Those Calloways (Disney) (1964)

ED WYNN STILL THE FUNNIEST AFTER 62 YEARS Disney Builds ‘Little Vermont’ in If experience has anything to do with successful comedy, Ed Wynn has to be the funniest comedian of all time. The old Fire Chief has been making people laugh, and get ting paid for it, for 62 years. Ed’s latest assignment for Walt Disney is as a small town character in “Those Calloways,”’ a lively slice of life in New England during the 1930’s, about a man of the woods and his family whose dream it is to establish a lake sanctuary for the great geese flocks. He provides most of the laughs in the film story, as a hard-of-hearing humorist with a knack for saying the wrong thing at the right time. It’s the second major Disney picture role in succession for Ed, and his fifth since he played the voice of the Mad Hatter in the cartoon feature, ‘‘Alice in Wonderland,” in 1951. Last year he starred with Dick Van Dyke and Julie Andrews in “Mary Poppins,’”’ and before that in “The Absent Minded Professor,’ “Babes in Toyland” and “Son of Flubber.”’ Ed has also appeared in two telesion shows for Walt; “The Golden Horseshoe Revue” and ‘‘Treasure in the Haunted House,’”’ both of which were aired on ‘Walt Disney’s Wonderful World of Color’ show. Although he prefers comedy — “Walt Disney is keeping me young. I am only really happy when I can make people laugh’’—Ed’s dramatic roles would be the envy of most serious actors. His performance in “Requiem for a Heavyweight,”’ “The Great American Hoax,” ‘‘The Protege,” ‘On Borrowed Time,’ “The Man in the Funny Suit” and “Miracle on 34th Street” on television, were tops, according to nearly everyone who saw them. In motion pictures, on the serious side, Ed won an Oscar nomination for his performance in “‘The Diary of Anne Frank,” and kudos for roles in “The Great Man” and ‘Mar jorie Morningstar.” He recently completed a starring part in George Stevens’ “‘The Greatest Story Ever Told: But Ed Wynn is, and always will be a comedian. “There’s nothing in this world as gratifying as making people laugh,” says Ed. “I’m going to keep it up until they can’t stand me any more.”’ Born Isaiah Edwin Leopold on November 9, 1886, in Philadelphia, the son of a hat manufacturer, Ed split his middle name and went on the stage in 1902 with a repertory company in Norwich, Connecticut. It flopped, and Ed bummed his way home. He worked for his dad long enough to save up enough money to try again, then joined the ‘““Rah Rah Boys”’ on New York’s vaudeville circuit in 1904. From then until now the public has reacted to his outsized shoes, funny hats —jincluding the Fire Chief’s topper that made him the toast of the nation during the 1930’s—and silly jokes with loud guffaws. He competed with gag men like W. C. Fields, Leon Errol, Ina Claire and Bert Williams in the early days, — “People were more relaxed before the world got so small and full of tension. It was easier to make them laugh’ — to Bob Hope, Jack Benny and the socalled ‘sick’? comics of today. “Hope and Benny will be around as long as they want to be. I give the ‘sick’ joke boys another year or so,’ says Wynn. Ed has always written his own material, and has never told an off-color joke in public. Although he is 78 years old, he is agile enough to learn the Twist, and alert enough to trade _ side-splitting yarns by the hour with his pal Walter Brennan, who also plays a small town character in “Those Calloways.”’ Walter Brennan Back in Films For Walt Disney’s ‘Calloways’ For a fellow who started out to be an engineer, Walter Brennan has done_ pretty well in the acting business. So far he has three Academy Awards — more than any other actor in Hollywood — and a list of top credits as long as his arm. For the past six years the well-loved, gravel-voiced performer has been starring in “The Real McCoys,” a highly-rated television series. Now he is back in motion pictures for Walt Disney in “Those Calloways,’’ an exciting family drama also starring Brian Keith, Vera Miles and Brandon de Wilde. He plays the affable Yankee philosopher, Alf Simes, from Swiftwater, Vermont. Considering that he was brought up in the small town of Swampscott, Massachusetts, the part is right down his alley. In his 40 years in show business, Walter has appeared in a vast number of films including such memorable ones as “‘Pride of the Yankees,” “Sergeant York,” “Meet John Doe,” ““My Darling Clementine,” “‘Red River’’ and. “Bad Day at Black