Davy Crockett and the River Pirates

"Davy Crockett And The River Pirates" was originally produced for television and was broadcast on ABC as two episodes of the "Disneyland" series in 1955. It is very easy to see why there was a Crockett phenomenon at the time. Fess Parker is perfect as Davy, and his sidekick, Georgie Russel, is played by Buddy Ebson, a few years before "Beverly Hillbillies". They play off of each other like a perfectly matched pair of shoes. This film is wonderful and makes me wish that Disney had made more of them back in the 1950's. Unfortunately, however, the interest in Crockett was winding down by the time this one played in the theaters, and Disney used Fess Parker in other movies, like "Old Yeller" and "Westward Ho! The Wagons" Still, this is a great film that is a lot of fun. The boats were later taken to Disneyland and utilized as the Mike Fink Keelboats ride. -- One sidenote here: the keelboats were removed from Disneyland in 1996 following an accident that dumped a load of passengers into the water! -- As with most of the old Disney titles, I greatly recommend this film.

The little songs are the best, in fact, only Davy's music... Davy Crockett... Adorable, the film is kind of like that simple children's comic western, some good action scenes, and regular, comic hints...

This was a theatrical compilation of two episodes of Davy Crocket series that were aired on ABC TV Disneyland , 55-56 years , taking footage here and there . In this adventure and comical Western movie is narrated myths and legends in hilarious style of the famed American frontiersman and explorer . I deals with Davy and his colleague Georgie Russell , Buddy Ebsen, vying a boastful fatty called Mike Frank , Jeff York, nicknamed " the King of the river" in a boat race to city of New Orleans and along the way they encounter some nasty river pirates .After that , once the competition is finished , Crockett and Georgie supported by Mike take on the river pirates who are attempting to rob the sailors of their possessions . The plot is is simple, the first part concerns about a fun race in which our friends compete against "The King of the River" and fight off each other to win the risked competition ; second part deals with the three allied friends battling pirates who disguising as Native American to take earthly supplies from naive boat passengers ; this plot bears remarkable resemblance to the classic film" How the West was won" by Ford , Marshall and Hathaway, in which mountain man James Stewart was robbed by river pirates In Cave-in-Rock , the same place where was shot this Davy Crockett and River Pirates . As usual, Fess Parker and and his sidekick Buddy Ebsen give sympathetic performances . They are accompanied by Jeff York as the sly , boastful Mike providing a lot of laughters and mayhem .York starred various chapters of Disneyland and "The great locomotive chase" along with Fess Parker .And an enjoyable support cast as Mort Mills, Kenneth Tobey , Clem Bevans, Douglas Dumbrielle and Hank Worden .This movie was actually 2 episodes of Disney TV show spliced together and released as feature movie .Walt Disney shot this show in color in spite of few color TV's were being sold, yet . As a result , these two Crockett episodes could be turned into an amusing picture by stitching them together . This one contains agreeable musical score by George Bruns , Disney's regular ,including classic song "The ballad of Davy Crockett" sung by singer Bill Hayes , lyrics Thomas Blackburn , it had number 1 billboard pop hit in 1955 .Colorful cinematography by Bert Glennon , shot on location in Cave In Rock , Illinois and New Orleans, though is urgent necessary a perfect remastering .The motion picture was well directed by Norman Foster who directed various Disneyland episodes , adventure movies ,and numerous Western series and films such as Tombstone territory , Bat Masterson, Viva Cisco Kid , The sign of Zorro , Navajo , Crazy and Custer the untold story and Rachel and the stranger. Rating : 6.5/10 essential and indispensable watching for adventure fans and Davy Crockett series enthusiasts . Well worth seeing.

This was the second of two Disney Crockett theatrical features, edited from a pair of Disneyland TV episodes during that show's second season. The first three Crockett stories, run during the first season and then later released theatrically as a mini-epic, were all at least in part based on Crockett's life, as the opening image - his journal allowing us to slip inside - makes clear. The follow-ups were based on the famed Almanacks that appeared after Crockett's death in 1836, and so are right filmed in a much broader style, visually suggesting a tall tale rather than a fact based adventure. In the first half, Davy (Fess Parker) and pal Georgie (Buddy Ebsen) engage in a legendary keel boat race with Mike Fink (Jeff York). Lots of good natured action-fun. In the second part, they join forces to eradicate the wicked river pirates who not only prey on innocent passersby but blame their wicked deeds on the innocent Indians. That allows for a highly effective message, much like that in the first film, whereby Crockett becomes a spokesman for Indians' rights. As always in Disney, the entertainment qualities are balanced with an attempt to educate the audience on the greatness of ethnic diversity. Some fifty years after its release, this is still a delight.

*Spoiler/plot- 1956, The story contains two major plots, both dealing with American river history. Mr. Crockett meets and become friends with Mr. Fink on the Ohio & Mississippi Rivers after a challenge of a river race to New Orleans. Then, both heroes team up to clean-up outlaw river pirates that are threatening the peace with the local river Indian tribes. *Special Stars- Fess Parker, Buddy Ebsen, Jeff York, Kenneth Tobey *Theme- Honesty will win out every time. *Based on- Crockett and Fink legendary tales of history *Trivia/location/goofs- Crockett and Fink were real men and historical folk heroes. This is the second feature film released from Watt Disney Buena Vista Productions consisting of several Disneyland ABC TV show episode material. The Mike Fink keel boat race was one TV episode and the river pirates were another TV episode. The first Davey Crockett feature film was 'Davey Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier'. Davey Crockett and the River Pirates were filmed on the actual locations of the Ohio River and other great American rivers. The 'Davey Crockett' fan mania was huge in America due to the popularity of Fess Parker and Buddy Ebsen with this TV show. Disney went on to create more of these public fan 'mania' with Guy 'Zorro' Williams and many other folk heroes. These actors were now for making personal appearances at Anahiem's Disneyland theme park and across the country. Look for the typical Disney on screen non-violence in the fight scenes and the obvious moral to the actions of the series heroes at the episode's end scenes. *Emotion- Rather well made movie and thoroughly enjoyable especially for those who lived through this era of Disney TV history in the first ABC network series. Full of fun and good memories for the 'Baby Boomer' crowd, hopefully new ones for the younger set.

