The Missouri Traveler
Encyclopedia
The Missouri Traveler is a 1958 American
coming-of-age period piece
drama film
directed by Jerry Hopper
starring Brandon De Wilde
and Lee Marvin
. It is based on the novel by John Burress. The cinematography
was by Technicolor
developer Winton C. Hoch with harmonica and banjo score by Jack Marshall
of The Munsters
fame. The film was distributed by Disney
's Buena Vista Corporation
.
It is the second of only 3 films produced by Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney
's C. V. Whitney Pictures; the first being The Searchers
in 1956 with John Wayne
and directed by John Ford
, the last being The Young Land
in 1959 with Patrick Wayne
and Dennis Hopper
.
The year after the film's release De Wilde would address more adult themes in Blue Denim
.
Both of these men share an interest in the polite and mature youth; one showing kindness, the other almost outright cruelty. Eventually, both of their reasonings become clear to the lad. At the same time, the whole town of Delphi comes to not only accept Biarn, but to embrace him as one of the town's own and his dream of becoming a farmer.
Highlights include a turn-of-the-century small-town 4th of July
celebration with a horse-trotting race and a head-to-head between Magee and Brown.
. Similarly, several DVD
versions were released over the years, mainly as an inclusion in a multiple film "family pack". Presently, The Missouri Traveler is available in Region 0 DVD through Reel Enterprises and video on demand
in standard non-widescreen
VHS conversion format.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
coming-of-age period piece
Period piece
-Setting:In the performing arts, a period piece is a work set in a particular era. This informal term covers all countries, all periods and all genres...
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
directed by Jerry Hopper
Jerry Hopper
Jerry Hopper was an American film and television director, active from the mid-1940s through the early 1970s....
starring Brandon De Wilde
Brandon De Wilde
Andre Brandon deWilde was an American theatre and film actor. He was born into a theatrical family in Brooklyn. Debuting on Broadway at the age of 7, De Wilde became a national phenomenon by the time he completed his 492 performances for The Member of the Wedding and was considered a child...
and Lee Marvin
Lee Marvin
Lee Marvin was an American film actor. Known for his gravelly voice, white hair and 6' 2" stature, Marvin at first did supporting roles, mostly villains, soldiers and other hardboiled characters, but after winning an Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual roles in Cat Ballou , he landed more...
. It is based on the novel by John Burress. The cinematography
Cinematography
Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
was by Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
developer Winton C. Hoch with harmonica and banjo score by Jack Marshall
Jack Marshall (composer)
Jack Marshall was an American guitarist, conductor, and composer. He is the father of producer-director Frank Marshall and composer Phil Marshall....
of The Munsters
The Munsters
The Munsters is a 1960s American family television sitcom depicting the home life of a family of monsters. It starred Fred Gwynne as Herman Munster and Yvonne De Carlo as his wife, Lily Munster. The series was a satire of both traditional monster movies and popular family entertainment of the era,...
fame. The film was distributed by Disney
The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
's Buena Vista Corporation
Buena Vista (Walt Disney Company)
Buena Vista is a brand name frequently used for divisions of The Walt Disney Company, whose primary studios and offices are located on Buena Vista Street in Burbank, California. It was originally created by Walt Disney in 1953 after the release of Peter Pan to distribute his film and television...
.
It is the second of only 3 films produced by Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney
Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney
Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney was an American businessman, film producer, writer, and government official, as well as the owner of a leading stable of thoroughbred racehorses....
's C. V. Whitney Pictures; the first being The Searchers
The Searchers (film)
The Searchers is a 1956 American Western film directed by John Ford, based on the 1954 novel by Alan Le May, and set during the Texas–Indian Wars...
in 1956 with John Wayne
John Wayne
Marion Mitchell Morrison , better known by his stage name John Wayne, was an American film actor, director and producer. He epitomized rugged masculinity and became an enduring American icon. He is famous for his distinctive calm voice, walk, and height...
and directed by John Ford
John Ford
John Ford was an American film director. He was famous for both his westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and adaptations of such classic 20th-century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath...
, the last being The Young Land
The Young Land
The Young Land is a 1959 American Western drama film directed by Ted Tetzlaff starring Patrick Wayne and Dennis Hopper. The cinematography was by Technicolor developer Winton C. Hoch and Henry Sharp. The film was distributed by Columbia Pictures Corporation.It is the third and final of only 3 films...
in 1959 with Patrick Wayne
Patrick Wayne
Patrick John Morrison, better known by his stage name Patrick Wayne , is an American actor, the second son of movie star John Wayne and his first wife, Josephine Alicia Saenz. He made over 40 films in his career, including nine with his father...
and Dennis Hopper
Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper was an American actor, filmmaker and artist. As a young man, Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors' Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1954 and appeared in two films featuring James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant...
