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The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin

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The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJames Neilson
Screenplay byLowell S. Hawley
Based on
By the Great Horn Spoon!
by Sid Fleischman
Produced byWalt Disney[1]
StarringRoddy McDowall
Suzanne Pleshette
Karl Malden
CinematographyEdward Colman
Edited byMarsh Hendry
Music bySongs:
Score:
George Bruns
Production
company
Distributed byBuena Vista Distribution
Release date
  • June 15, 1967 (1967-06-15)
Running time
111 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1,900,000 (US/ Canada)[3]

The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin is a 1967 American Western comedy film directed by James Neilson, produced by Walt Disney Productions, and starring Roddy McDowall, Suzanne Pleshette, Hermione Baddeley, and Karl Malden. The film's screenplay, by Lowell S. Hawley, was based on the novel By the Great Horn Spoon! by Sid Fleischman. The songs were written by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman and the theme song was written by Mel Leven and George Bruns, the latter of whom also composed the film's score. It was the fifth and final film Neilson directed for Disney.

Plot

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Jack and Arabella Flagg are orphaned in Boston in 1849. Seeking adventure in the California gold rush, Jack stows away aboard a ship bound for San Francisco, with the family butler Eric Griffin inadvertently along for the voyage. Griffin ingratiates himself with the ship's captain by working as his cook and servant.

The swindler and thief Judge Higgins steals a map to a gold mine from Quentin Bartlett, an actor among the ship's passengers. Griffin, Jack, and Quentin pursue the crooked judge. Arabella also makes her way to San Francisco, eventually taking a job performing in a dance hall saloon.

Griffin encounters the stocky bully Mountain Ox, and delivers a punch that flattens the giant, earning him the "Bullwhip" moniker. Inspired by the incident, Bullwhip later enters a prizefighting match, ultimately winning both the money and Arabella's affection. Caught trying to steal the fight's receipts, Judge Higgins quivers behind bars as a lynch mob forms outside. The ensuing riot causes a fire that destroyed much of the city, but Bullwhip uses his winnings to rebuild San Francisco better than before, making him a local hero.

Cast

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Tony Hancock was cast in this film, but was sacked during production due to his erratic behaviour. He was replaced by Richard Haydn.[4]

Reception

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The film holds a score of 50% on Rotten Tomatoes based on eight reviews.[5]

Critical response

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Howard Thompson of The New York Times graded the film as "Okay, no more", adding, "as a Western spoof, the picture is slow, overdrawn, and tame to the point of gentility. Surely young Disney fans wouldn't have cringed at some slambang, Gold Rush vigor, plus a little 'Ruggles of Red Gap' flavoring."[6] Arthur D. Murphy of Variety called the film "a lively, entertaining comedy spoof of the California Gold Rush era. Zesty direction, wild performances, firstrate production values and broad comedy angles make this Walt Disney production particularly strong for all age audiences."[7] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times wrote: "Everyone turns in winning performances, but they don't get much help from Lowell S. Hawley's routine script, which too often emphasizes dialog at the expense of action, or from James Neilson's equally pedestrian direction."[8] The Monthly Film Bulletin stated: "A pity that some scenes are played for more than they are worth, but there's enough liveliness here to keep all but the most sophisticated youngsters happy."[9]

Content edits

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For the film's streaming release, Disney+ overdubbed the term "coolie" from dialogue referring to a character's disguise.[citation needed]

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin". AFI Catalog of Feature Films. American Film Institute. Retrieved December 10, 2020.
  2. ↑ "The Adventures Of Bullwhip Griffin (U)". British Board of Film Classification. April 14, 1967. Retrieved June 24, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Big Rental Films of 1967", Variety, 3 January 1968 p 25. Please note these figures refer to rentals accruing to the distributors.
  4. ↑ "The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin (1967) - IMDb". IMDb.
  5. ↑ "The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  6. ↑ Thompson, Howard (March 9, 1967). "'Bullwhip Griffin'". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. p. 43. ISSN 0362-4331. OCLC 1645522. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  7. ↑ Murphy, Arthur D. (March 1, 1967). "Film Reviews: The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin". Variety. p 6, 13.
  8. ↑ Thomas, Kevin (March 17, 1967). "'Bullwhip Griffin' in Multiple Engagement". Los Angeles Times. The Los Angeles Times Company (now Los Angeles Times Communications LLC). p. 14. ISSN 0458-3035. OCLC 3638237. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
  9. ↑ "The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin". Monthly Film Bulletin. Vol. 35, no. 408. British Film Institute. January 1968. p. 7. ISSN 0027-0407. OCLC 804770102. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
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