Vincent Mceveety - Tumblr Posts
Movie number 28: Gus (Vincent McEveety, 1976).
By 1976, 10 years after the death of its founder, Walt Disney Productions were struggling for relevance in a changing film industry which had largely moved away from family entertainment to more adult fare. The fantasy comedies which were the company’s mainstay had been a Disney staple since The Shaggy Dog (Charles Barton) had hit big in 1959. However, nearly two decades later, what had once seemed fresh and inventive had become tired and formulaic. Budgets were kept low so the films made a small profit and Gus, with it stock footage and unconvincing back-projection was, indeed, a minor success. Its plot, as high concept as it is ludicrous, involves a Yugoslavian mule with a talent for 100 yard field goals who is hired by failing US football team The Atoms. The human cast is headed by Edward Asner doing his lovably gruff bit as The Atoms manager and he is supported by familiar 70s faces Don Knotts, Tim Conway and Tom Bosley. Considering the material the cast do a decent job and some genuine laughs are to be had from the visual gags involving The Atoms ageing cheerleaders and Gus the mule running amok in a supermarket! The movie Gus feels something of a cousin to Disney’s earlier The World’s Greatest Athlete (Robert Scheerer, 1973) and if you enjoyed that you will probably like this. To be fair, I lapped up this sort of thing as a child and taken for what it is Gus is entertaining, cheap and cheerful formulaic fun!
THE MILLION DOLLAR DUCK (Dir: Vincent McEveety, 1971).
A domestic comedy from Walt Disney Productions. Referred to in publicity as $1,000,000 Duck, the tale is a spin on the Aesop’s Fable of The Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs.
After radiation exposure, dumb duck Charley begins to lay solid gold eggs. Much to the delight of cash strapped research scientist Albert Dooley (Dean Jones) and his dippy missus Katie (Sandy Duncan). Friendly neighbourhood lawyer Fred (Tony Roberts) is in on the act of keeping their discovery from nosy nextdoor US Treasury Department employee Hooper (Joe Flynn). As gold fever engulfs the household, the generation gap between Albert and his son Jimmy (Lee Montgomery) grows. The kid only wanted a pet duck. At the risk of losing his poultry pal to the government, the pair fly the coop, hitching a ride on a hot-rod and creating crosstown chaos as mom and pop, the money men and the cops join pursuit of boy and bird.
Visit my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME to read the full review! Link below.
THE APPLE DUMPLING GANG (Dir: Norman Tokar, 1975).
Comic western from Walt Disney Productions which provides a pre-Incredible Hulk Bill Bixby a rare opportunity as leading man in a feature film.
Three orphans, the unwitting wards of gambler Russell Donovan (Bill Bixby), attract the attention of prospective adoptive parents when they strike gold in former mining community of Quake City. To protect the kids from gold-digging townsfolk, Donovan arranges a sham marriage with stagecoach driver Dusty (Susan Clark) with a plan to adopt the youngsters; meanwhile the children's money grabbing legal guardian John Wintle (Don Knight) gets wind of their windfall. Determined to remain in the care of Donovan and Dusty, the trio, assuming the name The Apple Dumpling Gang combine forces with second rate bandits Amos (Tim Conway) and Theodore (Don Knotts) aka The Hash Knife Outfit. Together the gang plot to stage a bogus burglary which would allow Amos and Theodore to keep the nugget while deterring the self-serving Wintle. The clumsy crims are making a fine mess of thing when real life robbers turn up to alleviate the loot from the city bank.
Read the full review on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME. Link below.
