Tommy Kirk Movies
American actor Tommy Kirk tried out as a youngster for the Pasadena Playhouse, the result of a dare made by Kirk's older brother. After a few minor TV roles, Kirk was signed by Walt Disney, who cast the teenager as one-half of "The Hardy Boys" on that popular daily segment of The Mickey Mouse Club. Young Kirk was promoted to the leading juvenile role in Disney's Old Yeller (1957), a three-handkerchief classic that made Kirk a star and a stalwart of the fan club set. In 1959, Kirk was the hirsute protagonist of The Shaggy Dog, one of Disney's biggest money-making films. When asked in later years, Kirk had fond memories of Disney but was not so politely inclined to his Shaggy Dog co-star Fred MacMurray. It was MacMurray who gave Kirk "the biggest dressing down of my life" on the set of Disney's Bon Voyage (1962). Kirk would confess that he fully deserved the scolding; at the time of the shooting, Kirk was addicted to amphetamines, and his resultant behavior was both erratic and obstructive. Whatever MacMurray told Kirk on the Bon Voyage set was quickly forgotten, however, for the young actor was fired from the 1965 John Wayne vehicle Sons of Katie Elder because of his being busted for marijuana use. As a consequence of crossing the "Duke," Kirk was effectively shut out of the big studios, and was forced to settle for silly leading roles in the American-International Beach Party films, and in such low-grade farragoes as Mars Needs Women (1968). Compelled to take menial jobs after his movie career ended, Kirk attempted a theatrical comeback in the early '70s, but he had been forgotten by all but Disney buffs. Whatever the case, Tommy Kirk has overcome his drug problems in recent years and has become a favorite all over again on the nostalgia convention-circuit. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
This second film adaptation of the Victor Herbert operetta Babes in Toyland was producer Walt Disney's Christmas offering for 1961. The 1903 Herbert original had very little in the way of a plot, so screenwriters Joe Rinaldi, Lowell S. Hawley, and Ward Kimball lifted elements from the 1934 filmization of Toyland, which starred Laurel and Hardy. Annette Funicello plays Mary Contrary, about to wed Tom Piper (Tommy Sands) in the heart of Mother Goose Village. The villainous Barnaby (Ray Bolger), who covets Mary for himself, orders his bumbling henchmen Gonzorgo (Henry Calvin) and Roderigo (Gene Sheldon) to do away with Tom. Hoping to turn a profit, Gonzorgo and Roderigo sell Tom to a band of gypsies, enabling Tom to make a surprise return-in old-lady drag to rescue Mary from Barnaby's clutches. Later, Mary's younger siblings (including Disney regular Moochie Corcoran) wander into the Forest of No Return, compelling Tom and Mary to go after them. Everyone winds up in Toyland, where they try to help the Toymaker (Ed Wynn) and his invention-happy assistant Grumio (Tommy Kirk) meet their quota for Santa Claus despite the continued meddlings of Barnaby. Keep an eye peeled for 11-year-old Ann Jillian, making her screen debut as Bo Peep. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ray Bolger, Tommy Sands, (more)
- 1961
Produced for television and released as a European feature, this Disney adventure stars Annette Funicello as a would-be equestrian who must conquer her fears of jumping. ~ Jason Ankeny, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Annette Funicello, Janet Munro, (more)
None of the many cinemadaptations of Johan Wyss' The Swiss Family Robinson are as relentlessly enjoyable as this 1960 Disney feature. The film wastes no time getting down to business, with the shipwreck of the Robinson family occurring as the credits flash across the screen. Fashioning a raft, the family heads to a lush tropical island. While the mother (Dorothy McGuire) isn't too happy about being a castaway, the father (John Mills) and the sons (James MacArthur, Tommy Kirk, Kevin Corcoran) are thrilled at the prospect of carving out a new life for themselves. In short order, the industrious Robinsons have constructed a treehouse with all the creature comforts and "utilities" of their home in Switzerland. Later on, the little party is joined by Janet Munro, the daughter of a sea captain who has been captured by pirate Sessue Hayakawa and his band. After a series of adventures calculated to arouse the envy of every man, woman and child in the audience, the film comes to a rousing conclusion as the Robinsons resourcefully fend off Hayakawa and his pirates with a variety of jerry-built booby traps. A box-office winner to the tune of $30 million, The Swiss Family Robinson proved beyond doubt that Disney's decision to emphasize the humor and adventure of the Wyss original, while downplaying the sociopolitical undertones, was a sound one. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Mills, Dorothy McGuire, (more)
- 1960