Roék,”* His Oscars were awarded for “Come and Get It’’ in 1936, ‘“‘Ken tucky”’ in 1938 and “The Westerner” in 1940. Born on July 25, 1894, Walter is descended from New England pioneers. His parents had every hope that their son would follow in his father’s engineering footsteps. Walter began his secondary education at Rindge Technical School, Cambridge, Massachusetts, with the expectation of going to Massachusetts Institute of Technology. But the acting bug bit him in high school dramatics, and he decided to pursue a theatrical career. Before he could do anything about it, World War I began, and Walter joined up. Discharged in 1919 after two years in Europe, Brennan worked Pave 182 alt Disney Production: Mat CAL-1F WALTER BRENNAN briefly as a reporter on a Boston paper. Then, after marrying his childhood sweetheart, Ruth Wells, he moved to Southern California and turned his full attention to acting. Brennan and Gary Cooper, then an unknown Montana cowboy, haunted movie casting offices without success. After many months of stunt and extra work, Walter made his acting debut in the 1928 thriller, “Lorraine of the Lions.” His big break came in 1985, when Sam Goldwyn cast him as Jenkins in “The Wedding Night.” His performance won him a longterm contract with MGM, and the Oscar-winning role in ‘‘Come and Get It’? the following year. Brennan and his wife recently moved to a 10-acre grapefruit ranch in the rural community of Moorpark, about 60 miles from Los Angeles. They frequently visit their 12,000-acre ranch in Joseph, Oregon, where their eldest son, Mike, supervises the production of white-faced Hereford cattle. All three of their children are married. The elder Brennans have 14 grandchildren. Daughter Ruth is the wife of Navy Commander Dixon Lademan, and son Andy is a television production executive. In color by Technicolor, ‘Those Calloways”’ stars Brian Keith, Vera Miles, Brandon de Wilde, Walter Brennan, Ed Wynn and _ Linda Evans. Winston Hibler co-produced with Walt Disney. Norman Tokar directed the Buena Vista release. ©1964 Walt Disney Productio Mat CAL-1E ED WYNN 84 TV Shows, Films Mark Hibler Career With Walt Disney Winston Hibler, one of the most versatile and talented members of Walt Disney’s remarkable creative team, marked his twenty-two years at the studio recently with completion of ‘Those Calloways,” a Brian Keith-Vera Miles-Brandon de Wilde starrer with big box office success written all over it. He served with Walt as co-producer. Hibler has been narrator, writer, director and co-producer, or any combination of the four, on no less than forty theatrical films and forty-four television shows. His history with the studio begins in 1942 as a story man and dialogue director on such pictures as ‘“‘Melody Time,” “Ichabod and Mr. Toad,” ‘‘Alice in Wonderland,” “Cinderella” and ‘‘Peter Pan.’’ He contributed narrative and dialogue to all of the wildlife stories, from “Seal Island” to “The African Lion,” working with Jim Algar and the late Ted Sears. His co-producer days started with a large number of early television shows, and ‘Perri’ as his first feature assignment. Next he wrote, directed and narrated ‘‘Men Against the Arctic,” an Oscar winner, and after that an Emmy Award-winning show, ‘Operation Undersea,’ the story behind the making of ‘£20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.”’ Since then Hibler has been involved in one way or another with many wildlife stories and has been co-producer on features like ‘‘Nikki, Wild Dog of the North,” “Big Red,”’ and ‘‘Those Calloways,”’ as well as nature adventure shows like ‘‘Sancho, The Homing Steer,”’ “Chico, The Misunderstood Coyote,’ “Sammy, The Wayout Seal,” “Sam Davenport and the Silver Fox,” ‘Little Dog Lost,” ‘‘The Wahoo Bobcat” and ‘Yellowstone Cubs.”’ ©1964 Walt Disney Productio Mat CAL-1G YOUNG OUTDOORSMAN Brandon de Wilde has an affectionate companion in Walt Disney's “Those Calloways.” Brian Keith, Vera Miles and Linda Evans star with de Wilde in the Technicolor drama. California for ‘Those Calloways’ For an imaginative Hollywood producer, nothing is impossible. For instance, Walt Disney wanted to film his dramatic story, “Those Calloways,’’ in an authentic New England setting, taking advantage of the brilliant fall foliage. He settled on the state of Vermont, which, during the height of its autumn season, is beautiful beyond belief with its rolling hills ablaze with red, russet and purple leaves. The trouble