Duane Chase Movies
Follow Me, Boys!, Disney's paean to the Boys Scouts of America, leaves no cliché unturned: we're even offered the old reliable "kid hanging over cliff by rope" bit. Corny, sentimental and obvious though it may be, the film is a delight to watch, especially whenever Fred MacMurray dominates the screen. MacMurray plays Lem Siddons, a 1930s musician who decides to settle down in a small Midwestern town. Here he meets pretty bank teller Vida Downey (Vera Miles), who bemoans the fact that the local boys have no organized activities with which to occupy their time. Volunteering to be a scoutmaster, Lem begins a local scout troop. There are some tense moments when banker Ralph Hastings (Elliot Reid) demands that Lem's scouts vacate their headquarters, but Reid's feisty millionaire Aunt Hetty (Lillian Gish) comes to the rescue. The film's throughline is the regeneration of local "tough kid" Whitey (Kurt Russell), who, after joining the Boy Scouts, straightens out and matures into a solid citizen. The film's lachrymose climax is kept "honest" by the sincere underplaying of Fred MacMurray. Though lambasted by reviewers, Follow Me, Boys! struck a responsive chord with filmgoers, to the tune of a $5.5 million box-office take. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Fred MacMurray, Vera Miles, (more)
One of the most popular movie musicals of all time, The Sound of Music is based on the true story of the Trapp Family Singers. Julie Andrews stars as Maria, a young nun in an Austrian convent who regularly misses her morning prayers because she enjoys going to the hills to sing the title song. Deciding that Maria needs to learn something about the real world before she can take her vows, the Mother Superior (Peggy Wood) sends her off to be governess for the children of the widowed Captain Von Trapp (Christopher Plummer). Arriving at the Trapp home, Maria discovers that her new boss is cold and aloof, and his seven children virtual automatons-at least, whenever the Captain is around. Otherwise, the kids are holy terrors, as evidenced by the fact that Maria is the latest in a long line of governesses. But Maria soon ingratiates herself with the children, especially oldest daughter Liesl (Charmian Carr), who is in love with teenaged messenger boy Rolf. As Maria herself begins to fall in love with the Captain, she rushes back to the Abbey so as not to complicate his impending marriage to a glamorous baroness (Eleanor Parker). But the children insist that Maria return, the Baroness steps out of the picture, and Maria and the Captain confirm their love in the song "Something Good." Unhappily, they return home from their honeymoon shortly after the Nazis march into Austria. Already, swastikas have been hung on the Von Trapp ancestral home, and Liesl's boyfriend Rolf has been indoctrinated in the "glories" of the Third Reich. The biggest blow occurs when Von Trapp is called back to active duty in the service of the Fuhrer. The Captain wants nothing to do with Nazism, and he begins making plans to take himself and his family out of Austria. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, (more)
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