Those Calloways (Disney) (1964)

Brandon de Wilde Fulfills Promise of Youth in Disney's Those Calloways’ As the towheaded youngster in ‘“Member of the Wedding,’”’ “Shane,” and scores of Broadway, television and motion picture productions, Brandon de Wilde became one of the most popular and successful adolescent actors of all time. Now a handsome, slimwaisted 23-year-old starring in Walt Disney’s adventuredrama, “Those Calloways,”’ de Wilde fulfills all the promise of his youth and more. He is intelligent, mature, entertaining, experienced, of strong mind and body, and immensely talented as an actor. His first professional appearance was with Julie Harris and Ethel Waters in the Broadway production of “Member of the Wedding”’ at the age of seven. The opportunity came about after producer Robert Whitehead had interviewed virtually every child actor in New York without success, and discovered from his casting director that his stage manager, Fred de Wilde, had a son who would be ideal for the part. Fred reluctantly allowed his son to audition, and the rest is history. Brandon won the role and overwhelming critical praise in it. He didn’t miss any of the 628 performances of the play, and won the highly coveted Donaldson Award for “The Outstanding Debut Performance of 1949-50.” He was also presented the Critics Award for his performance. At the age of nine de Wilde é y pwnd Mat CAL-1C BRANDON de WILDE became the youngest actor ever to win an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actor for his role in George Stevens’ ‘‘Shane.”’ On Broadway, in addition to ‘Member of the Wedding,’’ Brandon played 118 performances with Helen Hayes in ‘‘Mrs. McThing,”’ 16 performances with Lee J. Cobb in “The Emperor’s Clothes,” and 385 performances with Arthur O’Connell and Judith Anderson in “Comes A Day.” De Wilde’s impressive picture credits include “Shane,’? “Member of the Wedding,’ ‘‘Goodbye, My Lady,” “Night Passage,’ “Missouri Traveler,” “Blue Denim,” “All Fall Down,” “Hud” and “In Harm’s Way.” As the rugged woodsman, Bucky Calloway, in Disney’s ‘‘Those Calloways,”’ Brandon has one of his most dramatic roles to date. It is the warm, exciting story of a man and a boy whose dreams of buying a lake sanctuary for their beloved wild geese becomes a nightmare when they are ridiculed by the citizens of a small New England town and taken advantage of by profit-hungry pitchmen. Disney Director Norman Tokar Is One of Hollywood’s Busiest Few directors in Hollywood, if any, move from one motion picture or television show to another with the speed and constancy that Norman Tokar enjoys on the Walt Disney Studio lot in Burbank, California. Currently he is directing two segments of a four-part TV show, “‘Kilroy,’ with Bryan Russell and Celeste Holm. Last year he directed two major motion pictures: “A Tiger Walks,’ a suspense drama with a twist and “Those Calloways,’”’ an outdoor family drama starring Brian Keith, Vera Miles, Brandon de Wilde, Walter Brennan and Ed Wynn. Since going to work for Walt four years ago he has handled the directorial reins on two other features: ‘“‘Big Disney Productions Mat CAL-2G PRACTICE — Brandon de Wilde spars with Brian Keith, who plays his father, in Walt Disney’s “Those Calloways.’’ Brandon is preparing to take on the town bully for the Red,’ a warm-hearted, boydog story; and “Savage Sam,” a rip-roaring action picture. He also wrote and directed a highly rated, two part ‘Wonderful World of Color’’ show, “Sammy, the Way-out Seal.” The stocky, red-headed director has never been a man to rest on his laurels. Since beginning his career in 1937 as a juvenile actor in the Broadway production of “What a Life,’ Tokar has had an enviable career in show business. He played leading roles on the New York stage for seven years before he began to write for a living. Tokar sold several radio shows before Pearl Harbor put a temporary stop to his career. Following the war, he branched out to include directing, and wrote and directed TV shows like “Henry Aldrich,” “Life with Luigi” and “The Alan Young Show.” Then he gave up writing to maestro ““My Favorite Husband,” “The Bob Cummings Show,’’ “Leave it to Beaver’ and “The Donna Reed Show.”’ hand of lovely Linda Evans. Vera Miles also stars. Disney Movie Crew Finds Vermont Cold, Vermonters Warm Talk about southern hospitality, try Vermont sometime! Walt Disney’s “Those Calloways” company enjoyed one of the warmest welcomes ever accorded a motion picture crew when the ladies of the Cambridge, Vermont Community Club put on an Autumn, ‘sugar-on-snow’ party, made possible by almost a year-long banking of private snow supplies in personal refrigerators. The Disneyites had previously been invited to partake in the traditional Vermont feast of maple sugar on sheets of snow, accompanied by dill pickles and black coffee, during wintertime, when they were shooting snow scenes in Cambridge in sub-zero weather. Since the movie company had to leave for California before the affair could be arranged, the ladies stored their snow in their home freezers and waited for the Disney company’s return for Fall filming. In color by Technicolor, ‘Those Calloways”’ stars Brian Keith, Vera Miles, Brandon de Wilde, Walter Brennan, Ed Wynn and Linda Evans. Norman Tokar directed. Winston Hibler co-produced with Walt Disney. The screenplay by Louis Pelletier is based on Paul Annixter’s novel, “Swiftwater.” Disney Signs Best Known Film Composer For ‘Those Calloways’ Max Steiner is easily the most renowned motion picture composer in Hollywood history. His first picture for Walt Disney, “Those Calloways,” marks his 338th feature assignment. During his long and successful career, Steiner has won three Academy Awards: “The Informer” in 1935, “Now Voyager” in 1943; and “Since You Went Away” in 1945, and has received the Bronze Medal by the King of Belgium at the Cinema Exhibition in Brussels in 1936 and the World Cinema Congress Medal in Venice the same year. He was also awarded the Golden Globe by the Hollywood Foreign Press Correspondents for his original score in “Life With Father,’”’ and a Vienna Festival Statuette for his original score in “Treasure of Sierra Madre.”’ Born and raised in Vienna, the son of famous composer Gabor Steiner, Max was a part of the gay, musical Vienna around the turn of the century. He composed and conducted his first operetta, “The Beautiful Greek Girl,” at the Orpheum theatre there in 1902, when he was only 14. Two years later, he toured England as a composer-conductor, and later went to Paris to conduct at the famed Alhambra Theatre. The young musician was invited to the United States in 1914 by Lorenz Ziegfeld, for whom he conducted many musical shows in New York and on tour. In 1929, he went to Hollywood to become musical director for R.K.O., then several years later, to Selznick International, where he wrote and conducted the music for such films as “Gone With the Wind,” “The Garden of Allah” and “A Star is Born.” From there, Steiner went to Warner Brothers, where he composed the music for such outstanding hits as “Johnny Belinda,” “Key Largo,” ‘The Fountainhead,”’ “Caged,” “The Glass Menagerie,” “Come Fill the Cup,” “Young Man with a Horn,” ‘White Heat,” “So This is Love,” “Battle Cry,” “The Searchers,” ‘Darby’s Rangers,” “Marjorie Morningstar,” “A Summer Place,” “Youngblood Hawke” and scores of others. In color by Technicolor, ‘‘Those Calloways’”’ stars Brian Keith, Vera Miles, Brandon de Wilde, Walter Brennan, Ed Wynn and Linda Evans. Lovely Linda Evans Gets Big Break From Disney in Those Calloways” Linda Evans is the kind of beautiful blonde who would cause a traffic jam if she stood on the corner of Hollywood and Vine for ten minutes. Five-feet, six-inches tall, and with all the curves in the right places, Linda is a knockout by any standards. But her charm is that either she doesn’t know it, or doesn’t care. She is unaffected, amiable, easy-going, unsophisticated and interested in everything and everyone. She has deep blue eyes, a big, wide dimpled smile for any one who wants to smile back, and a laugh that is catching. Whether or not Linda will capture the fancy of the filmgoing public a la Jean Harlow or Marilyn Monroe is yet to be seen. At any rate, she has been given her big chance by Walt Disney in ‘‘Those Calloways,” a heartwarming human drama in which she plays opposite Brandon de Wilde. In this, her first starring role, Linda needs more than good looks to handle the likes of such experienced performers as Brian Keith, Vera Miles, Walter Brennan, Ed Wynn and de Wilde. If she emerges as a brillant young actress — and those who have watched her performance before the camera say she will—it will be the first time in her career that fate hasn’t played a major part. Linda was forced into acting when, as a schoolgirl, she was too shy to read a book report in front of her English class. The principal and her mother made Linda take drama lessons, and she took to it like a duck to water. 1964 Walt Disney Productions "Mat CAL-1D LINDA EVANS She got her first professional job by accident while visiting her Hollywood High School sorority sister, Carole Wells, then starring in the “National Velvet’? TV series. Her natural beauty attracted the attention of Director Gerald Snitzer and she was signed on the spot to appear in a soft drink commercial. Then came parts in several television series, including “Bachelor Father,” ‘“‘Ozzie and Harriet,” “The Untouchables,” and “The Eleventh Hour.”’ Linda’s performance as an hysterical teenager in “The Eleventh Hour,’ plus the title role in “Buttons,” a TV pilot which never sold, won her a seven year, exclusive contract with MGM, and a minor role in “Twilight of Honor” with Richard Chamberlain and Claude Rains. She was cast as Brandon de Wilde’s sweetheart, Bridie, in “Those Calloways,” on the strength of a screen test she made for Walt almost a year before she went to work on the picture. Her father died five years ago, just at the time when Linda was accidentally ‘‘discovered.’’ The money she made on commercials and television roles helped to make ends meet for her mother, and sister Cathy, now a 12-year-old. Another sister, Carol, is married with two children. John Larkin’s 20-Year Acting Career Began on an Impulse For a fellow whose early goal in life it was to become a newspaper columnist, John Larkin has done pretty well for himself as an actor. Currently co-starring in Walt Disney’s feature motion picture, “‘Those Calloways,’’ Larkin graduated from Rockhurst College in Kansas City, Missouri, with a degree in journalism in 1940. Since then, the closest he’s come to pounding a typewriter for a living was playing a city editor in the television series, ‘“‘Saints and Sinners.”’ But when it comes to acting, the handsome six-footer has few peers. As a matter of fact, he has probably played in more radio and television shows than any other actor in the business except Ed Wynn, who also has a part in the Disney picture. During his twenty years in the profession, John has almost always played the lead in one or more con tinuous radio or television series. After his Army discharge in 1945, Larkin was signed to the title role in the ‘Perry Mason” radio show, and held the job for seven years. From 1955 to 1961, he was Mike Karr, a detective-turned-lawyer on the New York-based daytime television series, “Edge of Night.” He played leading roles in radio soap operas like “Road of Life,’’ “Hollywood Story” and “Right to Happiness,” and guest-starred on almost every major network TV show during this period. He portrays Major General Wiley Crow in the current ‘12 O’Clock High” series, and has had leading roles in two major features besides ‘‘Those Calloways’”’: “Seven Days in May” and “The Satan Bug.” Born in Oakland, California, and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, John got the acting bug when an experimental radio station in Kansas City gave him a job writing, directing, singing, acting and doing commercials. “I even had to sweep out the place before I left,” he says, “but overall, it was great experience.”’ Mat CAL-2H PERFECT — Brandon de Wilde exhibits flawless aim and timing in flattening the town bully in Walt Disney's Technicolor drama, “Those Calloways.’’ Brian Keith, Vera Miles and Linda Evans also star.