Norman Tokar Movies

Zunar J5/90 Doric 4-7, also known as Jake, is an alien cat who crash-lands on earth. He heads off to the nearest scientist to find gold ($120,000 worth!) in order to repair his spaceship. Jake reveals that he can predict the winners in sporting events and soon the military is trying to track him down. The plot becomes more complicated when a wacky veterinarian inadvertently puts Jake into a deep sleep; now he must hide the alien cat from government authorities. The Cat from Outer Space was written by cartoonist Ted Key, who also wrote other Disney family fare, including Gus and The $1,000,000 Duck. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

In this Disney comedy, a pair of spoiled kids, bored by their filthy rich grandfather, decide they'd rather be with their mom who is in Hong Kong. In order to get her attention, they engineer their own kidnapping. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Based on the novel by Wilson Rawls, this film follows the events that befall a young Oklahoma farm boy as he, with the help of his two beloved hounds, struggles to help his family get by in the hard times of the 1930s. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

In this light-weight Disney family fare, Dean Jones plays Johnny Baxter, who -- along with his wife Sue (Nancy Olsen) and his two kids, Chris (Kathleen Cody) and Richard (Johnny Whitaker) -- decides to leave the New York City rat-race for the clean air and easy living of the Colorado ski country. Baxter has inherited a decaying Gothic mansion and, with the love of his family and a little bit of money, he converts the old house into a popular ski lodge. While preparing his lodge for the tourists and ski bums, Baxter has to deal with a few plumbing problems, a scheming banker (Keenan Wynn), and a grizzled old miner (Harry Morgan). In typical Disney fashion, the plot culminates in a wild, slapstick snowmobile race. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide

Rascal, the Sterling North novel that has been a longtime fixture of Scholastic Magazine book clubs, was given Tiffany treatment by the Disney studios in 1969. Bill Mumy plays young Sterling North, whose Wisconsin childhood is enriched through his friendship with a stray raccoon. Though lacking the emotional depth of the novel, the film is distinguished by the lovingly detailed outdoor photography that has always been a Disney hallmark. Likewise a "regular" in the Disney canon are scenes of animals wreaking comic destruction and wild chase sequences, and Rascal does not flag when offering these. A favorite of the Saturday matinee circuit, Rascal has in recent years become a standard weekend TV offering whenever a sports event is rained out or otherwise delayed. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Adapted from the book and play of the same name, The Happiest Millionaire is the (mostly) true story of eccentric Philadelphia millionaire Anthony J. Drexel Biddle (Fred MacMurray). The Biddle mansion is the gathering place for a pugilistic boxing class, pet alligators and would-be opera singers. Cordelia Biddle (Lesley Ann Warren), the daughter of Anthony and his wife (Greer Garson), wants to marry wealthy and handsome Angie Duke (John Davidson), but Angie's parents are shocked by the Biddles' freewheeling lifestyle. Thanks in part to the ebullient intervention of John Lawless (Tommy Steele), the Biddles' butler, all misunderstandings are eventually swept away. Like Disney's previous Mary Poppins, The Happiest Millionaire is decked out with a vibrant musical score by Richard and Robert Sherman, but the magic is somehow lacking this time around. This was the last live-action film to personally supervised by Walt Disney; released several months after Disney's death, the film was made available in 141-minute and 164-minute versions. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Originally trade-previewed as Those Crazy Calloways, Disney's Those Calloways is a lengthy, anecdotal film about a highly individualistic New England family. Patriarch Cam Calloway (Brian Keith) is regarded as a crank by the local villagers because of his dream to build a bird sanctuary that will protect migratory geese from hunters. Cam uses all his savings to buy a lake, where he intends to establish his sanctuary. When a wealthy sportsman offers to turn the town into a booming resort community in exchange for hunting rights, Cam opposes the plan, which briefly puts him on the outs with everyone else. Only when Cam is accidentally shot by the sportsman do the locals rally around the "crazy" Calloways so that Cam's sanctuary can come to fruition. The plot of Those Calloways can best be described as picaresque; the film is most successful in establishing mood and atmosphere, and in offering a vast array of distinctive characterizations from such pros as Brian Keith, Vera Miles, Brandon de Wilde, Walter Brennan, Ed Wynn, John Larkin, Parley Baer, John Qualen, and Paul Hartman. Look for young Linda Evans as the girl friend of the oldest Calloway boy (DeWilde) and for future Picket Fences star Tom Skerritt as the town bully. Those Calloways was based on Swiftwater, a novel by Paul Annixter. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

After a dangerous tiger turns on its trainer and escapes from the circus, a small town in Texas finds itself in an uproar over its capture. As it is hunted by numerous parties, a young girl begins protesting and starts a nationwide movement to plead for the tiger's safety. As the situation gains more attention, the local attitude is torn by politics and outside pressure. At the time of its release, this feature (taken from a book by Ian Niall) was quite different for Disney as it portrayed realistic small-town politics rather than an ideal community. The titular tiger, on the other hand, seemed to have an uncanny knack of choosing baddies to prey upon while leaving all well-meaning folks alone. ~ Kristie Hassen, All Movie Guide

Big Red is one of several Disney pictures filmed in Canada during the 1960s. Orphaned Gilles Payant goes to work for wealthy Walter Pidgeon, who raises prize dogs. Pidgeon's particular favorite among his canines is Big Red, who unfortunately resists all efforts to be trained. Young Payant manages to "reach" Big Red, to such an extent that Pidgeon is worried: if the boy and dog become too close, Red will never behave anyone else. Pidgeon orders Payant to stay away from Red until after an upcoming important dog show. The boy disobeys his boss, resulting in a near-tragedy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Beaver's efforts to get rich quick by raising chinchillas has resulted in a very messy garage. Rather than get angry, Ward (Hugh Beaumont) calmly requests that Beaver (Jerry Mathers) and Wally (Tony Dow) clean up the garage. Putting off the chore for several days, the boys finally get around to the cleaning, working as quickly as possible. In their haste, our heroes leave a few nails on the floor, one of which punctures a tire on their dad's car. The trick now is to repair the damage without getting clobbered by their dad! ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

While Wally (Tony Dow) studies all weekend for a difficult history test, Eddie (Ken Osmond) and Lumpy (Frank Bank) scheme to use an easier (and less scrupulous) method, writing up crib sheets on the school's bathroom towel dispenser. Come the day of the test, and the "cheat sheets" are confiscated by the teacher. Hoping to avoid the consequences, Eddie and Lumpy point to Wally's high score and insist that he was responsible for writing up the crib notes! Carol Sydes (aka Cindy Carol) makes her first appearance in the recurring role of Alma Hanson. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

High school "letter man" Wally (Tony Dow) lends his school sweater to a girl named Frances (Ann Barnes). Several days pass, and Wally asks for his sweater back, but Frances is evasive. What Wally doesn't know -- but will soon find out -- is that the wily Frances is showing off Wally's sweater to her friends, claiming that she and he are "devoted" to one another. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Against his father's wishes, Beaver (Jerry Mathers) answers a magazine ad for young models. The modeling agency sends back a letter of acceptance, along with a request for a 30-dollar registration fee -- which Beaver ignores. Ultimately, our hero gets another letter threatening legal action unless he ponies up the 30 bucks immediately. Somehow or other, virtually every plot on this series boils down to, "If I tell Dad, he'll clobber me!" ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide