the reel dope

 

Movie reviews for: The Sword in the Stone, The Cardinal, and Charade

the jungle book

the year: 1967

the genre: animated


the plot: Bagheera the Panther and Baloo the Bear have a difficult time trying to convince the boy Mowgli to leave the jungle for human civilization.


did you know: that when Gregory Peck was the President of the Academy of Motion Pictures and Science, he tried his hardest to get a full-length animated feature film (most notably the The Jungle Book) not only nominated for Best Picture Academy Award but actually win the award. He resigned as President in 1970 when other members didn't agree with him about animated films being nominated for the award. It would be over 20 years later before the Academy would reconsider, allowing Beauty and the Beast to be nominated.


extra bonus points: if you know why the Beatles ended up not voicing The Vultures as suggested by their manager.


don't miss: "I Wanna Be Like You" with Louis Prima and Phil Harris' off the cuff scatting. Because of their busy band schedules, they recorded the song separately.

the adventures of bullwhip griffin

the year: 1967

the genre: adventure


the cast: Roddy McDowall (Bullwhip Griffin); Suzanne Pleshette (Arabella Flagg); Karl Malden (Judge Higgins); Bryan Russell (Jack Flagg); Richard Haydn (Quentin Bartlett)


the plot: Young Jack Flagg from Boston heads west to join the California gold rush with the hopes of restoring his family fortune, but his dedicated butler, Bullwhip Griffin, sets out to find him and bring him home.


don't miss: Grandpa's portrait. Classic Disney.


watch for: Bryan Russell. He played the little brother in Bye Bye Birdie. Too bad there wasn't a tortoise on 'roids in the wild, wild west!


listen for: "Grandpa used to say that people are 98% water and if you don't stir them up once in a while, they stagnate."


extra bonus points: Richard Haydn plays the hapless Mr. Bartlett. In addition to providing the voice of the Caterpillar in Disney's Alice in Wonderland, what is one of his most famous roles?

the reluctant dragon

the year: 1941

the genre: comedy


The loose plot of the film features Robert Benchley trying to find (or, rather, avoid finding) Walt Disney so that he can, at the insistence of his wife, pitch to him the idea of making an animated version of the book by Kenneth Grahame. Dodging an overly officious studio guide named Humphrey, Benchley stumbles upon a number of the Disney studio operations and learns about the traditional animation process.



don't miss: the poetry slam. I still can't decide which one I like best...Sir Giles' Radish or the dragon's Upside-Down Cake.



did you know: the dragon was originally drawn with a navel which had to removed before the film could be passed, per the Hays Office censors.


Watch the entire piece (including Robert Benchley's tour of the Disney studio) here.

the omega/london connection

the year: 1979
the genre: suspense...er, comedy
the cast: Jeffrey Byron (Luther Starling); Larry Cedar (Roger Pike); Frank Windsor (McGuffin)

the plot: An exciting adventure begins for a young American government agent when he witnesses the kidnapping of a noted European scientist in London. The only item left behind is a gold ring, inscribed with an address, that leads the agent into a massive conspiracy of international proportions. A baffling series of clues and a high-speed boat chase in the Port Of London add up to a superlative Disney mystery thriller!

Laney can probably vouch for the fact that this movie is a little corny...I mean, it's a DISNEY spy movie. Regardless, this was one of our favorites growing up - and always on the summer afternoon/green bean snapping list. This is definitely a hard-to-find gem...as evidenced by the fact that I could only find one - yes, one - pic related to this movie on the internet. But don't let that fool you. This is good clean fun...



count: how many vehicles the Scotland Yard detectives lose.

listen for: "I once had a cat named Luther!"

don't miss: the great ball bearing escape. And the cross-dressing escape.

also don't miss: the hot air balloon, the motorboat, the motorcycle with sidecar, the oceanliner, the tank...

