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THE GHOSTS OF BUXLEY HALL (Dir: Bruce Bilson, 1980).
Originally screened in two parts on the long running Disney anthology series, at this point in its history broadcast on NBC under the Disney’s Wonderful World banner; The Ghosts of Buxley Hall is a throwback to Disney fantasy comedies such as Blackbeard’s Ghost (Robert Stevenson, 1968) and Charley and the Angel (Vincent McEveety, 1973). Failing military academy Buxley Hall is forced to merge with a cash strapped girls school, enraging the ghosts of founder General Eulace C Buxton, cohort Sergeant Major Chester B Sweet and wife Betina Buxley (played by Dick O’Neill, Victor French and Louise Latham respectively). Their focus soon shifts to aiding new student Jeremy (Red Daly) whose scheming aunt and uncle threaten both the future of the school and more importantly the well being of their nephew.
Although very much a product of its time The Ghosts of Buxley Hall is undemanding formulaic fun. It has a welcome, albeit slight, feminist message, although some may find gags involving smoking and alcoholism and some mild risqué humour involving a sex education class a little out of place in a family movie. With regards to modern audiences, I imagine this film is more likely to appeal to grownup children of the 1970s/80s than by actual children.
Is The Ghosts of Buxley Hall a good movie? Not particularly. Did I enjoy it? Yes, I kinda did. It felt nostalgic, raised the odd smile and kept me out of mischief for 90 odd minutes.
Visit my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME for more reviews of classic and vintage Disney movies! Link below.
THE RICHEST CAT IN THE WORLD (Dir: Greg Beeman, 1986).
By 1986 Walt Disney branded feature films had all but died out, the studio finding greater success with movies released through its adult oriented Touchstone Pictures division. Conversely the opposite was true on television where the success of the fledgling Disney Channel (launched in 1983) and the re-invigorated Disney anthology TV series had created a demand for new made-for-television feature content. One such feature was The Richest Cat in the World.
Palmer the cat stars as Leo, a pampered puss left $5 million in the will of his deceased owner Oscar (Ramon Bieri). When Oscar’s nephew learns of this he and his wife set out to kidnap and dispose of Leo, thereby inheriting the cash themselves. Leo confides his ability to speak (!) to an employee’s children who determine to protect the cat and stop the catnappers from stealing his fortune.
The Richest Cat in the World debuted on the newly re-titled The Disney Sunday Movie on the ABC network. In truth, TV is where this modest comedy-thriller belongs. Greg Beeman directs with a smooth efficiency but cannot disguise the movie's TV origins. The teleplay by Marshall Efron and Alfa-Betty Olsen is satisfactory enough, but with marked similarities to Disney's animated The Aristocats (Wolfgang Reitherman, 1970) is not particularly original. To describe the slapstick humour of the movie as broad would be an understatement. To be fair, there are some laughs to be had, not just ironically; there is something inherently funny about a cat using a touchpad telephone to order a pizza!
The Richest Cat in the World is just silly enough to appeal to young audiences and nostalgic enough to appeal to adults who enjoyed it when they were young. It is wholly innocent and appealing in a ramshackle kind of way, especially if you like cute cats. It is the kind of movie where you can predict the ending in the first five minutes but, if you are in the right mood, it should raise the odd chuckle and honestly, I can think of worse ways to waste 90 minutes.
Visit my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME to read a longer, more in-depth review of The Richest Cat in the World! Link below.
THE LEFTOVERS (Dir: Paul Schneider, 1986).
If there is a more 1980's way to open your movie than with Howard Jones' New Song, than I do not know what it is. I am also unsure as to who this lightweight comedy will resonate with, other than 1980's kids.
The Leftovers stars singer turned actor John Denver as Max Sinclair, director of The Middleburg Orphanage and surrogate father to the ragtag bunch of kids who live there. Cindy Williams is the live in help. Together they fend off plans to redevelop the home by underhanded means, while the kids do all they can to keep from being adopted.
