La banda delle frittelle di mele

Don Knotts and Tim Conway, two very big stars in their own right, teamed to do some very successful films mostly for the Disney Studio. Their comedy style was a lot like Laurel and Hardy, but in terms of individual stars teaming and being successful at both, the only comparison there is Crosby and Hope.

The Apple Dumpling Gang follows the misadventures of these two lunkheads as they try their hand at the outlaw trade. They accidentally shot a really fierce outlaw in Slim Pickens and left him crippled in one leg and he's out for their hides.

Paralleling that plot is that of gambler Bill Bixby who wins what he thinks is a consignment of freight in a poker game, but what he really gets is the delivery of three children. Being a roving bachelor Bixby naturally thinks the kids will cramp his style and they do for awhile. Willing to help is Calamity Jane like character Susan Clark who drives for the freight line that her father David Wayne owns.

One thing I do so like about Disney films is the use of familiar Hollywood faces who were having trouble getting work. For example the brassy Iris Adrian, a little older and heftier, but still full of sass.

But the film really belongs to Conway and Knotts. Conway is the Laurel like figure in the partnership, dumb and he knows it. But he has for a partner Knotts who like Oliver Hardy is full of grand schemes who when they blow up in his face will always blame is hapless partner. But in point of fact Knotts is just a bad planner.

The Apple Dumpling Gang spawned a sequel in The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again where Knotts and Conway have even more hysterical misadventures. This one however and its successor are some of the best films Disney Studios made in the Seventies.

One of the best live-action Disney movies. A sweet story about misplaced children, an unwilling but good-intentioned gambler as a foster parent and two bumbling crooks as the comic foil. Bill Bixby, of "My Favorite Martian" and "The Hulk" fame, plays Russell Donovan, the roaming gambler who is unwittingly stuck with some "valuables." Tim Conway and Don Knotts, a little past their prime, play the hapless crooks known as the "Hash Knife Outfit." Susan Clark plays the tomboy stage coach driver who fills in as the kids mother. It also stars Harry Morgan as the town sheriff. Beautiful scenery, lots of action, comedy, and a fabulous saloon brawl that is the highlight of the film.

"The Apple Dumpling Gang" is quite agreeable, providing a generous amount of laughs and excitement as it delivers the Disney formula to a T. Adapted from a novel by Jack M. Bickham, it stars TV legend Bill Bixby as Russel Donavan, a gambler and rogue who shuns responsibility. When he comes into possession of three orphaned kids, he at first tries mightily to dump them on someone else. But surprise, surprise. The scoundrel turns out to be a pretty good parental figure. But the true sparks fly when the kids themselves come into possession of some honest-to-God gold. And naturally, EVERYBODY in town wants to get their hands on that gold, including a notorious outlaw (Slim Pickens) and two incompetent former associates of his, played by top comedy actors Don Knotts and Tim Conway.

The script is brought to life with some real zest, and as usual for Disney, it's a decent example of some good, straightforward storytelling, spiced up with fine period recreation and solid action scenes. But as any fan of this classic can tell you, it's Knotts and Conway that really steal the show. Knotts is perennial flustered straight man to the REALLY dumb Conway, who's hysterical. And of course, their union was fruitful enough to spawn more Knotts-Conway vehicles, some made for Disney, some not.

But the rest of the cast is quite engaging, and full of familiar faces and top character actors & actresses. Susan Clark is feisty fun in a de-glamourized role as a stagecoach driver, and love interest for Donavan. Harry Morgan is great as always, playing the local sheriff / barber / justice of the peace. The three kids are played by the endearing Clay O'Brien (who became a real-life cowboy), Brad Savage, and Stacy Manning. A running joke has Manning constantly needing to run off to urinate. Also to be seen in this most welcome ensemble are David Wayne, John McGiver, Don Knight, Dennis Fimple, Iris Adrian, Fran Ryan, Bing Russell, and Jim Boles. Richard Farnsworth has an uncredited bit as a mover.

Rollicking entertainment, complete with a feel-good theme song.

Followed by a sequel four years later, with Knotts & Conway reprising their roles.

Seven out of 10.

For some reason I don't have a lot to say about this film other then the fact that I liked it. That is a very boring and uninteresting review. But because my goal is to actually write reviews of movies that I see and not just become a bland passive movie watcher, I summit this review for others to look upon.

Don Knots and Tim Conway are a perfect comedy due. Their both nerds in this film but Don Knots is the chief nerd in charge. They provide many wacky and comical moments to the film. But it really isn't a wacky slapstick film. It is a family comedy with a serious storyline. It is filled with touching and tender moments and has the classic storyline of a harden man who doesn't like kids and thinks only of himself only to have his heart turn gooey to the kids he's inherited by the end of the film. If that insight spoils the film for you, you haven't seen that many Disney films.

If you want a fun time in the old west with touching comedic moments, that try the 'The Apple Dumpling Gang'

As it goes with most 70's Disney fare, this is an acceptable family movie. Most of their live action flicks of this period are best described as "hit or miss". Where, say, that "Pete's Dragon" is a "MISS", "Apple Dumpling Gang", is a solid "HIT". One wonders where Disney's creative minds were in this period, as some of the films of this period are just a little "off". As in seeming "out of date", and "stale". I guess they were all working on getting Disney World, and EPCOT off the ground in Florida, and gearing up for the much anticipated animated movie "The Black Cauldron". I have a book about Disney, that a relative got for me in 1975, that goes into a good amount of detail on that movie, even though it would be a decade(!) before it was released.

"TADG" has just the right amount of excitement, comedy, cute kids, and bumbling to be watchable by almost anyone. Bill Bixby does a good job as the lead, and Susan Clark is quite watchable. The kids are not as "whiney" as most live action Disney kids, and David Wayne and Harry Morgan are most welcome. And then there's Don Knotts and Tim Conway! I usually get tired of "the bumbling duo" act, but there is just the right amount of screen time for them, to not become annoying.

I'd suggest this to any parent who has to sit and watch along with the wee ones. I usually grab a magazine to read, but I found myself actually enjoying this warm hearted film.

Miss some of the stinkers like "Pete's Dragon"(I hate that kid!), and enjoy this kind hearted little movie from Disney.