.
The year after the film's release De Wilde would address more adult themes in Blue Denim
Blue Denim
Blue Denim was a successful Broadway play by writer James Leo Herlihy, the author of the novels All Fall Down and Midnight Cowboy . It starred Carol Lynley, Warren Berlinger and newcomer Burt Brinckerhoff in the lead male role...
.
Plot
Brandon De Wilde leads a cast lengthy in character actors playing subdued Biarn Turner, a 15-year-old runaway from the Eatondale Orphan Asylum bound for Florida in the pre-World War I time period. He receives a ride into the rural Missouri town of Delphi with rich land-owner Tobias Brown (Lee Marvin). There, after an episode in the town square involving most of the populace, he meets crusty newspaper man Doyle Magee (Gary Merrill).Both of these men share an interest in the polite and mature youth; one showing kindness, the other almost outright cruelty. Eventually, both of their reasonings become clear to the lad. At the same time, the whole town of Delphi comes to not only accept Biarn, but to embrace him as one of the town's own and his dream of becoming a farmer.
Highlights include a turn-of-the-century small-town 4th of July
Independence Day (United States)
Independence Day, commonly known as the Fourth of July, is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain...
celebration with a horse-trotting race and a head-to-head between Magee and Brown.
Cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Brandon De Wilde Brandon De Wilde Andre Brandon deWilde was an American theatre and film actor. He was born into a theatrical family in Brooklyn. Debuting on Broadway at the age of 7, De Wilde became a national phenomenon by the time he completed his 492 performances for The Member of the Wedding and was considered a child... |
Biarn Turner |
| Lee Marvin Lee Marvin Lee Marvin was an American film actor. Known for his gravelly voice, white hair and 6' 2" stature, Marvin at first did supporting roles, mostly villains, soldiers and other hardboiled characters, but after winning an Academy Award for Best Actor for his dual roles in Cat Ballou , he landed more... |
Tobias Brown |
| Gary Merrill Gary Merrill Gary Fred Merrill was an American film and television character actor whose credits included more than fifty feature films, a half-dozen mostly short-lived TV series, and dozens of television guest appearances.... |
Doyle Magee |
| Paul Ford | Finas Daugherty |
| Mary Hosford | Anna Love Price |
| Ken Curtis Ken Curtis Ken Curtis was an American singer and actor best known for his role as Festus Haggen on the long-running CBS western television series Gunsmoke.-Early years:... |
Fred Mueller |
| Cal Tinney | Clyde Hamilton Baker |
| Frank Cady Frank Cady Frank Cady is an American actor best known for his recurring and popular role as storekeeper Sam Drucker in three US television series during the 1960s: Petticoat Junction, Green Acres and The Beverly Hillbillies.-Career:... |
Willie Poole |
| Mary Field Mary Field Mary Field was an American film actress who primarily appeared in supporting roles.- Early life :She was born in New York City, New York. As a child she never knew her biological parents. During her infancy she was left outside the doors of a church with a note pinned to her saying that her name... |
Nelda Hamilton |
| Kathleen Freeman Kathleen Freeman Kathleen Freeman was an American film, television, and stage actress. In a career that spanned more than 50 years, she portrayed tart maids, secretaries, teachers, busybodies, nurses, and battle-axe neighbors, almost invariably to comic effect.-Early life:Freeman was born in Chicago, Illinois... |
Serena Poole |
| Will Wright Will Wright (actor) William Henry "Will" Wright was an American character actor. He was frequently cast in curmudgeonly roles. He was sometimes credited as Will J. Wright.... |
Sheriff Peavy |
| Tom Tiner | Reverend Thomdyke |
| Bill Bryant | Henry Craig |
| Barry Curtis | Jimmy Price |
| Eddie Little | Red Poole |
| Roy Jenson Roy Jenson Roy Jenson was a Canadian-born actor.Born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he moved to Los Angeles with his family as a child. He joined the U.S. Navy and then graduated from UCLA... |
Simpson |
Home media
No less than six different releases of The Missouri Traveler were produced on VHSVHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
. Similarly, several DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
versions were released over the years, mainly as an inclusion in a multiple film "family pack". Presently, The Missouri Traveler is available in Region 0 DVD through Reel Enterprises and video on demand
Video on demand
Video on Demand or Audio and Video On Demand are systems which allow users to select and watch/listen to video or audio content on demand...
in standard non-widescreen
Widescreen
Widescreen images are a variety of aspect ratios used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 Academy aspect ratio provided by 35mm film....
VHS conversion format.