Here's the opening scene - tell me this isn't the grooviest 70s spy movie music you've ever heard:

the 3 lives of thomasina

the year: 1964

the genre: drama


the cast: Patrick McGoohan (Andrew McDhui); Susan Hampshire (Lori MacGregor); Karen Dotrice (Mary McDhui); Matthew Garber (Geordie McNab)


the plot: Set in the town of Inveranoch, Scotland in 1912, the story centers around Andrew MacDhui a widower veterinarian, his seven year old daughter Mary, her cat Thomasina, and "Mad Lori" MacGregor.


don't miss: Mary's friends Geordie, Jamie and Hughie.


listen for: "They started out by calling me Thomas, but when they, um, got to know me better, they changed it to Thomasina."


did you know: Paul Gallico wrote this story. He was a prolific writer of fiction best known for Mrs. 'Arris Goes to Paris, The Poseidon Adventure, and The Snow Goose.


extra bonus points: if you can name the two other Disney movies (besides this one) that Matthew Garber and Karen Dotrice starred in together.

the fighting prince of donegal

the year: 1966

the genre: adventure


the cast: Peter McEnery (Hugh O'Donnell); Susan Hampshire (Kathleen McSweeney); Tom Adams (Henry O'Neill); Gordon Jackson (Captain Leeds)


the plot: Hugh O'Donnell inherits the title of The O'Donnell, the prince of Donegal, and tries to unite Ireland to make war on England. But then Hugh is kidnapped and imprisoned by the Viceroy of Ireland and held ransom for the Clans' good behavior. Hugh must escape prison and the Viceroy's villainous henchman, Captain Leeds, before he can fight.


don't miss: some good ole Disney adventure. I remember watching this as a kid and loving the dashing Peter McEnery. (sigh) Watch the trailer here.


extra bonus points: if you can name another Disney movie that stars Peter McEnery - and another that stars Susan Hampshire.


listen for: "You spent a lot of time chasing everything in skirts. Now you'll know how it feels."


did you know: The song "O'Donnell Aboo," which is sung at the film's conclusion was not written until the 1840s and refers to events in the Nine Year's War, which took place from 1593 to 1602. The film begins in 1587, prior to the conflict.


also listen for: "The Queen does not bluff. She's a politician, yes, but she's a realist. She'd hang her grandmother if she was a threat to the crown."

herbie goes to monte carlo

the year: 1977

the genre: comedy


the cast: Dean Jones (Jim Douglas); Don Knotts (Wheely Applegate); Julie Sommars (Diane Darcy); Jacques Marin (Inspector Bouchet)


the plot: Herbie, the Volkswagen Beetle with a mind of its own, is racing in the Monte Carlo Rally. Unbeknownst to Herbie's driver, thieves have hidden a stolen diamond in Herbie's gas tank, and are now trying to get it back.



don't miss: the bumbling henchmen Max and Quincy.



listen for: "You would not believe this. I would not believe this. No one would believe this."


extra bonus points: if you know what kind of car Herbie falls in love with.


did you know: At the time of the movie release, Baskin Robbins did a promotional ice cream flavor tie in called "Monte Carlo Crunch".

high school musical

Mock me if you will, but I like this happy little ditty of a movie. And while I can't recommend the sequels as highly, if you haven't seen this - give it a chance. You might like it.


the year: 2006

the genre: musical


the cast: Zac Efron (Troy Bolton); Vanessa Hudgens (Gabriella Montez); Ashley Tisdale (Sharpay Evans); Lucas Grabeel (Ryan Evans); Monique Coleman (Taylor McKessie); Corbin Bleu (Chad Danforth); Oleysa Rulin (Kelsi Nielsen)


the plot: Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez meet over winter break after being forced to sing together at a party. They become friends, but don't expect to see each other again. When Gabriella's mother is transferred before the spring semester starts, Troy and Gabriella end up at the same school. They decide to audition for the school's musical, which puts them on the hit list of Sharpay and Ryan Evans, the star siblings of every previous school musical.


don't miss: Zeke's creme brulee.


listen for: "Look, you're a hoops dude. Not a musical singer person. Have you ever seen Michael Crawford on a cereal box?" "Who's Michael Crawford?" "Exactly my point. He was the "Phantom of the Opera" on Broadway. Now my mom, she's seen that musical 27 times and she put Michael Crawford's picture in our refrigerator. Not on it. IN it. So my point is, if you play basketball, you'll end up on the cereal box. If you sing in musicals, you'll end up in my mom's refrigerator."


did you know: "High School Musical" was just the working title for the film while a better name was thought up. However, by the time post-production came, a better name had not been thought of so the producers unwillingly went for "High School Musical."



count: how many hats Ryan wears during the film.