Le Clown et l'Enfant

I've mentioned elsewhere that Disney's adaptations of famous works sometimes avoid the dark and dreary messages of the original works.He wished,it seems,to provide wholesome family entertainment.IN this regard,he succeeded.But,after seeing this film,as I did when it first came out,I was horrified when I got around to reading Kahler's book.Let's see the differences.

1.)Toby,in the story,is a sly,fat, lazy glutton,who leaves a brutal orphan's home in order to avoid doing his chores,and being punished for dishonesty.He joins the circus,and wages an undercover war against the evil management.

2.)The circus is a dreary,run down dump,managed by vicious alcoholics who beat and cripple children.Toby,consequently,starts a guerrilla war against them.

3.)The people who work in the circus,when they aren't brutal bullies,are among the most grotesque characters in Victorian American fiction.

4.)Toby DOESN'T become a star on horses.Mr.Stubbs isn't a cute chimp,but a mangy,pathetic,morose old monkey.And the hunter does kill him.

5.)The story ends with the manager of the orphanage taking Toby back.And you get the feeling that all will not be well.

So,while the film adaptation sticks to some of the facts,the underlying message has been avoided.

But not quite as much as some make out...the circus characters in the book were not that grotesque, not was Toby in an orphan's home, constantly being punished for dishonesty. And, he did become a star, in a sense, on horseback. However, he was a glutonous boy who runs away to the circus, for no reason other than his own selfish ones. He does have a hard life. And his riding on the horses lasts for only about a day, but for that day, he and the girl who rode with them were required to do encores of their performances,

Anyways....the story is cute. Yes, Mr. stubbs lives in the movie, but that is typical Disney giving a happy ending, and is to be expected. Watch it for fun, not because you want to compare it to the book. Personally, I like both.

This Disney production was released at about the same time as "Pollyanna".Both heroes have problems with their families: Pollyanna is taken in by her auntie Polly Harrington a good but proud woman who thinks that money can buy everything;Toby has to escape from the farm where he lives with his uncle and his aunt -who are far from being as rich as Polly but who are finally good people-.The subtitles reads "ten weeks with a circus" and that's exactly what it is.

Toby takes refuge in a circus where he will meet people from a world he does not know:he becomes good friend with Mr Tibbs ,the chimp and falls in love with the beautiful rider;but his job is to sell peanuts,and Monsieur Ajax,Mademoiselle Jeannette's partner ,always laughs at him.Toby's dream is to become part of the show but he stands no chance till....

A nice memory from your childhood from long ago.

I love Kevin Corcoran's acting in the first place, but this is most likely my favorite movie with him STARING! What sets this one above the rest is it does NOT rely on a sound-track to keep the interest of the viewers. Toby is an orphaned boy being raised by his aunt and uncle. His uncle tells him he is a burden, so Toby joins the circus. What makes this movie most entertaining is Toby's horse training! As I said, this movie does not rely on a sound-track to keep the interest of the viewers, but in fact it is this very aspect that makes it a charm! As Toby is trained to ride a horse, you see him fail, fail, learn, learn some more, then eventually succeed! All the time, the only thing you hear is the trot of the horse!

"Toby Tyler" (1960) is one of my earliest movie memories. In combination with the film Whitman Publishing released a book of the screenplay, which differed considerably from the source novel, managing to lighten up the story.

Most boys (at least in my class) were at first reluctant to see the film because it's star, Kevin "Moochie" Corcoran, had pretty much ruined the "Spin and Marty" serial when he was added to the cast after the first season. We also had suffered through his "too cute" acting in "Old Yeller". Rare is the child actor who was more irritating to his contemporaries. But "Moochie" was just a hammy kid who did what the director wanted; and fortunately the director of "Toby Tyler" dialed down the standard "Moochie" cuteness for his first staring role.

The film was the perfect escape for boys. Running away with the circus was almost as good as getting to spend the whole summer riding horses on the Triple "R" Ranch. Plus Toby's protector was Ben Cotter, our old friend Sgt. Garcia from "Zorro". Mr. Stubbs the chimp is given the "too cute" supporting role that "Moochie" normally played, which was most likely an attempt to expand the target audience to include pre-teen girls. It worked as the film entertained the entire family.

The story involves Toby's efforts to move from peanut vendor to circus performer. He eventually replaces a snotty boy in a bareback riding act. His partner is Mademoiselle Jeanette (Barbara Beaird), my first crush and most likely the reason that I remember the film so fondly.

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.