Originally Posted By Tikiduck That other Brian Keith film was Scandalous John. It was a rough parallel to Don Quixote. Glenn Ford did a film for Disney titled Smith. I was completely unaware of this till I saw a poster for it at a collector show. One thing I have noticed is how often Keenan Wynn shows up as the bad guy.
Originally Posted By crazycroc Yes, thank you. If it was a parallel to Don Quixote it was a really poor one. Smith! is an interesting film. I wouldn't say it's good or bad, it's just...there. Pacing issues with that one. Keenan Wynn popped up as a villain in many of the films. Usually related to Medford College. The theme song to "The Barefoot Executive" is awesomely bad. Films that are overlooked that are worth checking out are "Summer Magic", "So Dear to My Heart", "Song of the South", "Westward Ho, The Wagons!", "The Great Locomotive Chase", "Johnny Tremain", "The Light in the Forest", "Third Man on the Mountain", "Toby Tyler", "Kidnapped", Greyfriar's Bobby", "Miracle of the White Stallions", "The Misadventures of Merlin Jones", "Three Lives of Thomasina", "Follow Me Boys", "Bullwhip Griffin", The and only genuine original family band", "Rascal", and some others, but I think those are the best places to start with the live-action films that are outside the known classics.
Originally Posted By crazycroc And thanks for the links Mawnck. I thought it was interesting that it was distributed by Disney over there!
Originally Posted By Daannzzz "The Wild Country" 1970 I thought this one was pretty good and seems to be well forgotten.
Originally Posted By mawnck >>I thought it was interesting that it was distributed by Disney over there!<< It's actually part of Studio Ghibli's Museum Collection - the only American film in the series AFAIK. It's a one-light digital transfer from a nice print. It's a bit dark and there's no restoration or dust cleanup at all, but it's still a huge improvement over any other copy I've seen. It has the 1960s NTA logo and title frame, unfortunately, but they all have that.
Originally Posted By Tikiduck I love most of those obscure films for the pure escapism they afford. "Third Man on the Mountain", and "So Dear To My Heart", really strike chords with me. That was the Disney magic, escapism and nostalgia. Walt trying to recapture the childhood he so desperately wanted to live.
Originally Posted By crazycroc I agree with the Wild Country being a good film as well. The studio really thrived on period pieces. It's the attempts to be present day that I felt missed the mark.
Originally Posted By FerretAfros I did a similar chronological journey through the animated films, and would really like to try doing it with live action, but it would be much more difficult for me since I own so few of them. I really enjoy most of the ones that I've seen (perhaps because I've mostly seen the 'classics'), but it would be fun to give the others a chance I agree that they seemed to do their best in period pieces, especially when they were set in a far off place. Even though Disney often feels distinctly American, they have a lot of interesting locations for their films
Originally Posted By TheRedhead When I first got Netflix back many years ago I basically went through and rented every movie they had that Disney released. All the ones crazycroc listed were available, and yeah that is a great list. "Follow Me Boys" and "Greyfriar's Bobby" especially were two that I don't remember ever being on Disney channel, but I thought were just super swell. My wife's favorite Disney movie is Three Lives of Thomasina. That was one of those things where she judged my worthiness by my reaction to the movie. I passed.
Originally Posted By Witches of Morva ORDDU: Oh, yes, the Three Lives of Thomasina is wonderful. Karen Dotrice hadn't even done Mary Poppins, yet, and I fell in love with the child even then. It was the perfect movie for her to star in. Then by the time she played Jane in Mary Poppins she was already a success. What a wonderful little actress she was.
Originally Posted By tonyanton Don't forget her and Matthew Garber also starred in "The Gnome Mobile" after Mary Poppins...
Originally Posted By Bellella How many Disney DVDs do I have now? 98? Yes. As soon as a certain little project of mine is finally finished, I'm going to watch all of the Disney animated classics chronologically- "Snow White" to "Wreck-it Ralph." "So Dear To My Heart" and "Thomasina" are beautiful. Here's my list of best to worst Disney live-action musicals: 1) Mary Poppins 2) Bedknobs and Broomsticks 3) Pete's Dragon 4) The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band I just couldn't get through "The Happiest Millionaire." Great tunes, though. And I've never seen, and I most likely will not see "Babes in Toyland", although I love Annette. It seems to me she was a gifted performer who was made to be in films that insulted the intelligence. (Beach party movies? I don't know which generation's teen culture was worse, ours or theirs.)
Originally Posted By Bellella And oh, yes. One must see- "Old Yeller", "Savage Sam", "Treasure Island", anything with Hayley Mills, "The Incredible Journey", "Swiss Family Robinson", "The Love Bug", the "Tron"movies, and the grand, majestic "20,000 Leagues". And of course, "Song of the South". One must view it from a cultural standpoint if no other, and try to understand that there are far more intolerant films out there. And I mean out there, not locked in a vault, but out there to make a negative impression.
Originally Posted By Daannzzz I love "Bedknobs and Broomsticks". The first time I saw it on the big screen it was the full version with all of the songs. The next time I saw a few years later it had most of the songs cut out. Boy was that disappointing. Now I have the version with all of the songs and some added footage (which is mostly interesting but the film was fine without it. I do not think it is quite as good as "Mary Poppins" but it is close for me.
Originally Posted By mawnck >>It seems to me she was a gifted performer who was made to be in films that insulted the intelligence. << "Babes in Toyland" doesn't insult the intelligence. It's just ill-conceived.
Originally Posted By darcy-becker I plan on watching all the animated features in order as soon as I own them all on DVD or Bluray. Currently I'm only missing The Aristocats Oliver and Company Aladdin Tarzan Treasure Planet and Home on the Range I'm basically waiting for Aladdin to come out of the vault and for a new edition of Tarzan. All the others are currently available and I don't need new editions of them. Bellella, you inspired me to count my Disney DVDs and I have 114. I was kind of surprised.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA <20,000 leagues, now there's a movie that blows, imho!!!> Isn't that funny how tastes are different? I think 20K is a terrific movie! James Mason, Kirk Douglass, Peter Lorre - and a giant squid!
Originally Posted By Bellella darcy, 114? You probably include made-for-Disney-channel movies and direct-to-video animated sequels in your collection, am I right? Or maybe a lot of the lesser-known live action pics from the 70s and 80s? The reason I have neither is that they are either in my opinion of inferior quality and not worth buying, or I haven't seen them. But definitely get all the animated feature discs you're missing. They are so worth it. Any Walt Disney Treasures? I have six.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan I watched Babes in Toyland the other night, never having seen it all in one sitting. It just never seems to get off the ground. It feels very much like it was shot for TV rather than the big screen. So much of it feels boxed in and small, and even the big dance sequences are boringly shot. Big musicals from decades before had more innovative camera work. Babes in Toyland feels so much like it was shot on a soundstage, you can practically imagine the crew and workers behind the camera waiting around to eat their lunch, checking their watches. Ray Bolger gives it his all, but there's just not much for him to work with here. And he's too darn lovable to root against. Annette seems like her scenes were shot elsewhere much of the time and edited in.
