Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier (1955)

American frontiersman Davy Crockett fights in the Creek Indian War, is elected to the U.S. Congress and fights for Texas at the Alamo.

Director:

Norman Foster

Writer:

Thomas W. Blackburn (as Tom Blackburn)

Stars:

Fess Parker, Buddy Ebsen, Basil Ruysdael

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Fess Parker	...	Davy Crockett (archive footage)
Buddy Ebsen	...	George Russel (archive footage)
Basil Ruysdael	...	Gen. / President Andrew Jackson (archive footage)
Hans Conried	...	Thimblerig (archive footage)
William Bakewell	...	Maj. Tobias Norton (archive footage)
Kenneth Tobey	...	Col. Jim Bowie (archive footage) (as Ken Tobey)
Pat Hogan	...	Chief Red Stick (archive footage)
Helene Stanley	...	Polly Crockett (archive footage)
Nick Cravat	...	Busted Luck (archive footage)
Don Megowan	...	Col. William Travis (archive footage)
Mike Mazurki	...	Bigfoot Mason (archive footage)
Jeff Thompson	...	Charlie Two Shirts (archive footage)
Henry Joyner	...	Swaney (archive footage)
Campbell Brown	...	Bruno (archive footage) (as Colonel Campbell Brown)

Storyline

Legends (and myths) from the life of famed American frontiersman Davy Crockett are depicted in this feature film edited from television episodes. Crockett and his friend George Russell fight in the Creek Indian War. Then Crockett is elected to Congress and brings his rough-hewn ways to the House of Representatives. Finally, Crockett and Russell journey to Texas and partake in the last stand at the Alamo.

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Plot Keywords:

character name as title | davy crockett character | seven word title | bayonet charge | bayonet fight | 

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Taglines:

NOW...on the MOTION PICTURE SCREEN!

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Family | Western

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

25 May 1955 (USA)

Also Known As:

Davy Crockett

Filming Locations:

Knoxville, Tennessee, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$2,150,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min 150 min (3 parts) (TV)

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Singer/actor Bill Hayes, then a veteran of TVs legendary "Your Show Of Shows", had a 1955 No.1 Billboard Pop hit with "The Ballad Of Davy Crockett". In 1970, he temporarily gave up singing, due to a bout with laryngitis. He auditioned for the role of Doug Williams on the long running Soap Opera "Days Of Our Lives" (1965) and has kept that role for 42 years (1970-2012).

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Goofs

Throughout the battle sequences at the Alamo, the Mexican bayonets sometimes wobble, indicating they are made of rubber, rather than steel.

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Quotes

Col. Jim Bowie: How many men did you bring?
Davy Crockett: Four, including myself.
Col. Jim Bowie: Four? Two acres of walls to defend. It'll take a thousand troops to man the garrison adequately. And I got less than two hundred volunteers.
Davy Crockett: Two hundred stubborn men can do a terrible lot of fighting.

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Connections

Featured in Disneycember: Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier (2013)

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Soundtracks

Farewell
Music by George Bruns
Lyrics by Cali Ann Mitchell

User Reviews

A 50's Classic that created a craze.

The mid fifties television production of Walt Disney's "Davy Crockett" struck a nerve in the physic of American children. This three part TV mini-series launched the "Davy Crockett Craze", a phenomena that swept the Nation for some time.

Davy Crockett collecting cards, coonskin caps, toys, other assorted memorabilia, and the ever popular recording of the "Ballad of Davy Crockett", were only some of the outward signs of it's vast popularity. Actors, Fess Parker, as Davy Crockett, and Buddy Ebson as his sidekick, Georgie Russell became popular with almost most every child in America, practically over night. The show was so successful that the original three part series was clipped together and released to theaters as a full length movie. Then the Disney Studio produced a two part TV sequel the following year.

There is little doubt that by today's standards there was nothing special about it's plot, or dialog, or the acting, etc. Some critics might go as far to say it was rather silly, childish, and a mediocre production at best.

Perhaps that's all true, but it would miss the most important point. Seldom has any TV production cause so many young people to love a couple of screen characters so deeply, and with such spontaneous joy. In this regard it is a Classic and holds a special place in the history of television art.