Johnny Tremain (1957)
In the Disney version of the classic story Johnny Tremain, you’ll have to accept something right off the bat: California accents for the good guys, and British accents for the bad guys. Even though the story takes place during the Revolutionary War, it is a bit cringe-worthy to hear all the little kids talking like they grew up in Pasadena when that dialect wouldn’t have been invented for centuries. As long as you can get past that, you can watch this “Cliff Notes” version that gives you a basic understanding of the story.
Hal Stalmaster stars as the young silversmith who has a tragic accident early on in the story. He gets tossed out of his foster family, much to the dismay of their young daughter Luana Patten, who has a crush on him. Hal gets taken in by Richard Beymer, a newspaper kid who belongs to a group of rebels planning on dumping a bunch of tea into the Boston harbor. Together, they sneak around Boston passing codes and messages to historical figures like Paul Revere and Samuel Adams. It is a clever story that weaves in fact and fiction to help educate kids, but you should expect it to be a little cheesy. After all, the children are the leads and they are in dire need of acting lessons. It’s hard to believe Richard Beymer (here billed as “Dick”) got cast in West Side Story just a few years later. Disney put money into the film’s production, but not into finding kids with the greatest talent. Among the adults, you’ll see Sebastian Cabot, Whit Bissell, Virginia Christine, Jeff York, Walter Sande, Rusty Lane, Walter Coy, and others.
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "Jack" for posting!
More Whit Bissell movies here!
Hal Stalmaster stars as the young silversmith who has a tragic accident early on in the story. He gets tossed out of his foster family, much to the dismay of their young daughter Luana Patten, who has a crush on him. Hal gets taken in by Richard Beymer, a newspaper kid who belongs to a group of rebels planning on dumping a bunch of tea into the Boston harbor. Together, they sneak around Boston passing codes and messages to historical figures like Paul Revere and Samuel Adams. It is a clever story that weaves in fact and fiction to help educate kids, but you should expect it to be a little cheesy. After all, the children are the leads and they are in dire need of acting lessons. It’s hard to believe Richard Beymer (here billed as “Dick”) got cast in West Side Story just a few years later. Disney put money into the film’s production, but not into finding kids with the greatest talent. Among the adults, you’ll see Sebastian Cabot, Whit Bissell, Virginia Christine, Jeff York, Walter Sande, Rusty Lane, Walter Coy, and others.
Want to watch it? Click here to watch it on ok.ru. And thanks "Jack" for posting!
More Whit Bissell movies here!