Trivia / Davy Crockett (1954)

• Cast the Runner-Up: Buddy Ebsen was initially cast as Davy Crockett until Walt Disney saw Fess Parker's performance in Them! and decided he was better suited for the role. Ebsen was recast as Davy's sidekick, George Russell. The decision to make Fess Parker the new Davy was made so late into production, that promotional pictures of Ebsen as Davy had already been taken.
• Enforced Method Acting: Director Norman Foster would say mocking and demeaning things to Fess Parker to get him into the right mood for Davy's speech protesting the Indian Removal Act.
• Moral Guardians: Davy Crockett and the River Pirates was criticized for showing George getting drunk.
• No Stunt Double: In their Disney Family Album episode, Fess Parker and Buddy Ebsen claimed that, although they did have stunt doubles on stand-by, they did most of their own stunts throughout the series.
• Referenced by...: The first Back to the Future film has quite a few references to the Disney version of Davy Crockett:
  • At the end of the "Mister Sandman" Sequence, Marty notices that a record store sign is advertising that they have The Ballad of Davy Crockett.
  • When Marty steps into the diner, Fess Parker's cover of The Ballad of Davy Crockett is playing. It should be noted that this cover version is from the first episode of the Disneyland television series, not the actual Fess Parker single that was available at the time.
  • Lorraine's younger brother, Milton Baines, can be seen wearing a coonskin cap for most of his (brief) screen time.
• Star-Making Role: Fess Parker became an overnight sensation after the first episode aired.
• What Could Have Been: In his interview for the Archive of American Television, Fess Parker revealed that in the mid-1970s, he wrote a script for a third Davy Crockett story set 25 years after the battle of the Alamo. The story would have revealed that Davy, Russell, and a few other men from the Alamo were not killed, but captured by Santa Anna's troops and moved into a secret prison deep in Mexico. After 25 years, Davy and a nursed-back-to-health Russell escape from the prison and sneak aboard a slave ship headed to New Orleans. Once they arrive in the United States, the two plan to head back to the Alamo, believing that the battle against Santa Anna and his army is still going on. Upon arriving, they are shocked to discover that not only has the battle been over for many years, but the day they arrive is the 25th anniversary of the final day of the battle, and a celebration is taking place. As the names of the fallen defenders are read out loud, Russell turns to Davy and says "They think we're heroes, we better get out of here!" and the two ride off into the sunset. Parker claims that Buddy Ebsen was more than willing to come back to the role of George Russell, and the only problem was getting the Walt Disney Company to approve the project.

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