Buddy Ebsen was going to play Davy Crockett until Walt Disney saw Fess Parker in Assalto alla terra (1954). When he saw Parker, he said, "That's my Davy Crockett!"
This originally premiered in three parts, broadcast over several weeks, on Disney's television program "Disneyland". The three segments were each given different titles: "Davy Crockett, Indian Fighter", "Davy Crockett Goes To Congress", and "Davy Crockett at the Alamo".
The film was a bit short for three separate segments, so the "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" was written with music by George Bruns and lyrics by Thomas W. Blackburn, becoming a hit in the 1950's. The most successful version was achieved by Bill Hayes, whose version of the song hit #1 on The Billboard Pop chart 1955.
This film made $1 million despite the fact that over 50% of the U.S. had already seen it on TV. The reviews and promotional materials gave no indication that this was a compilation of "Davy Crockett Indian Fighter" (1954) and "Davy Crockett At The Alamo" (1955). The only difference between the TV and movie versions was that the movie was in color. ABC TV, which first aired "Disneyland" (1954), did not broadcast in color at the time.
The most successful early example of merchandise licensing the sale of various types of Crockett paraphernalia, including coonskin caps and bubble gum cards. Other examples of successful merchandising of the 1950s included products that carried the names of "Hopalong Cassidy" and "Elvis Presley". In the 1960s, included. on this list, are "The Beatles", "The Monkees" and Batman (1966).