Tête brûlée et pied tendre

Enjoyable.

'Hot Lead & Cold Feet' is good fun. The premise is bonkers but in a positive way, while the humour is much improved on what Disney usually produce in these sorta films. I actually liked every bit of the story, even if it is a tad all over the place. The only real issues I have with this are the effects and some of the pacing, the latter is quite slow around the midway mark.

Moving onto the cast. Jim Dale does a great job playing not one, not two but three characters! It's actually rather impressive, though the effects used for when Billy and Eli are 'next to each other' are rather poor. Still, big credit to Dale.

The film is basically split into three viewpoints: Billy & Eli, Jasper (Dale) & Mansfield (John Williams) and Sheriff (Don Knotts) & Rattlesnake (Jack Elam). Surprisingly, they make it work. I liked following all the shenanigans that they each got up to.

I also rate the music used. All in all, an entertaining film that I would definitely recommend.

British comedian Jim Dale was starring in a lot of Walt Disney films that Dean Jones was apparently unavailable for in the Seventies. One of them was this western comedy Hot Lead And Cold Feet where Dale got to play three different roles where he tread on Alec Guinness territory.

Dale plays a father with two twin sons, one of them taken by their mother when she split from Dale. The one who stayed with Dale became a notorious gunfighter, the other was raised in Philadelphia and served in the army that General Booth started. I imagine that there were legal technicalities that prevented Disney Studios from outrightly saying it was the Salvation Army.

In any event the father fakes his own death and there is a will that leaves the holdings of an entire town to the winner of a race that the two sons have to participate in. So the missionary Dale finds out when he goes west with two young orphans Debbie Lytton and Michael Sharrett. It's a kind old west marathon with a pentathlon of sorts involved as well. Gunfighter Dale of course is ready to do in his missionary brother. But a certain divine hand of Providence seems to be watching over the missionary. Definitely has to be because he's also getting new school teacher Karen Valentine in the bargain.

Don Knotts as the sheriff and Jack Elam a notorious former outlaw whose best days are behind him provide a few laughs. Ever since Knotts was Barney Fife he was always being cast as comic authority figures. And there's Darren McGavin who has his own ideas about the Dale fortune should be used for.

With so many familiar and talented faces in the cast of Hot Lead And Cold Feet you know it's going to be good. Dale does a wonderful job investing the father and three sons he plays with a certain individuality in each role. This film is still good family entertainment.

I seen this movie at the movie theater when I was a little girl....it is one of my first memories of being at the movies.....and I loved it....very funny with little life lessons along the way..after all these years I never forgot hot lead and cold feet...I even remember the theme song..."hot lead and cold feet..may the best man win...hot lead and cold feet..may the best man win.." dadadada....What stands out in this movie is the performance of the lead character playing both parts of the gunfighter twin and the mild mannered twin...I think that kids today need to rediscover this movie....it should be remembered as a family classic...I cannot wait to purchase this on DVD and you should to especially if you have young children....

Much of the movie is not very realistic, some of it's rather crazy, especially the constant shooting, fighting and destruction. They are constantly shooting, but not hitting each other. They're also constantly getting knocked out or injured, but are completely normal again shortly after wards. But it's entertaining and a lot of fun, they must have gone through a lot of work and money to achieve all this. The acting is pretty good, and rather funny. It's impressive that Jim Dale played 3 separate roles, you can't tell that it's him when he plays the old man.

It's great comedy, and while it's not very realistic, there are some good lessons with it. I like the unity and fearlessness of the children, and that helping Eli is all that matters to them. It kind of gives a sense that helping others is much more important than money.

Western comedy about the twins brothers who never know each other, one bad and one good, his sick father supposedly died left to them a lot of money, however according the will has to be a contest between them, the winner takes all, the contest are many, the first one locomotive racing, second canoe racing on rapids, climb mountain, pass through over the canyon on tightrope and the last carriage chase, has a subplot more interesting a endless duel over Sheriff Denver Kid vs. Rattlesnake, since the beginning they have been trying make this duel, nonetheless something disrupt and postpone it, amusing Disney family comedy, with Don Knots, Jack Elam, Darren McGavin, John Williams and Jim Dale on triple role, not bad at all, be ready to laugh a lot!!

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First watch: 2019 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD-R / Rating: 7