Originally aired on television as part of ABC's The Disney Sunday Movie weekly series in November 1986. It's not hard to imagine that a decade earlier The Leftovers would have been released to cinemas, with Dean Jones and Sandy Duncan as possible leads. It is old fashioned, inoffensive but not without charm.
It may be a generational thing, but I did enjoy this movie. It is nothing spectacular but the leads are likeable and while the plot has a few too many contrivances and conveniences for its own good, most of its laughs are genuine.
However, it is low-key in the extreme and although I had seen this movie at around the age of 12 or 13, only one scene stuck in my head and that was the opening, probably because my tweenage self was a big fan of Howard Jones!
I am sure I enjoyed The Leftovers as a kid because I lapped up anything Disney. Revisiting it as an adult I am aware that it is no classic, even by 80's Disney TV movie standards. But it is an entertaining 90 odd minutes; if you are in the mood for some gentle 1980's nostalgia you might find it hits the spot. Just don't expect to remember much about it afterwards!
Visit my blog jinglebonesmovietime.blogspot.com for more reviews of vintage Disney movies!
STUDENT EXCHANGE (Dir: Mollie Miller, 1987).
A lightweight teen comedy from Walt Disney Television. Originally screened in two parts on ABC's The Disney Sunday Movie series.
Greeley High School students Carole and Neil are top of the class academically but bottom of the heap socially. Passing themselves of as foreign exchange students in a bid to be noticed, they are a hit with fellow pupils, less so with the school principal. Predictably, things get a little out of hand and the pair are soon wishing they were their old selves again.
Inexplicably, identity switch movies were something of a Disney Sunday Movie staple in the 1980s. The previous season had presented Young Again (Steven Hilliard Stern, 1986), Double Switch (David Greenwalt, 1987) and Double Agent (Michael Vejar, 1987) while the current series also offered Rock 'n' Roll Mom (Michael Schultz, 1988) and 14 Going on 30 (Paul Schneider, 1988). Meanwhile The Disney Channel was churning out a seemingly endless series of sequels to Disney's original switheroo comedy The Parent Trap (David Swift, 1961).
There is little in Student Exchange that is particularly original and nothing that really makes it stand out among the plethora of teenage wish fulfillment movies. Mollie Miller's direction is solid and the performances are fine, although the production cannot quite shake the feeling of an extended TV episode.
It also suffers from a message that is slightly muddled. While it is undoubtedly important to be yourself, Student Exchange makes it seem a lot more fun to be the popular kid and get the girl/boy of your dreams.
Viveka Davis and Todd Field are likeable leads, but perhaps of more interest to modern audiences is the supporting cast. A post-Bionic Woman Lindsay Wagner, pre-fame Heather Graham and pre-infamy O J Simpson all put in appearances.
Student Exchange is a pleasant enough nostalgia trip. Teens and tweens of the late 80s may get more out of it than anybody else. But i don't see why younger audiences wouldn't enjoy it too; essentially it is a modern day Disney Channel movie in 1980s clothing. It is predictable and formulaic but also good-natured fun.
Visit my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME for a longer, more in-depth review of Student Exchange!
THE SIGN OF ZORRO (Dir: Norman Foster & Lewis R Foster, 1958)
Guy Williams stars as the vigilante hero who "makes the sign of a Z" in Walt Disney's feature film version of the hit Zorro TV series, broadcast on the ABC network from 1957-59.
Following a lengthy absence, Don Diego (Guy Williams) returns home to the Spanish Californian pueblo of Los Angeles. Finding his hometown under the rule of cruel Captain Monastario (Britt Lomand), he dons a black cape, assumes the new identity of Zorro and determines to overthrow Monastario and restore order to the pueblo. Cue lots of sword fights!
As with Disney's earlier feature Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (Norman Foster, 1955), The Sign of Zorro was edited together from episodes of a TV series. Screened in black and white but filmed in colour, Davy Crockett was a high quality production that transferred to the cinema with ease. Zorro was a more modestly budgeted production shot in black and white. Its static camera work and proliferation of close-ups did not hold up as well on the big screen. The cobbling together of various episodes results in a somewhat disjointed narrative with multiple climaxes and plot threads which are never properly resolved.
