|
Davy Crockett:
King of the Mid-1950’s
by Guy
Belleranti
Taking the country by storm in the 1950’s was the legendary Davy
Crockett. No, not the real man of frontier fame, but the Walt Disney TV
program.
The program wasn’t a series, but was instead several episodes. Each was
featured on “Disneyland” (later called “Walt Disney Presents” and “The
Wonderful World of Disney”).
The first episode, “Davy Crockett Indian Fighter”, aired in December
1954. It was soon followed by “Davy Crockett Goes To Congress” and Davy
Crockett at the Alamo”, both in early 1955.
The three episodes took the country by storm. More than that, Davy
Crockett became a pop sensation. The theme song “The Ballad of Davy
Crockett” shot up the charts and was soon a number one single, selling
in the millions.
In addition, a huge Davy Crockett merchandising craze swept the nation.
Davy Crockett lunch boxes, thermoses, board games, moccasins, playsuits
and trading cards jumped off store shelves. For the readers there were
Davy Crockett comic books and Little Golden Books. And then there were
the coonskin caps, which almost every kid had to have. I was only a
couple of years old during the craze, but I did have a Davy Crockett
T-shirt. So did my older sister.
So successful were the first three Disney episodes that two more were
made. “Davy Crockett’s Keelboat Race” and “Davy Crockett and the River
Pirates” aired in November and December of 1955.
Disney then took all five TV episodes and edited them into two feature
films for summer theater release. The first film “Davy Crockett, King of
the Wild Frontier” incorporated the first three episodes. “Davy Crockett
and the River Pirates” combined the final two episodes.
Because of my young age I didn’t get to see the original airings.
However, I did see all the episodes when they repeated on television
some years later. And I loved each one.
Why was Disney’s Davy Crockett so popular? Here are a couple possible
reasons:
- The actors. A tall and ruggedly handsome Fess Parker made an engaging
Crockett. Parker was relatively unknown before this, but now he was
suddenly famous. Indeed, I believe the role led to him being the natural
choice to play Daniel Boone in the 1960’s TV series of the same name.
Buddy Ebsen played Crockett’s sidekick George (Georgie) Russel with
great humor. Ebsen later was Jed Clampett on “The Beverly Hillbillies",
and in the 1970’s he was the title character on the P.I. television show
“Barnaby Jones”.
Kenneth Tobey as Jim Bowie and Jeff York as Mike Fink were also very
good in their roles.
- The stories. While full of frontier myth, each episode was exciting
and entertaining. They appealed to both adults and children and
displayed positive attributes like bravery, honesty and integrity. They
showed a man who struggled for the common people, a man who fought and
died at the Alamo while fighting for Texas independence.
Today, the two Davy Crockett movies can still be enjoyed. Both are
available on DVD.
|
|
