Revisiting Walt Disney's Davy Crockett: Part 2 (Western Wednesdays)

Born on a mountaintop in Tennessee 

Greenest state in the land of the free 

Raised in the woods so's he knew every tree 

Killed him a bear when he was only three

Davy, Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier 

     Originally released on May 25th, 1955 Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier is directed by Norman Foster and Written by Tom Blackburn. After the unprecedented success of the Disneyland miniseries the studio decided to edit the three episodes together and release them theatrically. As a result of this the film has a very clear, three act structure. In the first act Crockett fights under Andrew Jackson in the Creek Indian War. In the second act he is elected to congress and opposes Jackson's Indian Removal Bill. In the third act he goes to Texas and joins the revolution against Santa Anna.

     While the film feels, understandably, episodic at times, they did a surprisingly good job making it feel like a connected whole. Davy's experiences in the Creek Indian War inform his actions in politics. Confronting the Creek war chief Red Stick (Pat Hogan), he promises that the government will let his tribe live on their own land in peace if they give up fighting. Redstick is sketical, "White government lie." "Davy Crockett don't lie," he reassures him. Looking for a western settlement to move his family to after the war he encounters a band of land grabbers led by Bigfoot Mason (played by wrestler Mike Mazurki), who make money running Indian settlers off their land and then selling it. Crockett becomes magistrate of this town, and arrests Mason and his followers. He then runs for state legislator and later for Congress, against an opponent who is in league with the Cherokee land grabbers. In Congress he opposes President Jackson's Indian Bill, as he feels it violates the promise he made to Red Stick and the government's treaties with the Indian nations.

     This opposition effectively ends his political career. In the meantime his wife has passed away from an illness. Davy has little to lose at this point. Reading about the Texas Revolution in the papers, he decides to join with the rebels. He sees American settlers oppressed by a tyrannical government and decides he must act. So he and Georgie head down to Texas. Along the way they are joined by a riverboat gambler named Thimblerig (Hans Conried, Jr.), who is trying to escape his debts, and a down-on-his luck Comanche (Nick Cravat), who Crockett and Russell nurse back to health after witnessing him be thrown off his horse while hunting buffalo. Eventually, the group reaches San Antonio, where they join the beleaguered defenders of the Alamo. It is here, along with James Bowie (Kenneth Tobey) and William Barret Travis (Don Megowan), that Crockett meets his demise.

     Watching this film is one of my earliest childhood memories. I can distinctly remember being frightened of Red Stick the first time he appears on screen. As I previously reflected, it left a huge impact on me. I attribute this to the film's quasi-mythic portrayal of Crockett. This film is a masterwork of mythic storytelling. The use of a ballad to tell the story and fill in the blanks immediately gives the movie the feeling of a folk tale. Stories and legends about Crockett are sprinkled throughout the film. The first time we meet Davy, he is trying to "grin down" a bear, "You see, there's nothin' so absolutely unresistable as an old-fashioned, good-natured grin" he tells General Jackson, "I got so good at it, an old 'coon throwed up his hands the minute he seen my teeth. ''You got me Davy,'' he hollered and he skinned down that tree and plopped himself in my sack before I knowed what was up." His first confrontation with Redstick is filmed like an epic battle between two titans. But it's the the final shot of the film, of Crockett furiously swinging his rifle in the air to fight off the hordes of Mexican infantry, that cemented his mythic quality for me. We don't see Crockett die rather, according to the final lyrics, "Storybooks tell they was all cut low but the truth of it is this just ain't so. Their spirits will live and their legends grow as long as we remember the Alamo."

     I refused to believe, for a time, that Crockett had actually died in the battle, I saw him as a larger then life hero, incapable of being killed in combat. His mantra "be sure your right and then go ahead" was for me not just slogan, but a way of life. Later on, after I had accepted the historical fact of his death, I learned that he had possibly been taken prisoner and summarily executed, again my young brain rebelled at this idea. Surely my childhood hero would never have surrendered. I've since learned that this story is of questionable historical validity but the point is that my admiration for Crockett exceeded that of passing interest in an historical figure. Fess Parker and the filmmakers had inspired in me a lifelong devotion to this long dead American congressman.

     Despite the film's mythic overtones, the writers were careful to portray Crockett as a real flesh-and-blood person. He gets hurt, he bleeds, and he is deeply affected by the premature death of his wife. He is not a man who goes looking for greatness. He just wants to raise his family in peace but destiny seems to steer him continually into situations that require heroic action. Despite this, his efforts seem to be met with failure more often then success. As I've grown older, it's these very human qualities that have continued to endear me to Crockett, his ability to carry on and follow his conscience in the face of continued failure and finally, certain death.

     Over the years I've had other heroes: celebrities, artists, political pundits, military veterans, but, in most cases (Catholic Saints excepted), my admiration for them has faded. Not so with Crockett. Rather, the more I've learned about the real man and what he did, the more I respect him. The great figures of history were more often than not tyrants, butchers, exploitative opportunists, et cetera. Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier paints a picture of a man who refused to compromise with the corrupt ways of society and did what he felt was right no matter what the cost, a picture that, it just so happens, is fairly close to the truth. I have nothing but animus for what Disney, as a company has become. But, even if he did nothing else, I owe ol' Walt a debt of gratitude for making Davy Crockett.