Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (1955)

Written by CinemaSerf on November 14, 2022

All six foot six inches of Fess Parker epitomises well one of the heroes of the fledging United States in this episodic retelling of his rise from frontiersman battling Indians and unscrupulous settlers through his time in Congress to his final ill-fated stance at the Alamo. I can't vouch, much, for any historical authenticity - it is just a Disney film that celebrates the legend of the man, and his long-time sidekick George Russel (Buddy Ebden) with a catchy theme song and lots of action scenes. It has twinges of a social conscience - using Crockett as a conduit for the principles of fairness, decency and loyalty that underpinned much of he traditions of the "Founding Fathers" of the USA back at the start. Parker is a little wooden in the lead, but works well with Ebden to create an enjoyable, at time amusing, action adventure well worth a watch. As ever with films like this, do bear in mind that some of the language and roles are very much of their intended time.