That said, the movie does have it compensations. Guy Williams makes for an appealing, athletic hero and is well supported by Gene Sheldon as mute man servant Bernardo and Henry Calvin as local law enforcer Sergeant Garcia; their deft comic performances nicely complementing the lighthearted heroics.
While the movie did not manage to repeat the success of the superior Davy Crockett, it did well enough to warrant a sequel. However, Zorro the Avenger (Charles Barton, 1959) was marketed solely to international audiences and was not released in the US.
Despite its shortcomings, this is an entertaining movie, thanks to its appealing cast and general good-natured ambience. If, like me, you enjoy a bit of swashbuckling you will find The Sign of Zorro has an easy going charm that is hard to resist. Slightly shabby but a lot of fun!
Check out my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME for a longer, more in-depth review of The Sign of Zorro. Link below.
MOSBY'S MARAUDERS aka WILLIE AND THE YANK (Dir: Michael O'Herlihy, 1967).
Originally produced for US television, Mosby's Marauders in a fictional historical drama set during the American Civil War.
Young Confederate Willie Prentiss (Kurt Russell) is protected by Union Corporal Henry Jenkins (James MacArthur) after accidentally shooting his commanding officer Lieutenant Mosby (Jack Ging). They strike up an unlikely friendship despite fighting on opposing sides. Jenkins soon develops a romantic interest in Willie's cousin Oralee (Peggy Lipton), further complicating their already compromised friendship and arousing the suspicions of Jenkins superior Sgt Gregg (Nick Adams).
Mosby's Marauders was originally screened in three parts on Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color in January 1967, under its US title Willie and the Yank. Retitled, it was shown in UK cinemas on the second half of a double feature with Monkeys Go Home (Andrew V. McLagan, 1967).
Its appealing cast is headed by 15 year old Kurt Russell, previously seen in Disney's Follow Me, Boys! (Norman Tokar, 1966). Although Disney would later cast him exclusively in light comedy, he acquits himself well here in a dramatic performance. James MacArthur was a Disney regular from a decade earlier. His co-starring role as 'the Yank' was his first for the studio since Swiss Family Robinson (Ken Annakin, 1960). Always underrated as an actor, MacArthur would find greater fame a year later in the role of Danny in TVs Hawaii Five-O (1968-80).
Mosby's Marauders is an unusual Civil War picture, in that it is told from the perspective of the South. Yet this is no Confederate flag waver and is told in a fairly matter of fact manner, sympathetic with the plight of those fighting for both North and South.
Modern audiences, especially children, may be put off by the movie's subject matter and the fairly dry manner in which it is presented. Still, Mosby’s Marauders is a handsome outdoor adventure with none the budgetary restraints one might expect from a TV movie. Not for everyone, perhaps, but a quality product which is well worth a watch.
Visit my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME for a longer, more in-depth review of Mosby’s Marauders. Link below.
The Boy Who Talked to Badgers (Dir: Gary Nelson, 1975).
A family drama first aired in two parts on NBC’s The Wonderful World of Disney television series. Difficult to obtain for many years it is now available to watch on the Disney+ streaming service.
Based on Allan W. Eckert’s 1971 novel Incident at Hawk's Hill, The Boy Who Talked to Badgers tells the story of young farm boy Benjy MacDonald (Christian Juttner). Preferring the company of animals to humans Ben largely disconnects with others, notably his stern father Will (Carl Betz). When out playing in a nearby creek, Ben falls in and is carried downstream. Believing him drowned, his guilt-ridden father organises an extensive search of the surrounding area. Ben, meanwhile is aided by a badger who befriends him and keeps him supplied in raw fish while the boy's injured ankle heals.
Read the full review on my blog JINGLE BONES MOVIE TIME! Link below.
