Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier

Fess Parker played Davy Crockett in the 1955 film, “Davy Crockett: King of the Wild Frontier,” which combined three episodes of the TV series that aired on ABC.

First, Davy and his partner George Russel (Buddy Ebsen) scout for General Andrew Jackson (Basil Ruysdael), who’s trying to suppress a revolution by the Creek Indians and Chief Red Stick (Pat Hogan).

As predicted, Davy proves much more skilled at fighting Native Americans than the regulars under Jackson’s command, including Major Tobias Norton, played by William Bakewell.

Once peace is restored, Davy and George travel to Tennessee. When they arrive, Davy meets the local bully, becomes judge, than a state representative.

In the end, Jackson, now president, recruits him to run for Congress. Mark Franklin said in his blog, “Davy finds his backwoods politics plays well, even in Eastern cities. He also discovers that more seasoned politicians are eager to take advantage of his naiveté.”

Done with politics, Davy and George travel to Texas. Why? Franklin answered, “Because American homesteaders who have settled there are fighting for their liberty.”

They end up at the Alamo, where Colonel Jim Bowie, played by Kenneth Tobey, immediately tells the truth with Crockett, but not the rest of the men. Their situation is desperate. And the likelihood of reinforcements distant.

Franklin noted, “The film became a smash hit for Disney, the Davy Crockett role made a star of Fess Parker and coonskin caps became a craze, all the result of a TV show designed to promote the Frontierland portion of Walt Disney’s Florida theme park.”

Given Parker’s easy-going likability in the lead role – at one point, he tries to smile down a bear – it’s easy to see why this would be popular with kids and as family friendly viewing.

Franklin criticized, “But it’s too cliché-ridden to be taken very seriously as adult entertainment.” In one scene in part one, Davy challenges the Native American chief to a hand-to-hand fight. This comes after Davy and George have taken turns saving one another.

The theme song became famous. Franklin noted, “In fact, at one point, three different versions of “The Ballad of Davy Crockett” were in the Billboard Top 10, one by Tennessee Ernie Ford, one by Fess Parker and one by Bill Hayes. The Hayes version made it to number one.”

Yes, Davy dies at the Alamo, but Disney came back with a prequel the following year, which we will look at tomorrow.

This is a good movie. I saw this on Disney+ and I enjoyed it a lot. I didn’t know this was a TV show, but that is because it was way before my time. I might watch the show, but I don’t know. In fact, this should be seen by everyone to know what a classic this is.

Look out tomorrow when I review the prequel in “Disney Month 2024.”