over 40's - turn durn the colour and watch the first episode in black and white to be transported back to an idyllic childhood memory. Watch episode 2 then the river boat episodes. Finally Davy at the Alamo - this makes more sense than the order presented on the DVD. I cannot praise the transfer too highly (one of the river episodes does slip into B&W at some stage - probably due to lost footage being made up from other sources but this does not detract). Thank you Walt Disney.

The Walt Disney Treasures- The Complete Davy Crockett Television Series is a great DVD that is a must have for fans of the show. Telling the adventures of frontiersman Davy Crockett and his sidekick Georgie Russel, the five episodes follow the two men through the Creek Indian War, Davy's trip to Congress, the battle of the Alamo, a keelboat race with Mike Fink, and a showdown with river pirates. All five episodes look great. I never saw the original episodes so after seeing Davy Crockett King of the Wild Frontier for so many years, it was great to see the episodes as they were originally presented. This is a great DVD that tells the story of a larger than life frontier hero.

Fess Parker is the image many people think of when they hear the name Davy Crockett and its for a reason. Parker's performance is truly great as the frontiersman, hunter, adventurer, and Congressman, Davy Crockett. Equally as good is Buddy Ebsen as Georgie Russel, Davy's loyal sidekick. The relationship the two men have is what holds all of these episodes together. The series also starred William Bakewell as Major Norton, Basil Ruysdael as Andrew Jackson, Pat Hogan as Chief Red Stick, Mike Mazurki as Bigfoot Mason, Hans Conreid as Thimblerig, Nick Cravat as Busted Luck, Kenneth Tobey in two roles as Jim Bowie and Jocko, and Jeff York as Mike Fink. The DVD offers all five episodes(Davy Crockett, Indian Fighter, Davy Crockett Goes to Congress, Davy Crockett at the Alamo, Davy Crockett's Keelboat Race, and Davy Crockett and the River Pirates), introductions by Leonard Maltin, an extensive photo gallery, an interview with Fess Parker, and a mini-documentary about the Crockett craze. Fans of this great tv series should have this DVD in their collection. Check out this DVD!

I used to really like watching Davy Crockett when the Wonderful World of Disney came on. This video brings back all those warm fuzzies. This is not my best Davy though. This has Mike Fink the River King in it. Davy is a passive mellow guy and doesn't react to Finks braggert ways. Fink trys to bait him over and over but Davy just keeps plowing on and always wins the bad guys over. Fink and Davy eventually team up to find the river pirates who are posing as the Indians and thieving boats on the river. I relived some good old memories and got to feel like a little kid. I remember wanting a gun from Disneyland so I could be like Davy Crockett. Its kind of funny because I'm a girl but Davy was a real important symbol to me when I was little.
Lisa Nary

"Davy Crockett and the River Pirates" is actually a recobbling of the last two of the five Davy Crockett television shows presented by Walt Disney. The first three, which were on during the 1953-54 television season, had to do with the actual Davy Crockett, with the final one of those three shows ending with our hero's death at the Alamo. However, the character was so popular with audiences--every boy in America started sporting a coonskin cap--that Walt presented two further episodes the following season, dealing with the legend of Davy Crockett. Later these two episodes were joined together into a full-length motion picture called "Davy Crockett and the River Pirates."

The two episodes of this picture are very distinct in tone, with the first half being a lighthearted comedy centering around a boat race between Davy Crockett and his friend George Russel on the one hand, and riverboat captain Mike Fink, an historical figure, on the other. The second half keeps the three major characters together in a much more serious story as they outwit and defeat a team of bad guys who are making it dangerous for others to travel the Mississippi and also straining relations between the folks traveling the river and the Native Americans.

We are definitely in a man's world here. There are very few women in the picture and the ones who briefly appear have no lines. So it is up to the men to carry the story and they do so for the most part admirably.

Fess Parker certainly looks the part of Davy Crockett although I found his portrayal somewhat undernourished. Perhaps he came across more strongly in the three episodes from the previous season which I have not seen. And then again, he may have just been personifying the "strong, silent" type which was the masculine ideal of the time. Parker's portrayal stands out in further relief here by being up against the charismatic George Russel of Buddy Ebsen and the over-the-top Mike Fink of Jeff York.

I understand that Ebsen was originally scheduled to play Davy Crockett and was "demoted" to the sidekick role after Parker was discovered in a small role in a marauding-ant film called "Them!" Poor Buddy Ebsen, always losing out on plum roles; first the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz and now this. At least he finally got his revenge with The Beverly Hillbillies and later Barnaby Jones. And here we do get to see him let out with a couple of Jed Clampett-like whoops along the way.

