“Well that’s one thing about luck: it always changes, and I’ve got a feeling that mine is just around the corner.”
40 years ago today, on 2/24/80, Walt Disney Productions’ comedy classic “The Apple Dumpling Gang” returned to television.
A gambler (Bill Bixby) with little luck thinks he’s struck gold when he believes he’s double crossed someone (Don Knight) who’s double crossed him before, supposedly temporarily picking up some “valuables” on the morning stage. That stage has three little orphans (Clay O’Brien, Brad Savage and Stacy Manning), the “valuables”, and the driver (Susan Clark) and her father (David Wayne) agree with the Sheriff (Harry Morgan) that he has to find a home for them, or he’ll go to jail. Along the way the kids find a huge piece of gold in a mine, and now everyone wants the kids, including some bumbling crooks (Don Knotts and Tim Conway), and some dangerous ones (Slim Pickens, Dennis Fimple, Bing Russell and Pepe Callahan).
The film was produced by Ron Miller and directed by Disney veteran Norman Tokar. The music score was written by Buddy Baker, adding immeasurably to the joys of the film.
The 1975 delight first came to television on 11/14/76, and this was its second network showing, also in a two-hour format. It would be repeated again later that same year on 11/2/80, again in two-hours, the last time on the original anthology show.
“The Apple Dumpling Gang” may be the most important movie in my life, it making me want to see more movies, having only wanted to see a few before. The impact this one made on me made me want to see more films, especially Disney, the title song alone being something that I heard endlessly, having taken a tape recorder to the theater, and hearing the opening and ending repeatedly for years before I finally recorded it on video on 2/24/80. That song, written by Shane Tatem and sung by Randy Sparks with The Back Porch Majority, is what made me love movies most of all, the music and song it could include to enliven the story. The impact is unforgettable.
The great cast, the wonderful script, and the great music with song make “The Apple Dumpling Gang” an all-time classic.
“Mr. Donovan: I gotta go”
“And they called them The Apple Dumpling Gang.”