Michael's Movie Grade:C+
Year Released:1955
History
The Littlest Outlaw began as an idea for a segment on the Disneyland T.V. Show. This idea came from a man name Larry Lansburg. Lansburg had worked as a cameraman on a few Disney films like So Dear to My Heart, Saludos Amigos, and The Three Caballeros. He had also directed a Disney live action documentary short called Stormy. Walt liked Lansburg's idea but felt it work better as a theatrical feature rather than a T.V. show segment, and handed the idea to writer Bill Walsh to make into a feature film script. Though Bill Walsh had produced some of the Disney T.V. output, and Davy Crockett: The King of the wild Frontier, and written for the Disney T.V. special One Hour in Wonderland, this was the first time Bill Walsh would write a script for a Disney theatrical release. Walsh would later write for such films as The Shaggy Dog, The Absent Minded Professor, Mary Poppins, That Darn Cat. and more Disney films.
Since this film was shot in Mexico, and had a mostly Mexican cast, the film was shot in both English and Spanish rather than being dubbed. Also because of this the film also had a Mexican director, Roberto Gavaldón. Roberto Gavaldón has directed such Mexican films as Macario, In the Palm of Your Hand and The Hidden One. This was his first and last film for Disney.
The main child actor of this film was Andrés Velázquez, whose film career was very short. He had previously appeared in the feature films, One Big Affair (an American film directed by Peter Godfrey) and Nunca es tarde para amar (a Mexican film directed by Tito Davison), and an episode of the American T.V, show, Schlitz Playhouse. After The Littlest Outlaw, he would appear in only one more film, the Mexican feature, Feliz año, amor mío, directed by Tulio Demicheli.
At this time Disney was known for more extravagant films, like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea or Cinderella, so a lot of audiences didn't warm up to this gentle low budget film, because it wasn't what they expected from Disney. Because of this the movie lost money at the box office. Critical reactions were quite mixed, some praising it for it's atmosphere and acting, and some disliking it because it was not what they expected from Disney. The same year the film was released Disney also released a record where Jiminy Cricket (voiced by Cliff Edwards) narrated the story.
Review
Sweet, Charming, but not especially memorable.
This film's acting is quite good, even from the child actors. The cinematography is also quite good. The story is charming. However despite all this there is little to make this film stand out among other good films. We have seen it all before, and although it is done quite well though, there is little to make it anything special among other good, and simular films.
Overall this is a good film that I recommend, but it is not a Disney classic, or a film that really stands out.
Film Credits
Director: Roberto Gavaldón
Writers: Larry Lansburgh, Bill Walsh
Cast: Andrés Velázquez (Pablito), Pedro Armendáriz (Gen. Torres), Joseph Calleia (Padre), Rodolfo Acosta (Chato), Laila Maley (Celita), Pepe Ortiz (Matador), Gilberto González (Tiger), José Torvay (Vulture), Jorge Treviño (Barber), José Ángel Espinosa 'Ferrusquilla' (Señor Garcia), Enriqueta Zazueta (Señora Garcia), Irving Lee (Gypsy), Carlos Ortigoza (Doctor), Margarito Luna (Silvestre), Ricardo Gonzáles (Marcos), María Eugenia (Bride), Pedrito Vargas (Groom)
Producers: Larry Lansburgh, Walt Disney
Music: William Lava, Charles Maxwell
Songwriters: William Lava. Jeff Chandler
Cinematographers: Carl Carvahal, Alex Phillips
Editors: Carlos Savage
Set Design: Rafael Suárez
Production Manager: Luis Sánchez Tello
Assistant Director: Jesús Marín
Sound Department: Manuel Topete
Head Wrangler: 'Chema' Hernandez
Resources Used
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0048304/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt
http://www.thedisneyfilms.com/search/label/Littlest%20Outlaw%20%28The%29
-Michael J. Ruhland
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