Walt Disney Treasures - The Complete Davy Crockett Televised Series

Starring:Fess Parker, Buddy Ebsen, Jeff York, Kenneth Tobey, Clem Bevans, Irvin Ashkenazy, Mort Mills, Paul Newlan, Frank Richards, Troy Melton, Hank Worden, Dick Crockett, Walter Catlett, Douglass Dumbrille, William Bakewell, George J. Lewis, Mike Mazurki
Director: Norman Foster
Studio: Walt Disney Video
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Available uncut for the first time, the five episodes of Davy Crockett that aired on Walt Disney's "Disneyland" show (1954-55) launched one of the great pop culture crazes of the '50s. An estimated $300 million worth of Crockett merchandise was sold during the first eight months of the craze, including 10 million "coonskin" caps. Disney didn't spend a lot on the original episodes, but as host Leonard Maltin observes, the colorful location and matte shots distinguished Davy Crockett from the cheesy-looking westerns of the 1950s. The three original episodes were later recut into the theatrical feature Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (1955); the more comic adventures from the second season that introduced the flamboyant riverman Mike Fink (Jeffrey York) became Davy Crockett and the River Pirates (1956). Tall and ruggedly handsome, if somewhat limited as an actor, Fess Parker was effective as the laconic frontiersman. The more experienced Buddy Ebsen (playing sidekick Georgie Russel) carried many of their scenes. Fifty years later, Davy Crockett remains an engaging example of national myth making. Younger viewers may be surprised to find this straightforward hero retains much of his appeal in an uncertain time. --Charles Solomon

Description

All 5 episodes of Walt Disney's Davy Crockett series chronicling the adventures of the King of the Wild Frontier. Beginning with Davy Crockett, Indian Fighter and featuring Davy's adventures all the way up to the Alamo, these classic adventures are fun for the whole family. Introduction by Leonard Maltin.
Episodes: Davy Crockett, Indian Fighter; Davy Crockett Goes to Congress; Davy Crockett's Keelboat Race; Davy Crockett and the River Pirates; Davy Crockett at the Alamo.

Customer Reviews:

Confused.......2007-01-14

Maybe I'm wrong, but didn't the original movie start out earlier than with the Indian episode? I thought it actually showed him "grinnin'" down a "bar" before leaving his beloved Polly and family.
Can someone straighten me out? And for some reason, I want to hear "Green Grow the Lilacs" some where in the show.

Great show, Bad DVD .......2006-11-13

I loved the Davy Crockett Televised Series as a kid but these left a bit to be desired. The picture sometimes goes to a sepia tone and other times it loses its color contrast. It also get super fast in some places. It looks like it was hodgepodge together from different lesser quality sources. Also on parts do not play well. The story is great and so is the packaging but the quality of the DVD leaves something to be desired. However if a full original copy has been lost to time this is better then nothing.

King of the Wild Frontier.......2006-07-03

Walt Disney made five television shows about Davy Crockett with Fess Parker in the title role and Buddy Ebsen as his sidekick George Russel. You can now own all five of these television shows in two versions. This version presents all five television shows as they were first presented on ABC in the mid-1950s. There is also a two-movie version that combines these five television shows into two movies. I personally prefer the Disney Treasures version. This version also includes additional material that may be interesting to a fan of the series. The gem of the additional material is the interview with Fess Parker.

The television shows in this set are diverse in style. The first three television episodes are "Davy Crockett - Indian Fighter," "Davy Crockett Goes to Congress," and "Davy Crockett at the Alamo." These television shows have some basis in historical fact, though many of the things portrayed in these shows are wrong. For example, Davy left the rifle he called "Betsy" back in Tennessee when he went to Texas.

What is amazing about these television shows is the response of Americans. Suddenly children everywhere were sporting coonskin caps and carrying replicas of muzzle-loading rifles. It became unfashionable to be a Native American, and very fashionable to say "bar" instead of bear.

Though Davy did not survive the events at the Alamo, Davy's popularity was such that Walt Disney brought Davy back in two additional television adventures, "Davy Crockett and the Keelboat Race" and "Davy Crockett and the River Pirates." According to Walt Disney, this second set of adventures was based on stories created about Davy Crockett, who had become a legend in his own time. The stories were more humorous than the first three, and showed an even larger-than-life version of Davy Crockett than the first three adventures.

What is most remarkable about these television shows is how well they hold up. The story of Davy Crockett is timeless. Davy's attributes are those that form the basis of how Americans see themselves. Self-reliance, honesty, keeping your word, and being plain-spoken remain characteristics that most Americans value.

A viewer does have to forgive several things that we now regard as politically incorrect, particularly in the first part of the first movie, where Davy seems to have little regard for Native Americans. However, in later episodes Davy clearly values his friendship with Native Americans and attempts to honor the commitments the U.S. government made to them.

I allowed my children to watch these movies when they were very young. Yes, there is some violence in these movies. However, Davy and George Russel used violence only when there appeared to be no other reasonable way out. Given that the era depicted in these movies was violent, I think the movies were directed and produced well.

These movies are a great way to introduce your children to an era when the American ethic for honesty, hard work, and trust were formulated. Davy Crockett was instrumental is being an example we can all follow, perhaps now more than ever. This movie is a must for every family film library. Enjoy!

Correcting an uninformed review.......2006-06-25

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.

Patchin' up the crack.......2005-07-12

Half century ago, Walt Disney and Fess Parker struck gold with The Adventures of Davy Crockett. It was a very different time for Disney and television in general. It was a time when both parents and children could watch a prime time television show and not have to be embarrassed about anything. It was a time when things like profanity, sexual immorality, and blatant disregard for one's neighbor were unheard of on the screen. It was a time when the heroes would sometimes even do something as offensive today as quote from the Bible (which Davy Crockett occasionally does).

On a lighter note, today's generation will not readily recognize the need or desire to wear a hat made of raccoon's skin on one's head. Nor would most young people today (myself included) be familiar with a phrase like "Give 'em what fer!" For the record, this phrase refers to beating the living snot out of something or someone which has rubbed you the wrong way.

This DVD comprises part of the "Walt Disney Treasures" series. This is a series of classic Disney shows from different eras or genres and is hosted by film historian and critic Leonard Maltin. Other releases in this series include ON THE FRONT LINES (an exhaustive collection of the cartoon propaganda shorts Disney put out during World War II) and DISNEYLAND USA (which chronicles the opening of Disneyland to the public and how it evolved over the years). And there are many, many more.

Whether or not you grew up watching Davy Crockett is really beside the point. This show is for anyone who has a love for the old American pioneer stories; the Old West; and perhaps most of all, the old Disney.

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