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(More customer reviews)This video has 2 separate adventure episodes from "The Wonderful World of Disney" television show that played on Sunday nights from 1953 to 1983. These are two of my favorite episodes, both are very thrilling adventure tales. The first is "Run, Appaloosa, Run", originally aired on the TV show in 1967 (season 14, episode 7) after serving as a theatrical featurette in July 29, 1966 along with the Main Feature at the time, "Lt Robin Crusoe". First release to video was in 1986. It's a story of Mary Blackfeather, a Native American girl of the Nez Pierce tribe who trains horses and performs as a trick rider. The Nez Perce are known for developing the spotted horses. Mary adopts a motherless colt that is rescued from a mountain lion by the family's herd dog "Silver", raises her and names her "Holy Smoke". Mary is eventually separated from her horse when she is forced to sell it at an auction to help her tribe raise money as horse sales are the basis of the tribe's economy in the film. The horse passes from one unworthy owner to another before he and Mary are reunited. They find each other again at a rodeo, and then land up joining in the historic annual "Suicide Relay Race", at Hells Mountain during the Omak Stampede. This is known as the roughest horse race in North America, dreamed up originally by the Nez Perce, consisting of a two horse per team relay of very rough terrain including jumping and swimming elements. Worse yet there are no rules and riders try to knock other riders off their horse. The herd dog "Silver" is amazing, and performs very well. This film is unique because it also features the famous rodeo clown Wilbur Plaugher playing himself, and many Native American actors. The movie was credited by Time Magazine at the time for a surge in popularity for Appaloosa horses. The Official Disney Encyclopedia Disney A to Z, on page 478 incorrectly lists the colt as "Sky Dancer", and in all fairness it is rare to see mistakes in that book.
The terrific cowboy singing and narration is by Rex Allen, and the title song he performs, "Ballad of Appaloosa" is written by Bobby Wayne. Fun and exciting adventure film for the whole family. Filmed in Technicolor and directed by Larry Lansburgh, who also wrote the original story, photographed and produced the film. Lansburgh had a long career of making Disney animal featurettes from the 1940's. Later he wrote and produced, a terrific theatrical feature film for Disney, "the Littlest Outlaw".
This next episode on this VHS is really a good one, first aired in October 10, 1966 and twice more in the next 10 years. Based on a true story, "101 Problems of Hercules" is about a sheepherder in the 1880's named Buckeye Jones (Harold Reynolds) in the old western frontier days. Buckeye and his 3 faithful dogs take great care of their herd, despite the fact that the dogs are an unusual mix of herding breeds. The dogs are Lady (a Collie), Boomer (English Sheepdog), & Hercules the lead dog (Hungarian Kuvasz). Buckeye is put out of action by some Indians, and the dogs attempt to get the sheep home without him through rain storms, duststorms, wolves and other predators, and thieves that are after the flock. Real exciting story and amazing what the dogs can do. I recommend this tape.
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