Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks with a Circus January 1960

Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks with a Circus January 1960

When I was a kid I owned a lot of records. One of the records was a double sided or double record album of Toby Tyler on 1 side and Hans Brinker on the other. Watching this film of the young Circus boy played by Disney Child Hood Maverick actor Kevin Corcoran brought back memories of listening to this story on my record player.

Back in the day Disney and others used to put the audio of their movies on record for kids to listen to. As a side note I also loved listening to Star Wars, G.I. Joe (the original G.I. Joe from the 60’s), other Disney films, Charlie Brown, The Muppets, Bugs Bunny, The 6 Million Dollar Man Christmas, Bible Stories and other such things on record. I had a huge collection which somehow disappeared at some time in my life.

Anyway, besides bringing back childhood memories, I thought this was a jolly good film of Toby’s adventures with the circus. It is based upon the 1880 children’s novel by  James Otis” (the pen name of James Otis Kaler). Who doesn’t like a Circus with all the animals, acrobats and clowns.  It’s an ideal place to run away to if your mad at your foster parents and want to get away from it all, or so it seems. Life under the Big Top is not always as fun behind the ring as it is in front of it.  Some unsavory characters lurk around the Circus grounds, mixed in with some nice ones.

This particular Big Top includes these colorful characters.

  • Shyster concession stand owner Mr. Tupper (Bob Sweeney)
  • Grouchy (but all around nice guy) Wagon Driver and Head Guy in charge of the Monkeys,     Ben Cotter (Henry Calvin, of Disney's "Zorro" series), 
  • Clown and Dog owner Sam Treat (Gene Sheldon, also of "Zorro"), 
  • Several other characters including a pretty blonde horse rider Toby’s age.
Toby Tyler is a fun time at the circus and a pretty good Disney Drama. It has love, clowns, acrobatics, drama, moral lessons, tears and a cool monkey.

Oh I almost forgot to mention the head chimp named Mr. Stubs who is a royal pain in the butt throughout the film. He steals things, points guns at people and is just as lovable as he is annoying.

Toby Tyler is worth a trip to the big top and worth a place in the family library.

Other Trips to the Circus
The Circus 1928 with Charlie Chaplin
The Circus Clown  1934 Joe E Brown
Charlie Chan at the Circus  (1936) 

Peck's Bad Boy With the Circus (1938)

  with Edgar Kennedy, George 'Spanky’ McFarland

At the Circus  1939 with the Marx Brothers 
Walt Disney’s Dumbo  1941
Cecil B. DeMille’s The Greatest Show on Earth  1952 with Charton Heston and Jimmy Stewart
3 Ring Circus 1954 Martin and Lewis

Trapeze  (1956) Starring  Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis
The Big Circus 1959
Billy Rose's Jumbo 1962
Circus World 1964 with John Wayne
Circus Angel 1965
Europe's Big Top Circus Stars Live from the Hippodrome (1966)

I clowns (also known as The Clowns)  1970 television film by Federico Fellini
Disney’s Something Wicked This Way Comes  1983 based on Ray Bradbury’s Book
Big Top Pee-wee  1988 
The First of May 1999 with Julie Harris, Dan Byrd and Mickey Rooney
Water for Elephants  2011

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