In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

44| Clifford E. Trafzer Dear Diary: IhateDisney.Thathorriblelittlemousewithhiscreepymouseketeersisruiningmytranquility by insisting on making movies with animals in them. Singing no less. This year, it’s Lady and the Tramp and Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier. Who wants to see a bunch of cartoon dogs eating spaghetti? And seriously, who ever thought a coonskin hat was a good idea? Talk about fashion don’ts! If any studio mogul is going to suspend the disbelief of worldwide audiences, it’s going to be me. We’re so-o-o-o headed for a showdown at the famous “Hollywood” sign if Disney keeps this up. Note to Walt: Remember the Alamo? What audiences are going to remember is Donald, Goofy, and Mickey skinned for my hat. Mark my words! There will be blood, Hollywood DavyCrockett,King oftheWildFrontier t t t Clifford E. Trafzer Walt Disney’s landmark television production Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier is a challenging film to review. Natives appear on-screen for much of the movie, a compilation of the first three stories from the 1950s television series Davy Crockett Indian Fighter, broadcast December 15, 1954; Davy Crockett Goes to Congress, broadcast January 26, 1955; and Davy Crockett attheAlamo,broadcastFebruary23,1955.Throughoutthe three productions, characters such as Crockett, Andrew Jackson, and others make frequent and nonsensical references to Indians. The portrayals of Indians by actors of Native and non-Native heritage all work to tell the story of the conflict between Indians and the expanding American nation-state. I must say up front it’s a mixed bag, with inaccurate stereotypes and derogatory language existing alongside a genuine effort at authenticity. Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier| 45 Fess Parker stars as Davy Crockett, a role that was to catapult him from playing stock characters into stardom. Buddy Ebsen, a song-and-dance man from Hollywood’s 1930s era, plays Davy’s sidekick, George Russel. This mid-century version of the Crockett saga caught the Americanpublicbystorm.“Crockettmania”spreadthroughouttheWesternworld,andretailers responded by stocking their shelves with coonskin caps, flintlock guns, and a host of other toys. From school lunch boxes, dinner plates, and cereal bowls it seems everyone in America went Crockett. The impact of the series was, in retrospect, staggering, affecting an entire generation’s perceptions of Indians, Davy Crockett, and the future of American expansionism. America was going places in the 1950s. Having just tamed Japan with an atom bomb, we were about to set our gun sights on Vietnam. As interpreters of American folk history, Disney writer Tom Blackburn, director Norman Foster, and cinematographer Charles P. Boyle got it right as often as they embraced mythic lore and stereotypes. However, in both respects audiences came to know many American historical figures, as well as early American history through the eyes of corporate America, er-r-r-r, I mean Disney. The concept of living on a perpetual frontier, central to the Davy Crockett story, invigorated a generation that was born decades after the American frontier was declared closed, contributing to John F. Kennedy’s drive for a “New Frontier” in Southeast Asia. But other messages came through that were less positive and uplifting: a tendency toward arrogant confidence in your own position, seen through the policies of American administrations; a justification for taking what rightfully belongs to less technologically advanced peoples; and the contradictory ideology underlying noble savage vs. ruthless savage. The subtext in Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier is clear: all can be co-opted, trained, and assimilated in an “honorable” fashion. The film opens during the War of 1812 with President Andrew Jackson, played by Basil Ruysdaereal, leading American soldiers and volunteers against the Creeks, who are fighting to keep their lands from settlers, and preserve their way of life. Only a small portion of the Creeks, headed by the real-life charismatic leader Hildis Harjo, whom Disney renames Chief Red Stick after the historical name of the warring Creek faction, receive any screen time. While Jackson planshisinvasionofCreeklandsagainsttheleadershipofChiefRedStick,playedbyPatHogan, Davy Crockett pursues the more mundane matter of hunting bear for food with his faithful sidekick and chronicler, George Russel. In characteristic Disney style, the scene symbolizes more than just the action that follows; it’s meant to emphasize Crockett’s heroic qualities as well as larger themes explored throughout the film. Crockett opts to tame a bear, rather than shoot him, by utilizing a technique of grinning at the animal—the same technique that he’d previously...

Share