is, the leaves turn from green to brown and come tumbling down in about two weeks— not long enough to shoot a feature on location. So Walt improvised. First he sent two streamlined crews — no lights or sound equipment — to the foothills of the Green Mountain Range when the leaves were at their brightest. The production units were able to skip from one location to the other by eliminat ©1964 Walt Di Mat CAL-2J ing time-consuming close-ups and dialogue. The object was to shoot as many long, establishing shots against the colorful backgrounds as time allowed. Next he built a slice of Vermont on his 58-acre back lot, matching the fall foliage perfectly by dressing hundreds of bushes and trees with 280,000 hand-painted leaves. The large and detailed exterior sets included a small, New England town complete with city hall, a school, a library, shops, streets and residential section; a half-acre lake surrounded by 600 corn stalks; a log cabin in various stages of construction; a marsh with a duck blind planted in its center; and a 40 by 60-foot log jam. The crew is taking bets that not even the most discerning Vermonter will be able to differentiate between his native state and Disney’s “Little Vermont’? when he sees ‘Those Calloways.”’ In color by Technicolor and starring Brian Keith, Vera Miles, Brandon de Wilde, Walter Brennan, Ed Wynn and Linda Evans, the film story is about a rugged woodsman and his family who fight a town full of greed for their dream of a wild goose sanctuary. SMALL TALK falls on welcome ears as Pau! Hartman confides in Ed Wynn in this homey interlude in Walt Disney’s “Those Calloways.’” The Technicolor feature stars Brian Keith, Vera Miles, Brandon de Wilde and Linda Evans. Beautifully Filmed Calloways’ Is Family Entertainment and More (Prepared Review) Walt Disney opens up a new dimension of dramatic family entertainment, without losing any of the flavor of his always wholesome live-action features, in ‘‘Those Calloways,” a beautifully filmed picture starring Brian Keith, Vera Miles, Brandon de Wilde, Walter Brennan and Ed Wynn, which begins itsrun .. Basically, this is the story of a simple woodsman and his proud family who put everything they own on the block to protect the great flocks of wild geese that cross their sky. But it also delves more deeply, perhaps, than Walt has ever done before, into the emotional spectrum of human relations. Vera Miles adds her extraordinary talents to the effort in a marvelous scene which almost tops the true climax of the picture—Brian Keith’s victory over those in his woodsy neighborhood who would sacrifice great natural beauty for a few pieces of silver. As Cam Calloway, Keith has his eighth and most effective role for Disney. The big, rugged actor, an outdoors man, too, in private life, gives the characterization simplicity and dignity without overdoing it. Brandon de Wilde, outstanding as a child star, seems to have fulfilled the promise of his youth, as Bucky Calloway, a scrapper made in his father’s image. Others who score dramatically in the picture are Walter Brennan, at the theatre. as the town crier who takes up the Calloway cause and persuades the whole town to vote for a wild goose sanctuary; Ed Wynn, as a hilarious, hard-of-hearing character who has a knack for saying the wrong thing at the right time; and a gorgeous newcomer named Linda Evans, who plays Brandon de Wilde’s sweetheart, Bridie. The strong supporting cast includes Philip Abbott, as an overly ambitious traveling salesman; Paul Hartman, as Ed Wynn’s crony; John Larkin and Renee Godfrey, as the Calloway’s friends, the Mellots, and Parley Baer as a pennypinching merchant who gets his comeuppance from a 500-pound bear named Carroll. One of the most delightful aspects of the picture is the photography. Disney sent his production crews to the Green Mountains of Vermont, first in midwinter, when the landscapes look like picture postcards; then in the fall, when the multicolored foliage is dazzling. The results are sensational, without ever taking away from the mood of the story. Norman Tokar directed the screenplay by Louis Pelletier with sensitivity and an eye for natural beauty. Edward Colman’s cinematography is as eye appealing as any previous Disney production. Winston Hibler co-produced with Walt Disney with his typical feeling for family entertainment and _insistence upon perfection in all phases of production. Buena Vista releases the Technicolor feature.