Search - Walt Disney Treasures: Davy Crockett - The Complete Televised Series on DVD

Walt Knew What Legends Are Made Of

gobirds2 | New England | 04/23/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Davy Crockett is one of Walt Disney's most endeared and remembered live action characters. He was presented to American audiences by Walt Disney on the Disneyland TV Show in 1954. He was personified by Fess Parker beloved ever after by his sincere portrayal. This colorful and entertaining character was first seen in three episodes from the TV show ("Davy Crockett, Indian Fighter," "Davy Crockett Goes to Congress" and "Davy Crockett at the Alamo"). Parker, with his coonskin cap and homespun drawl and witticism created a nationwide phenomenon in 1954. Who can forget "The Ballad Of Davy Crockett" composed by George Bruns and Tom Blackburn. Buddy Ebsen played his sidekick George Russel, whose adventures take them from Tennessee to Washington, D.C. to the Alamo in the first three episodes. The series' third episode focusing on the defense of the Alamo, though well remembered, is somewhat labored until we see the final image of Davy Crockett passing into legend and glory. This straightforward and beautifully photographed series expounds the virtues of honesty, integrity and bravery. The country could not get enough of Davy so he and George Russel returned in 1955 for two more episodes ("Davy Crockett's Keel Boat Race" and "Davy Crockett and the River Pirates"). For Davy Crockett's second season on television the show was retitled "The Legends of Davy Crockett." The necessary title change came about because we had seen Davy come to his end defending the Alamo and Walt Disney wanted to continue bringing us his adventures. "Davy Crockett's Keel Boat Race" is about a riverboat race between Davy and another American folklore hero Mike Fink. "Davy Crockett and the River Pirates" is about Davy's attempt to stop an Indian uprising with Mike Fink's assistance. In some ways these two episodes are the best. Davy Crockett appears less the frontier fighter and more the good-natured peacemaker in these episodes. The riverboat race with Mike Fink is very entertaining and a high point in Disney's American frontier live action adventures. I don't even think John Ford could have filmed this sequence any better. Kenneth Tobey, who worked with John Ford, is excellent in a great comedic part (Fess Parker made note of Tobey's performance in a supplemental interview on the DVD). Walt Disney gave this actor a chance to demonstrate his great versatility and range as an actor. Also, Mike Fink's boats may look a little familiar since they are the basis for the riverboat ride at the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World. That's a nice nostalgic tie in! Bert Glennon's cinematography is beautifully picturesque as ever and is matched seamlessly with some very effective glass shot special effects by Peter Ellenshaw. This is one of the best DVDs to come from the Disney vaults. Walt Disney introduces each of the five episodes exactly as they were originally presented on the Disneyland TV Show. The Supplemental Features on this DVD are above and beyond what I had expected. Most of Disney's DVD extras seem to concentrate on the technical aspects of the feature presentation. This DVD focused more on the phenomenon that the legend of Davy Crockett created and the affect it had and continues to have on those who were brought up in those times. There are two exceptional Features: "A Conversation with Fess Parker" and "The Davy Crockett Craze." "The Gallery" of photos and memorabilia is also excellent. "A Conversation with Fess Parker" really hit home with me. Fess Parker appeared to be the genuine article that he was. In a world of eroded morals filled with dirt and filth everywhere you turn it was more than comforting to hear Fess Parker's fond recollections of his portrayal and the ideals that Walt immortalized through the tales of this legendary character. If your eyes feel a little watery its because your remembering a time not so long ago when our heroes were real heroes. This is one of the best and should help keep the legend alive for those that lived it, those that loved it and for those that will someday be touched by it."

Great Fun

Mark Baker | Santa Clarita, CA United States | 01/11/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have a confession to make. Even with as big a Disney fan as I am, I had never seen any of the Davy Crockett movies before this came out. I'd seen pictures and heard stories of the Crockett craze, but had no idea what these movies were really all about.This set of DVD's contains all five of the Davy Crockett episodes from the TV show Disneyland as they originally aired. This includes the opening show animation, Walt's intros and outros, and promos for next week's episode. They are presented here unedited and in their original order. Leonard Maltin introduces each episode and hosts the interviews on the second disc. Of those, the one about the Davy Crockett craze is ok, but hearing Fess Parker's memories is interesting, especially to a Disney fan like me. The picture and sound quality is great for something from the 50's, although I did notice that the picture does go to black and white once per episode.Watching these for the first time over the weekend, I was captivated by the movies. The scenery is beautiful and the acting is good. There are a couple spots where a couple stories seem to drag, but they never last long. My favorites are the two on the second disc, particularly the keel boat race. Still, I plan to rewatch all the episodes on these DVDs many more times.Any Disney fan will be pleased to have these in their collection. They are a fun trip to yesteryear for every generation to enjoy."

Walt Disney Treasures - The Complete Davy Crockett Televised

Mark Baker | 04/28/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When Davy Crockett was televised my parents and we three kids were not able to watch it on TV. Our Burbank, CA home in the Verdugo Hills overlooked Burbank, and had a wonderful view of all the San Fernando Valley and part of Los Angeles. Unfortunately, we had the Verdugo Hills between us and Mt. Wilson where all the TV transmitters were located. Fortunately, my dad was Tom W. Blackburn, writer of all the Davy Crockett TV screen plays and author of all the songs; George Bruns wrote the music. Eventually, my dad was able to borrow a copy of the 16mm film used by TV stations to boadcast the five Crockett Disneyland shows. Thus, in black and white, complete with all the commercials, in this pre-color era, we saw the full series. (One of the sponsors was Nash Automobile Company.) Even though everything was broadcast in black and white, the series was photographed in color with an eye to the future. Since then certain episodes were released on video tape, but as far as I know the whole set was never issued. Now we all have a remarkable opportunity to own them all on DVD. Be sure to understand that while the original show was b/w, all were shot in color and not colorized as another reviewer supposed. It would be wonderful if Disney would also release on DVD or tape other Disney shows my father wrote. "Johnny Tremaine" was a wonderful show in which Johnny was an apprentice to Paul Revere. Another is "Andy Burnett, Mountain Man." I thought both series to be as good as Davy Crockett. ... I believe all are now out of print."

Correcting an uninformed review

History Man | Potomac, Maryland USA | 06/25/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Regarding the review, below, written by "crazysunseteacher", this complete TV series DVD set is nothing at all like the two theatrical film releases. It contains the full, uncut original television episodes, as they were originally broadcast on "Disneyland" in the 1950s. These five TV programs included considerably more footage than the theatrical film releases.

The theatrical film releases have been available previously on VHS (and now on DVD) and anyone who bothered to watch them and compare them to the TV series DVD set would know immediately that there is considerable additional footage in the TV series, as released on this grand DVD set. There are even different musical cues in "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" in the film version that were specially written to accompany new film transitions. For starters, the very beginning of the film version omits the scene at Crockett's cabin with his family. How could you miss that if you watched the two versions at all?

The reviewer in question clearly did not bother to watch and compare carefully the two versions before posting the review. Please do not let this uninformed, inaccurate review dissuade you from buying this DVD set.

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