All this month old Disney flicks will be making the rounds at several cable channels near you.
"Treasure Island," "Swiss Family Robinson" and "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" (Which was shown today, 1:45 and 4 p.m., Turner Classic Movies) and is just the of TCM's Sunday family film showcase. Also going on this weekend are the sob story "Old Yeller" (Sunday at 6:15 p.m.), 1961's original twin trick "The Parent Trap" (8 p.m.), Hayley Mills again in "Pollyanna" (10:15 p.m.), and young TV apprentice Kurt Russell getting program picks from a chimp in 1971's "The Barefoot Executive" (12:30 a.m., all on TCM).
Now that I've given you a run-down of this months good old Disney flicks that shouldn't be missed, let's go over them. Also, how many of you remember these films? I barely remember 'Treasure Island' made in 1950, but there was a sequel made in 1954 called 'Long John Silver'. I don't think that went over too well. There was also another 'Treasure Island' in 1990 with Charlton Heston, some say the original title was 'Devils Island'.
I truly enjoyed the original Disney 'Swiss Family Robinson' and have found that there are a total of 7 films that are adapted from the 1812 novel. There are also 6 TV shows including 'Lost in Space' which I grew up on, and 9 made for TV movies. That many, huh?
Whatever happened to those days when the lead actor was so manly? The best we can do nowadays is Hugh Jackman. He really is kind of good looking, but some of these other goof offs had better look to the old films-give me Kirk Douglas getting tossed around by a sea monster any day! On top of that he saves the day by banishing Captain Nemo and the Nautilus to the bottom of the sea, supposedly, there's the sequel 'Mysterious Island' to think of.
Whatever happened to those days when the lead actor was so manly? The best we can do nowadays is Hugh Jackman. He really is kind of good looking, but some of these other goof offs had better look to the old films-give me Kirk Douglas getting tossed around by a sea monster any day! On top of that he saves the day by banishing Captain Nemo and the Nautilus to the bottom of the sea, supposedly, there's the sequel 'Mysterious Island' to think of.
James Mason made a great Nemo and the ending was actually sad. As with all great films there have been remakes, but none really showed up until 1996 and then came 4 more. My favorite among those is 'The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen'. Maybe it's because I've always loved Sean Connery, the movie itself is not that good. Although the special effects are tremendous! Connery is the only actor who really puts some feeling into his role. I know if he read this, he'd laugh. That's a good Scotsman. I also loved the Nautilus in the movie. Like I said, the special effects are awesome! This has the same ambiance that 'Hunt for Red October' had. It takes a large screen TV and a dark room to enjoy!
This brings us to 'Old Yeller'. A great tale of boy loves dog and vice verse. How can you not get attached to a cute little bundle of fur, watch him grow up over a summer or two and then while protecting the younger little brat the poor dog gets rabies and goes mad. Well, that's it. Dog must die. I did cry when I watched this-a long time ago. But I just watched an interview with the kid who played the little brother and had all this blond hair. He's bald now and has quite a sense of humor. He mentioned a scene in which he had to hold a bear cub so the mother bear would attack. For some reason she wouldn't do it right and it took quite a few takes. He doesn't like bears. Oh yeah, they really didn't kill Ol' Yeller.
This brings us to 'Old Yeller'. A great tale of boy loves dog and vice verse. How can you not get attached to a cute little bundle of fur, watch him grow up over a summer or two and then while protecting the younger little brat the poor dog gets rabies and goes mad. Well, that's it. Dog must die. I did cry when I watched this-a long time ago. But I just watched an interview with the kid who played the little brother and had all this blond hair. He's bald now and has quite a sense of humor. He mentioned a scene in which he had to hold a bear cub so the mother bear would attack. For some reason she wouldn't do it right and it took quite a few takes. He doesn't like bears. Oh yeah, they really didn't kill Ol' Yeller.
I loved 'The Parent Trap'! But I think Hayley Mills was always too upper crust! I don't quite remember but I don't think she ever lost her English accent. I always did like Brian Keith and Maureen O'Hara though. The remake in 1998 starred Lindsey Lohan in the title role and Dennis Quaid and Natasha Richardson. I really thought Lohan brought out a lot of the 'kid' quality that we should see especially in the camp scenes. Kids really do things like that! They raid others cabins and fight-it's fun! I just wonder what happened to that part of Miss Lohan, if it ever existed...
What can I say about Pollyanna? The little orphan that everyone comes to love because of her positive attitude. It was filmed in 1960 and gave newcomer Hayley Mills a huge boost to her career. Disney followed up a few years later with 'Polly' (TV version)starring Keisha Knight Pulliam in 1989 and immediately after that came a sequel 'Polly: Coming Home'.
Which brings us to Kirk, ah Kirk. I have grown up with you! I caught the interview on TV where you were watching yourself and said, 'I'm so young!' Sorry, yes we were all young at one time or another. 'The Barefoot Executive' is mostly a silly movie that I just like to watch so I can sit back and enjoy. Kirk brings his girlfriends chimp into a movie studio and its discovered that the monkey can rate TV shows. The long and short of it is, money is offered for the chimp and should boy sell pet or not? Hmmm....You'd know already if you saw the movie. It costars Joe Flynn-who we loved in McHale's Navy, Wally Cox, Heather North, as the girlfriend, John Ritter, and Harry Morgan. There was a remake in 1995 for the Disney Channel starring Nathan Anderson and Terri Evans.
So, I've gone a little outside my comfort zone tonight, hope you like my blog, have a great day!
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