Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier

Release Date: May 25, 1955

Watch Date: February 18 – February 20, 2023

 

    Davy Crockett was a real person. He became a legend in his own time, something he actually tried to counter during his life. He stood against the Indian Act, but also killed many of them. He was at the Alamo when it was besieged and died defending a stronghold the Texas military was willing to give it up.

    You can enjoy the legend, the myth, the story and I would never take that away from you. But when the subject of a film is a historical person, I think that it’s important to have at least a base understanding of who that actual person was. Don’t let your opinion on any real person be entirely because of a highly dramatized ninety minute retelling of their life story.

    All that said, if you once again ignore the rather large group of Caucasians pretending to be indigenous people – which is getting harder to ignore Disney – I think this movie is pretty charming.

    Davy Crockett has a lot of charisma, and this television show turned movie, does an admirable job at hitting many of the major beats of his life, all while tying it together with a happy upbeat song that will be stuck in your head for literal days, weeks, months, afterwards.

    Bob, proud American that he is, will always enjoy a movie that features the history of his country, regardless of how dramatized it is – and Davy Crockett was no different. The film was paused at several points, and not just to make fun of cannon balls bouncing harmlessly off of walls, but to look up what year or war or historical event was actually being referenced at any given moment.

    This movie is lighthearted, fun, and doesn’t take itself too seriously. I am yet to meet a man over fifty who doesn’t have some fond memory of this film from his youth. So if you too want to see what all the fuss is about from that generation, it won’t hurt you to give it a try.

    It’s not just because I think an entire world cursed as I must be with the Davy Crockett theme song stuck in my head would be funny, promise.