Disney's Davy Crockett (played by a man named Fess...for real) is one of the least interesting heroes in history. No downfalls, no conflicts, no personal demons; he reminds me of a contestant on The Bachelorette that would be let go in an early episode sheerly because the woman forgot he existed. Nonetheless, this is much better than the original movie...mainly because it's closer to actually, ya know, BEING a movie. Also, Mike Fink is kinda great.

This film is a great big helping of raucous fun. It originally played on the Disney TV show as a two-parter. Fess Parker plays Davy, and Buddy Ebsen plays George Russell, his friend and traveling partner; they make a great team and this production shows Ebsen's considerable chops at comedy. They run afoul of Mike Fink and his crew; Mike is played by the wonderful and boastful Jeff York, who give the mythical character a larger than life persona. George mistakenly bets all their winter's fur inventory that Davy and he can beat Mike to New Orleans in a keel boat race. Mike tries all kinds of devious and underhanded ways to win, but Davy has his own mythos and can't be counted out. Mike is contrite at the end, and he and Davy become friends. In the second part, Mike and Davy take on the river pirates from the title, who've been posing as hostile indians and killing settlers coming downstream. If you're a fan of that epic Cinerama film, "How the West Was Won," you'll recognize the pirates river hideout as the cave Jimmy Stewart gets shanghai'd in while "lookin' for the varmint." Mike's and Davy's crews are played by veteran Hollywood character actors, which Disney excelled at using to great effect. Kenneth Tobey plays Mike's right hand man, and believe me, if you've seen Ken as the staunch commander in the original "The Thing", you won't recognize him in this. He's a natural comedian, and with his expressive face and comedic body movements he's a source of constant amazement. Clem Bevans, who started out in vaudeville in 1900(!) and didn't make it to films until 1935, and then to TV in 1949, is stalwart as the captain of the keel boat Davy uses to race against Mike. Bevans was in just about every TV western series and even a Twilight Zone, and his career encompassed most of the different branches of entertainment in the 20th century; truly a veteran of the stage and screen. Hank Worden even shows up as a pirate, taking a break from his long string of John Wayne movies. Adults may be the only ones in the 21st century who will watch this; anyone with fond memories of the Disney TV series should love it, however unpolitically correct it is. Kids today may not think much of it, and I'm not sure they should go near it. In fact, it may be argued that most of the films and TV from the past may not be good for them. Odds are that Davy may not have been a hero in real life, and Texas is busy passing laws that no one can say anything against the Alamo, leaving a racist history in place. This is a lot of baggage to attach to several episodes of Disney's "Wonderful World of Color," but the truth is that Disney often didn't tell the truth in his productions, and after his death the studio continued to put out films that pushed the white viewpoint while ignoring all others. Watching this production in 2021 is an exercise in frustration, despite the fact that I still love the show. You can say that this was a product of its time, and that is true, which is why it might not be something to show the kids unless you place it in context of the US's long history of whitewashing everything before you do. That being said, "Davy Crockett and the River Pirates" is fast-paced and filled with lots of stunts and explosions, and Mike Fink's song is catchy and memorable. It's an artifact of the skewed history we all grew up in, and is as much a myth as the ones the ancient Greeks made famous.

Capitalizing on the popularity of the Davy Crockett phenomenon, Disney produced a story that had to take place at an earlier time. Mike Fink is a keel boater (boats that are pushed with poles), the best around. Georgie Russell (Buddy Ebsen) makes a bet with Fink, banking on the ingenuity of Crockett who has never pushed a keel boat. If they don't win the race, they will lose several month's work. The race is fun with Fink using every method he can to take away Davy and Georgie's chances of winning. The two manage to endure and the first half ends. What the heck. But what happens is an alliance among the three men. River pirates have been robbing the hard working people who depend on the waterway for their business. They must find a way to stop them for everyone's benefit. If this phenomenon had been in more recent times, we would have had a series, starring Fess Parker, that would have lasted a long time. It was a different time, obviously.

A bit too much slapstick comedy with this one, but nevertheless, it was entertaining and held my attention. King of the Wild Frontier was one of my favourite movies during childhood. I watched it over and over. Fess Parker is great in his role as Davy Crockett, with Buddy Ebsen providing a lot of the humour as his ol' mate Russell. River Pirates has a slightly odd vibe about it, given it feels like two movies rolled into one. Just as you feel one has ended, it goes off on a new adventure. The character of Mike Fink was pretty damn annoying and I wanted to see him get hit with the karma train - the payoff wasn't nearly satisfying enough. The action scenes were a bit too comedic at times, but still, this movie succeeded in making me feel like a kid again. While not as good as King of the Wild Frontier, it managed to both entertain me and hold my attention - so for that I'm grateful. The Davy Crockett song will be stuck in my head all week now!

Fess Parker and Buddy Ebsen are back as Davy Crockett and his sidekick in another film culled from Disney's TV series. This time they encounter Mink Fink, King of the River captaining a boat on the Mississippi. They agree to race him to New Orleans, and then they team up with him to defeat pirates masquerading as Native Americans. This one is slightly superior to the original film mostly due to having a less episodic story.