The first portion of this Walt Disney Presents episode is a behind-the-scenes preview of the upcoming Disney theatrical feature Swiss Family Robinson. Hosted by three of the film's stars, John Mills, Dorothy McGuire and Janet Munro, the segment details the difficulties encountered by the production crew while filming on location in the West Indies' island of Tobago -- an island so uninhabited that even the animals had to be shipped in from the States. The second half of the episode consists of the Oscar-winning "True Life Adventure" short subject Water Birds, previously telecast as part of the Disneyland installment "A Trip Through Adventureland and Water Birds." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Mills, Dorothy McGuire, (more)
This is a routine Disney comedy-fantasy about a boy who turns into a large sheep dog at the most inopportune moments. That is assuming there would be opportune moments. Young Wilby Daniels (Tommy Kirk) finds a magic ring that used to belong to the Borgia family. When he pronounces an inscription on the ring, he is suddenly able to transform himself into a shaggy dog -- though he has no control over when this is going to happen. To his dismay, the girl he likes gets involved without knowing who the dog really is. At the same time, the only way Wilby can break the spell is to perform some virtuous deed. Fortunately for him, a few Soviet spies are just hanging around, waiting to be uncovered by a canine. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Fred MacMurray, Jean Hagen, (more)
- 1959
- NR
American live-action footage frames this animated feature from the USSR, and the cartoon characters' voices are also dubbed in English. The Snow Queen is a Hans Christian Andersen fable about a cold-hearted queen of the frozen north (voice by Louise Arthur) who steals away young Kay (voice by Tommy Kirk) and takes him to her ice palace. Kay's friend Gerda (voice by Sandra Dee) gets worried when Kay does not come home, and so she sets out to find him. Along the way, she meets an eccentric flower woman, a Prince and a Princess, a magical reindeer, a talking Court raven, and many other fantastic characters. Once Gerda discovers that Kay is in the Snow Queen's palace, she has to find some way to save him in spite of the formidable Queen. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- 1957
Disneyland began its fourth season on the air with a gala, all-star "special", essentially designed to promote all three of Disney's network TV series. Pressured by his cartoon creations and the latest crop of Mouseketeers to tell them what's in store for the 1957-58 season, host Walt Disney offers tantalizing glimpses of the new weekly adventure show Zorro, the Disneyland miniseries The Saga of Andy Burnett (with Jerome Courtland in the title role) and the newest installments of such Mickey Mouse Club serials as "Spin and Marty." The remainder of the Fourth Anniversary Show is an uncut presentation of the "Peter and the Wolf" segement from the 1946 animated feature Make Mine Music. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Walt Disney, Sharon Baird, (more)
Based on the novel by Fred Gipson, Old Yeller is set in Texas in 1869. While his father is away on a cattle drive, 15-year-old Travis Coates (Tommy Kirk) takes over management of the family farm. Adopting a "strictly business" policy, Travis is irritated when younger brother, Arliss (Kevin Corcoran), adopts a frisky stray dog. But soon Travis is as fond of the dog as everyone else in the family; moreover, "Old Yeller" is an excellent watchdog. But while fighting off a mad wolf, Yeller is infected with rabies. Though Yeller seems unaffected at first, he eventually behaves so viciously that the disheartened Travis has no choice but to shoot the dog. A heart-to-heart talk between Travis and his returning father (Fess Parker), coupled with the adoption of a new pup, paves the way to an emotional but reasonably happy ending. Earning eight million dolalrs domestically on its first release, Old Yeller convinced Walt Disney to devote more and more time to live-action films and less time to animation -- which at the time was a sagacious business move. In 1963, Disney released a lesser sequel to Old Yeller titled Savage Sam. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dorothy McGuire, Fess Parker, (more)
- 1957
In this horror movie, evil spirits threaten to steal the souls of two children. Only their governess can save them. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1956
US Marshal Matt Dillon (James Arness) of Dodge City begins another year on the job as Gunsmoke launches its second TV season. On this occasion, the focus is on Doc Adams (Milburn Stone), who is summoned to the farm of Ben Pitcher (Robert H. Harris) for a "medical emergency." This confuses Adams for two reasons: the oafish Pitcher doesn't believe in medicine, and he despises Doc. Upon arrival, Adams discovers that his "patient" is a sick cow--and when he returns to Dodge, he is told that a human patient has died during his absence. This episode is adapted from the Gunsmoke radio broadcast of May 28, 1955. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
