cult film freak: THE APPLE DUMPLING GANG RIDES AGAIN

Written by James M. Tate / 1/15/2013 / No comments / comedy , disney , don knotts , elyssa davalos , harry morgan , morgan paull , sequel , tim conway , tim matheson

THE APPLE DUMPLING GANG RIDES AGAIN

1/15/2013 | No comment

year: 1979 cast: Don Knotts, Tim Conway, Tim Matheson, Elyssa Davalos, Robert Pine rating: ***1/2

The original APPLE DUMPLING GANG is one of those experiences you remember as a kid for two reasons: Don Knotts and Tim Conway as two hilariously clumsy bank robbers. But upon rewatching you realize they aren’t in the movie enough.

Unlike using comic relief mascots sparingly in a successful manor (so not to ware out their welcome), like John Belushi in ANIMAL HOUSE, Sean Penn in FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH, or Michael Keaton in BEETLEJUICE, the comic duo are needed much more in the first Disney film that spends too much time on Bill Bixby and his orphans who deem themselves The Apple Dumpling Gang. That’s right… the Gang isn’t even named after Knotts and Conway – but in this superior sequel they keep the title for continuity’s sake.

Elyssa Davalos and a shifty Robert Pine

We begin with the two bumbling crooks Theodore (Knotts) and Amos (Conway) who’ve gone straight. Riding around on a faithful mule they enter a mining town to hit a bank: depositing money this time. But two scruffy bank robbers, posing as tellers, steal their loot and the adventure begins – mostly dealing with “The Apple Dumpling Gang” being mistaken as sharpshooters since they accidentally thwarted the legendary Sheriff Hitchcock (Kenneth Mars), who keeps on their trail in a Wile E. Coyote fashion.

Tim Matheson, as a young private in a Calvary Fort being marauded of supplies, drives the necessary plot; Harry Morgan runs the show with his right hand man played by CHIPS sarge Robert Pine; and providing the love interest (to Pine and then Matheson) is the gorgeous Elyssa Davalos as Morgan’s classy daughter.

Elyssa Davalos as Miss Millie Gaskill

Theodore and Amos go from the Fort to a prison to an underground lair run by Jack Elam and his henchman. There are plenty of locations and twists and turns and, while some of the gags aren’t drop dead hilarious, there’s enough going on to keep you entertained till the climax involving a speeding train heist.

Great stuff and proof that sequels can be better.

Harry Morgan leading Morgan Paull and Robert Pine

The late Morgan Paull following Richard X. Slattery's orders

The lovely Disney ingenue Elyssa Davalos rides a train

Share This Post :

Tags : comedy , disney , don knotts , elyssa davalos , harry morgan , morgan paull , sequel , tim conway , tim matheson

James M. Tate

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

PERSONAL FAVORITES

1)THE CROWDED SKY 2)THE FEARMAKERS 3)PULP 4)RAIDERS FROM BENEATH THE SEA 5)OTLEY 6)ANATOMY OF A MURDER 7)VIOLENT SATURDAY 8)CANYON PASSAGE 9)THE MAN FROM LARAMIE 10)HARDCORE 11)CURSE OF THE DEMON 12)HOT CARS 13)SHARKS' TREASURE 14)SWEENEY TWO 15)WAR OF THE WORLDS 16)EASY LIVING 17)ASH WEDNESDAY 18)THE SERGEANT 19)AL CAPONE 20)CORVETTE SUMMER 21)THE ROARING TWENTIES 22)FALLEN ANGEL 23)THE DEFECTOR 24)DUEL IN THE JUNGLE 25)AIR PATROL 26)THE SYSTEM 27)KILLER FISH 28)WHITE HEAT 29)ROYAL FLASH 30)ATLANTIC CITY 31)COMPULSION 32)WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS 33)THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN 34)MADISON AVENUE 35)THE SHARKFIGHTERS 36)DEMETRIUS AND THE GLADIATORS 37)MY BLOOD RUNS COLD 38)THE LINEUP 39)SWAMP WATER 40)THE DAY THEY ROBBED THE BANK OF ENGLAND 41)RUMBLE FISH 42)CANYON RIVER 43)THE HEARSE 44)WILLIAM CONRAD'S BRAINSTORM 45)JUNGLE STREET 46)THE DRIVER 47)FRENZY 48)PECKINPAH'S STRAW DOGS 49)THE KILLING 50)FORCE TEN FROM NARAVONE 51)BULLITT 52)WICHITA 53)QUANTRILL'S RAIDERS 54)KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE 55)LAURA 56)THE BREAK 57)CRIME WAVE 58)SORCERER 59)THE STONE KILLER 60)BRING ME THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA

GREATEST MOVIES EVER 1)THE GODFATHER PART II 2)GOODFELLAS 3)THE GODFATHER 4)CHINATOWN 5)LAWRENCE OF ARABIA 6)JAWS 7)A CLOCKWORK ORANGE 8)IN COLD BLOOD 9)CITIZEN KANE 10)PSYCHO

ACTORS 1)DANA ANDREWS 2)JAMES CAGNEY 3)MARLON BRANDO 4)JACK NICHOLSON 5)ORSON WELLES 6)PETER O'TOOLE 7)TOM COURTENAY 8)CHARLES BRONSON 9)GENE HACKMAN 10)VICTOR MATURE ACTRESSES 1)VIRGINIA MAYO 2)SUE LYON 3)GENE TIERNEY 4)MERRY ANDERS 5)FAYE DUNAWAY DIRECTORS 1)JACQUES TOURNEUR 2)RICHARD FLEISCHER 3)STANLEY KUBRICK 4)ORSON WELLES 5)OTTO PREMINGER 6)JOHN CARPENTER 7)MAURY DEXTER 8)JOHN LANDIS 9)MICHAEL WINNER 10)SAM PECKINPAH