Davy Crockett und die Flusspiraten

The second Davy Crockett movie made from episodes of Disney's "Disneyland" television series. The first part has Davy (Fess Parker) and his comic relief sidekick Georgie (Buddy Ebsen) in a keelboat race with blowhard Mike Fink who calls himself the "King of the River." The second part continues from the first and deals with Crockett fighting river pirates Samuel Mason and Big & Little Harpe. It's a fun movie with a lot of action and humor. Fess Parker and Buddy Ebsen are both great. The rest of the cast includes Kenneth Tobey, Jeff York, Clem Bevans, and Mort Mills. It's a beautiful-looking movie, with lovely scenery and filmed with that wonderful old-school Disney polish. Some cute songs in it, too. In addition to Crockett, some of the other characters, like Mike Fink and the Harpe brothers, are based on real people. Obviously this is no documentary so don't expect a history lesson. It's a fun movie that should appeal to the kid in all (well, most) of us. Definitely worth a look.

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.

'Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier' may not be a masterpiece, and there are better Disney live-action films and Disney films overall. It is a however impossible to dislike film and it was easy to see why anything to do with Davy Crockett was such a phenomenon in the 50s.

The same goes for its sequel 'Davy Crockett and the River Pirates'. Sequels don't always match their predecessors and even more rarely even better, with numerous examples of vastly inferior (polar opposite in quality) ones. 'Davy Crockett and the River Pirates' is every bit as good, with two improvements over its predecessors, it is not quite as episodic (while still feeling like a film of two halves) and it flows a little.

It is not perfect. The dialogue is even sillier and more childish in places than in 'Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier', and a couple of the action sequences in the second half are still exaggerated and more cartoonish than epic.

As hoped though, 'Davy Crockett and the River Pirates' has a lot to like and is very difficult to hate. It is a good-looking film, with gorgeously epic scenery and evocative production design that looks like a lot of care and homework went into it, all handsomely filmed. The music is rousing, especially the timeless theme song that is one of Disney's and childhood's best and most memorable theme songs.

There is some endearingly-good natured dialogue, and as said the story is eventful and often exciting. A lot happens, especially in the first half, and never does it lull. The characters are a lot of fun, with a charismatic and likable hero in Davy Crockett, and direction is breezy and bright.

Fess Parker is jovial, charismatic and immensely likable in the title role and Buddy Ebsen counteracts with him very nicely. The acting may not be "great" but hardly bad, more than competent. A splendidly hammy Jeff York stands out in support.

Overall, a very enjoyable sequel with a huge amount of appeal. 8/10 Bethany Cox

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.