The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin
by James Neilson
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Harry Guardino, Karl Malden, Richard Haydn, Roddy McDowall, Suzanne PleshetteDirector: James Neilson
Brand: Buena Vista Home Video
Cinematographer: Edward Colman
Editor: Marsh Hendry
Producer: Bill Anderson
Producer: Louis Debney
Writer: Albert Sidney Fleischman
Writer: Lowell S. Hawley
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 110 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-04-12
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Walt Disney Home Entertainment
Product features:
- At the time of the Califonia gold rush a young boy from Boston, Jack Flagg, runs away to California to try to restore his family's fortune. The boy is pursued by the very proper family butler, Griffin, who, as the result of a lucky punch, becomes mistakenly renowned as a boxer. In a series of adventures, both the boy and butler tangle with a crook who uses many disguises. But they find their f
Movie Reviews of The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin
Movie Review: A Gold Rush romp
Summary: 5 Stars
Based upon Sid Fleischman's juvenile novel By the Great Horn Spoon!, this lesser-known Disney live-action film stars the inimitable Roddy McDowall (who also appeared in several other Disney flicks, notably Walt Disney Presents That Darn Cat Featuring Hayley Mills) as Eric Griffin, the unflappable young butler to the Flagg family of Boston (his father occupied the office before him, and his grandfather, as he says, "prepared and served the meals for Admiral Lord Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar!"). Griffin has literally grown up with Arabella (Suzanne Pleshette), the elder of the Flagg youngsters, though he's never dared aspire to her. Then, in the early days of the California Gold Rush, Arabella's grandfather and guardian dies bankrupt, and her 12-year-old brother Jack (Bryan Russell), inspired by the dime-novel adventures of "Bullwhip" Brannigan and his young companion Tom Wingate ("just the same age I am"), sets off to stow away on a California clipper and restore the family fortunes, falling in by the way with a Shakespearean actor, Quentin Bartlett (Richard Haydn), who is in flight from "the murderous hounds" seeking to steal his map to the Mother Lode. When Griffin, following Jack, boards the ship to take him off, Bartlett mistakenly conks him on the head, and both butler and boy end up working their passage around the Horn. What they don't suspect until the journey is almost complete is that Bartlett's pursuer--who turns out to be "Judge" Higgins (delightfully played by Karl Malden)--is also on board. He contrives to gain possession of the map, and Griffin and Jack make common cause with Bartlett to recover it.
There's a lot of the true spirit of Gold Rush California in this movie--the culturally diverse population, the inflationary prices, the passionate interest in prizefighting, even the miry mud of San Francisco's streets. McDowall plays his part with a straight face and succeeds in making Griffin--christened "Bullwhip" by Jack after he knocks out the big brawler Mountain Ox (Mike Mazurki)--seem very believable. Plenty of plot twists keep the interest high, until Jack and Griffin return to Frisco with no gold and discover that Arabella has followed them--and, to Griffin's horror, is singing in a saloon owned by Sam Trimble (Harry Guardino), who's assiduously courting her on the side. Determined to obtain passage money back to Boston for both Flaggs (who don't want to go), Griffin allows himself to be signed up for a bare-knuckle brawl with the Ox, and here the comic side of the film really cuts loose as he trains, discovers and acknowledges his real feelings for Arabella (and she hers for him), and finally faces his nemesis in the ring. With a great cast and a lively feel, this is a fun movie for the whole family and may also cause younger viewers to seek out information about California's early days. It's been a favorite of mine for over 40 years.
Summary of The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin
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