Treasure of Matecumbe
Treasure of Matecumbe | |
---|---|
Directed by | Vincent McEveety |
Written by | Don Tait |
Based on | A Journey to Matecumbe by Robert Lewis Taylor |
Produced by | Bill Anderson Ron Miller |
Starring | Johnny Doran Billy Atmore Robert Foxworth Joan Hackett Peter Ustinov Vic Morrow |
Cinematography | Frank V. Phillips |
Edited by | Cotton Warburton |
Music by | Buddy Baker |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Buena Vista Distribution |
Release date |
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Running time | 115 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Treasure of Matecumbe is a 1976 American family adventure film directed by Vincent McEveety and produced by Walt Disney Productions. It was based on the novel A Journey to Matecumbe by Robert Lewis Taylor. The filming locations were in Danville, Kentucky, Sacramento River at Colusa, California and Walt Disney Golden Oak Ranch in California. The final scene at a beached shipwreck was filmed at Walt Disney World's Discovery Island.[1][2]
Plot
In post-Civil War Kentucky, young David Burnie (Johnny Doran) becomes the unexpected heir to a map revealing treasure on the Florida isle of Matecumbe. Joined by four fellow adventurers, Davie begins his search for the treasure despite deadly interference by his late father's Civil War nemesis.
A boy named Davie and his companion, Thad (Billy Atmore) run away from their home on a Kentucky plantation to search for treasure. Davie and Thad board a steamboat to Louisiana, but wind up off the boat when they jump overboard to save Lauriette Paxton, a fellow passenger who is thrown overboard trying to stop a thief from stealing the boys' money. Paxton turns the boys in as runaways, but after they escape and secure employment as apprentices of the snake oil salesman Dr. Ewing Snodgrass (Peter Ustinov) and saving Davie's uncle from a Ku Klux Klan lynching, they earn Paxton's respect. Along the way they are chased by a carpetbagger named Spangler, an enemy of Davie's late father. A Yankee from the north, Spangler is hated by the proud confederate southerner Mrs. Paxton. The map leads them to an isle in Florida, where they dig for treasure.
Cast
- Johnny Doran as Davie
- Billy "Pop" Atmore as Thad
- Robert Foxworth as Uncle Jim
- Joan Hackett as Lauriette Paxton
- Sir Peter Ustinov as Dr. Ewing T. Snodgrass
- Vic Morrow as Captain Spangler
- Jane Wyatt as Aunt Effie
- Virginia Vincent as Aunt Lou
- Robert DoQui as Ben
- Mills Watson as Catrell
- Dub Taylor as Sheriff Forbes
- Dick Van Patten as The Gambler
- George Lindsey as Coahoma Sheriff
- John Myhers as Captain Boomer
- Logan Ramsey as Coley
- Valentin de Vargas as Charlie
- Jonathan Daly as Paxton Farrow
- Warde Donovan as Sheriff Coffey
- James Brodhead as Groom
- John Steadman as Guide
- Rex Holman as Informant
- Clint Ritchie as Flatboat Leader
- Ken Renard as Customer
- Brion James as Roustabout
- John Hayes as Mule Driver
- John C. Flinn III as Spangler's Men
- Louie Elias as Spangler's Men
- Richard Wright as Spangler's Men
- David S. Cass Sr. as Spangler's Men
Reception
Blogger Peter Hanson wrote of the film, "An adventure saga that steals elements from the fiction of Robert Louis Stevenson, Mark Twain, and others—then shoots those elements through the simplistic prism of the Walt Disney Productions house style—Treasure of Matecumbe is as amiable as it is disposable. […] Beyond the implied element of racism, Treasure of Matecumbe includes murder, attempted gang rape, an attempted lynching by the Ku Klux Klan, the desecration of Native American burial grounds, and the transformation of white hostages into “squaws” by Native American captors."[3]
The film's availability on Disney+ caused it to return to public attention in 2019–20.[4] Yardbarker compared its racial content to Disney's infamous Song of the South.[5] YouTuber Jenny Nicholson described it as an "overly long racist [romp] about boys encountering an endless parade of character actors."[6]
Reception
- ^ Maltin, Leonard (September 2, 2014). "Leonard Maltin's 2015 Movie Guide". Penguin – via Google Books.
- ^ Taylor, Drew (November 13, 2019). "15 obscure movies and TV shows on Disney+ you need to check out". SYFY WIRE.
- ^ Hanson, By Peter (July 14, 2015). "Every 70s Movie: Treasure of Matecumbe (1976)".
- ^ "What To Watch On Disney+: The Ultimate 70s Movies Watchlist". April 28, 2020.
- ^ "Hidden gems to check out on Disney+". Yardbarker. March 31, 2020.
- ^ https://twitter.com/JennyENicholson/status/1264002702805135360
External links
- Official website
- Treasure of Matecumbe at IMDb
- Treasure of Matecumbe at Rotten Tomatoes
- Treasure of Matecumbe at the TCM Movie Database
- 1976 films
- American adventure films
- American films
- 1970s adventure films
- English-language films
- Walt Disney Pictures films
- Films directed by Vincent McEveety
- Danville, Kentucky
- Films shot in Kentucky
- Films shot in Florida
- Films shot in California
- Films set in the 1860s
- Films based on American novels
- Films scored by Buddy Baker (composer)
- Treasure hunt films
- Adventure film stubs