Jeff York as Mike Fink steals every scene he is in. He is nominally the villain in the first half of the film, although it is impossible to dislike him, even when he is busy doing such dastardly deeds as sabotaging Davy's boat. His evil laugh goes so far that it strains credibility, but it doesn't matter. In the second half of the film, he ends up as Davy's and George's ally in defeating the bad guys. For me at least, he was the one of the three lead characters who stood out most strongly. I suspect that if the series had continued, that Mike Fink would have played an important role in any future stories. I wonder why Jeff York who plays Fink didn't have a bigger career than he did.

The minor characters are very well drawn, especially in the first half of the film. One of the standouts in this first half is Kenneth Tobey as Jocko, one of Fink's boatmen. Diminutive in stature, he nevertheless seizes the screen each chance he gets. Certainly his scene in the bar with Ebsen, where the latter is buying him drinks and trying to talk him into joining Davy's boat crew, is one of the highlights of the film. It's curious that most of the boatmen from the first half been replaced by much more anonymous characters in the second half. I wish they had kept Tobey around at least.

Overall, the second half of the film does not maintain the momentum or the interest of the first half. The first half gives some wonderful comedic opportunities to our trio of leads, while the story line of the second half is too serious to allow for much comedy. And then again, perhaps the character of Mike Fink works better as an antagonist than as an ally.

The film is very much a product of its time and so scenes depicting heavy drinking are numerous (although Ebsen does a marvelous job as the chandelier-riding Russel), as are scenes depicting our heroes as somewhat trigger-happy. These are the reasons that I gave the film four stars. I probably would have given it four and a half if I had had that option. And since these films are aimed at a somewhat younger audience, parents would be well advised to discuss these scenes with their children.

A couple of decades later, there was much ado about the concept of the "buddy film." This film may well have been one of the originals of that genre, as Davy Crockett and George Russel are obviously devoted to each other. To see an example of this, watch the scene where Davy sobers George up, forgives him for wagering the furs they are trying to sell on a boat race with Fink, and then sends the appreciative George back to the boat to sleep it off while he stays up through the night putting together a boat crew. Even though there is temporarily room for a third party such as Fink in this friendship, each of the two halves of the film ends with Fink going his way. The farewell scene midway through the picture is quite touching in fact. The emphasis that the film places on friendship, and friends looking out for each other, is probably the most positive aspect of the film. Even the drinking and violence in their own way play a part in promoting the theme of friendship.

I found this film very enjoyable both in itself and as a nostalgic throwback to the more innocent, if in some ways less enlightened, age of the 50s. I certainly recommend it, especially for family viewing.

"Davy Crockett and the River Pirates" includes both that fifth and final adventures of Davy Crockett (Fess Parker) and his friend Georgie Russell (Buddy Ebsen), and the previous tale "Davy Crockett's Keelboat Race." The common denominator between the two is not only the Mississippi River but also the self-styled King of the River, the braggart and brawler Mike Fink (Jeff York). Unlike the first three adventures of the legendary American collected together in the 1955 film "Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier," these 1956 tales place a greater emphasis on comedy (although Mike Fink's character is a lot more realistic in the second adventure).

The first half has Mike Fink getting Georgia all liquored up and betting all the furs he and Davy collected during the winter on the outcome of a keelboat race. The race down the Mississippi to New Orleans becomes as much of a battle of wits as anything else as Mike and Davy pull one trick on each other (Mike's tend to be more underhanded). However, in the end the two become friends, and when Davy and Georgie encounter the River Pirates led by Sam Mason (Mort Mills), Mike lends a hand. The problem is that the pirates have been dressing up as Indians to attack boats on the river and this is causing tensions between the real Indians and the settlers. If there is one thing that defines Davy Crockett in these Disney adventures it is the fact that he is a friend to the Indians, which means our hero has to do something about this outrage. With Mike Fink pretending to be a tycoon, Davy sets a trap for the bad guys in the second half of the adventure.

While entertaining, "Davy Crockett and the River Boat Pirates" will probably appeal more to younger kids, while older folks will prefer the original three episodes, both on nostalgic grounds and artistic principles. After all, the first three were looking more at the historical Davy Crockett and this pair is more about the legendary figure. Parker does not seem as comfortable with the slapstick as he does with Davy's more serious side. When compared to "Davy Crockett at the Alamo" it is a bit hard to believe this is the same character. To underscore the point, compare the character of Jocko that Kenneth Tobey plays in these two Mississippi adventures with his fine performance as a realistic and fatalistic Jim Bowie at the Alamo; as well as anything those performances show the difference between the "historical" and "legendary" adventures of Disney's Davy Crockett.

This is Disney live action at its best!

I have loved these storeis since a young girl when they appeared on the Sunday night Wonderful World of Disney. Although geared for young boys, girls love these stories too.

Wonderful scenery. Wonderful lessons of river history from a bygone era. Frequent mentions of the Ohio River, Pittsburg, Kentucky, Natchez and New Orleans.

Adults and children well love this video.