Michael's Movie Grade:A
Year Released: 1956
History
With Walt's love of trains, and Fess Parker's success as Davy Crockett, The Great Locomotive Chase seemed like a natural film for Disney to do at this time. The story would be based off of a true story that happened during the civil war. This story had been filmed before for Buster Keaton's 1926 classic The General (which if you haven't seen watch it now).However this time it was going to be filmed in quite a different light. It would be more serious here, and not a comedy like The General, and it would feature the north as the main characters rather than the south (as in Keaton's film). That is closer to the truth than Keaton's version as these character in the true story were from the north. This happened because Buster didn't feel he could make southerner's into the bad guys. However these films are too different from each other, and even though they are based off the same source this is by no means a remake of the earlier film.
This film was directed by Francis D. Lyon, who had previously worked for Disney on the Spin and Marty segment of The Mickey Mouse Club TV show. Lyon spent much of his career directing various westerns for both theaters and TV. This would include The Oklahoman (with Joel McCrea), Escort West, and episodes of the Laramie TV show. The Great Locomotive Chase would mark his first and last time directing a Disney feature. This film would also be the film debut of actor Morgan Woodward, who would later be in the film Cool Hand Luke and the TV show Dallas. He would also appear in the Disney film Westward Ho, the Wagons!.
The train used in this film was a train called the William Mason. This train was built in 1856, and was actually used during the Civil War to transport Union troops and supplies. This locomotive has also appeared in other films such as The Swan, Raintree Country, Wild Wild West, Tuck Everlasting and Gods and Generals.
Much of this film takes place in Georgia, and much of the outdoor shooting was shot there on location. However the indoor shooting was mostly done at the Disney studio in Burbank, California. Walt was not as involved with this film as he usually was. This is because at the time he was busy doing work at Disneyland. However he did play a role in the story meetings, and he visited the filming in Georgia for a weekend.
The Great Locomotive Chase was a big hit both critically and at the box office. Some critics were happy to see this film go back to the big budget spectacle they excepted from Disney, after the modest budget The Littlest Outlaw.
Review
Fantastic film. This film is great on nearly all levels.
While the story is fairly simple and easy to follow, it never talks down to the audience and is not afraid to show the complexities of the history it is representing. I love that this is a movie without any real bad guys, but rather just people fighting for what they believe is right. This is truly fascinating and something that should be more common in films of this kind. While not to give anything away the ending is simply incredibly powerful, and something that should be seen by people who claim that Disney films are just simple minded escapism for kids, as it will definitely prove those people wrong.
One thing that really makes this film great is the fact that it takes it's time to get to the big action scene. Because of this we are fully invested in the story and characters when it happens. This of course makes the scene much more exciting.
Like all Disney films of this era this film looks great. Peter Ellenshaw's paintings and Charles P. Boyle's cinematography are especially well done.
Overall this is an incredible film that deserves more attention than it currently gets.
Film Credits
Director: Francis D. Lyon
Writer: Lawrence Edward Watkin
Cast: Fess Parker (James J. Andrews), Jeffrey Hunter (William A. Fuller), Jeff York (William Campbell), John Lupton (William Pittenger), Eddie Firestone (Robert Buffum), Kenneth Tobey (Anthony Murphy), Don Megowan (Marion A. Ross), Claude Jarman Jr. (Jacob Parrott), Harry Carey Jr. (William Bensinger), Leonard P. Geer ( J.A. Wilson), George Robotham (William Knight), Stan Jones (Wilson Brown), Marc Hamilton (John Wollam), John Wiley (John M. Scott), Slim Pickens (Pete Bracken), Morgan Woodward (Alex), W.S. Bearden (Switchman), Harvey Hester (Jess McIntyre), Robert Kent (Switchman), Rudy Bowman (Townsman), Richard H. Cutting (Gen. Mitchell), John Daheim (Cox), Robert Foulk (Gen. Ledbetter), Roy Gordon (Stanton), Herman Hack (Townsman), Dick Johnstone (Townsman), Jack Kenny (Townsman), Mitchell Kowall (Raider), Billy McCoy (Townsman), Hank Patterson (Jailer), John Pickard (Lt. Fletcher), Chuck Roberson (Prison Captain), Dick Sargent (Soldier), Dale Van Sickel (Alonzo Martin)
Producers: Lawrence Edward Watkin, Walt Disney
Music: Paul J. Smith, Franklyn Marks
Songwriters: Lawrence Edward Watkin, Stan Jones
Cinematographer: Charles P. Boyle
Art Director: Carroll Clark
Editor: Ellsworth Hoagland
Set Decorators: Patrick Delany, Emile Kuri
Paintings: Peter Ellenshaw, Albert Whitlock
Special Effects: Ub Iwerks
Assistant Director: Robert G. Shannon
Make-up Artists: Louis Haszillo, David Newell
Unit Manager: Russ Haverick
Sound Department: Robert O. Cook, Virgil Smith
Stunt Artists: Chuck Roberson, Terry Wilson
Wardrobe: Joseph Dimmitt, Chuck Keehne
Researcher: Harper Goff
Technical Advisor: Wilbur G. Kurtz
Resources Used
-Michael J. Ruhland
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