Calloway le trappeur

My friend and I watched this movie, a favorite of hers, which I had never viewed, and we both liked it. I always like Brian Keith in every movie he was in whether that was action, rough-and-tumble, as well as fatherly roles like "Family Affairs", maybe especially "Hard Castle and McCormick," which I loved even though it didn't last long as a series. I realize, now, how critical the Nielson Ratings and the deep pockets of one's sponsor truly are.

Keith is so in character, I worried at one point where he broke his leg in the story, whether he was still doing his own stunt work at age 44. I certainly hope not.

Vera Miles sans makeup, hair in a bun, acted like a woman used to roughing it as a wife, mom and woman - not always liking that reality, but continually re-accepting it as part and parcel of her love for Cam. The movie does a good job of demonstrating that both life and love come at a price, but that the risk of seeking what you really want in life is worth the cost.

Even the dog, the blackbird and the bear had their own wranglers in this local-color flick.

I liked the idea of being totally invested in a dream, in idealism, in fervent values, to point where you would stake everything, life itself, to make that dream actually happen - even against overwhelming odds, formidable, moneyed interests, calloused and remorseless antagonists.

The Canadian geese stole every scene they were in. Pythagoras would revere their straight lines of flight, each new group parallel to the flight above them.

The movie made me think of a saying on the back of a T shirt I observed today at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure for Cancel in Kalamazoo, something Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote: "What lies behind us and what lies before us are not as important as what lies within us."

Tremendous cast: Brandon De Wilde, Vera Miles, Ed Wynn, and Brian Keith as well as Tom Skerritt at age 31. He looks like a young kid.

The movie looks and sounds exactly like what it truly is - a Disney film from 1965, where music telegraphs every upcoming dramatic moment, and violence, blood and gore and so forth are not shown.

At the same time, in our age of IRS corruption and interminable political partisanship, it is heart-warming to see two people renew their love for and commitment to each other, again and again, knowing that, as Langston Hughes wrote, "Life ain't been no crystal staircase."

Such a total lack of pretense in this movie! That sort of pure, ingenuous sincerity, is rare in the world of film and in life where deep concerns for profit, market share, pragmatism, and the every-man-and-woman-for-himself-and-herself world many adopt, crushes out the little important things in life like tenderness, patience, and honesty.

Many of the scenes in this movie have the look of a filmed stage play, and I say that in a complimentary way.

If our local Civic Theatre cast and acted out this dramatic vehicle, it would be tantamount to furnishing audiences with a far more innocent age, a more pure one where people say exactly what they mean and where people mean exactly what they say, even the villains.

I yearn for such unaffected directness.

This movie is one of the better movies that Disney put out in the '60s. Many of the movies that they were producing in this time period were obviously family oriented, but all had a much lighter tone to them. This was a serious look at a serious time in US History, and I think they did a fantastic job with it. Overall, the performances are memorable, and the cast has stars, but is not overweighted. Some supporting roles of note are done by Ed Wynn and Walter Brennan. The music is also well scripted. Definitely worth a look.

During his lifetime, Walt Disney made a number of serious-minded movies for family audiences, but quite often families ignored them and favored his goofball comedies and animated movies. "Those Calloways" is one such movie, not doing very well at the box office. Though I personally liked the movie, I can see why not many people were attracted to it. It's a long movie for one thing, over two hours in length. And the storytelling is kind of episodic than being one strong story. Still, I found the movie to have a lot of charm. It's shot on attractive New England locations, the characters are interesting, and the various vignettes are not boring. That is, if you are a (patient) adult. Though Disney intended this movie for a family audience, I think most modern day kids would be bored stiff by this movie with its slow pace and lack of action and special effects. Too bad - kids might learn a few things along the way.

Family drama from Disney, the kind of folksy yarn the studio seemed to revel in during this era. Do-gooder adaptation of Paul Annixter's novel "Swiftwater" concerns Vermont couple and their son at odds with the rest of the town over their attempts to save a flock of geese from game-hunters. Mixes elements of melodrama, outdoor adventure, teen romance and nature asides, but too little humor. Running a seat-numbing 131mns, the picture was never popular with the matinee crowds despite beautiful scenery and a good cast including Brian Keith as the head of the house; Vera Miles as his frontier wife; Brandon de Wilde (pulling a James MacArthur) and Linda Evans (lovely) as the young sweethearts; and Walter Brennan as an old coot named Alf. OK yarn wears "values" on its sleeve, but is really too solemn and lethargic to appeal to anyone except nostalgic adults and Disney-philes. Score by Max Steiner, his only time working for the Mouse. **1/2 from ****

Bland. It's a film that slowly creeps through its 131 minute runtime.

I do really like Brian Keith as an actor, but he really did get the more lamer Disney films didn't he? 'The Parent Trap' aside, all of his others with the studio up until this point are marginally good at best; despite Keith's talent.

'Those Calloways' is poorly paced and doesn't have any truly lovable characters. The shtick with the main family is that they are opposed to hunting, yet their whole thing is hunting in itself. Sure, they're doing it for differing reasons, but it's hardly a massive gap - it's not like the film portrays them as disliking it either.

As for the cast, Keith is the best on display as Cam. Brandon deWilde (Bucky), Ed Wynn (Ed) and Walter Brennan (Alf) are fine. All of the antagonists are forgettable, though. Considering how long the film goes on for, they hardly do anything with the exception of one moment. There's a few scenes which could've done with some music too, particularly ones involving Bucky and Whit (Tom Skerritt).

There is definitely a good message attempted, but it kinda falls flat unfortunately. This isn't one I'd recommend, even if it isn't terrible.