The Swamp Fox (TV series)
Encyclopedia
The Swamp Fox is a television series produced by Walt Disney
and starring Leslie Nielsen
as American Revolutionary War
hero Francis Marion
.
The theme song *("Swamp Fox, Swamp Fox, tail on his hat... nobody knows where the Swamp Fox is at...") was sung by Nielsen as well. One of the Swamp Fox's adversaries was Colonel Banastre Tarleton
, played by John Sutton
. Patrick Macnee
played a British captain, Tim Considine
played Marion's nephew Gabe Marion and Slim Pickens
played Plunkett, one of the Swamp Fox's men. Hal Stalmaster
appeared in three of the eight episodes as "Gwynn." The Swamp Fox did not bring to Disney the commercial success that had been achieved by Davy Crockett
.
The series encompassed eight episodes, running as part of the Disney anthology television series
. Episodes were presented on Sundays on ABC from 6:30-7:30 p.m. and were also broadcast by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
In an episode of Mansbridge One on One
, Nielsen revealed that, during its initial broadcast, The Swamp Fox was condemned by the Canadian House of Commons
for portraying United Empire Loyalists
as villains during the American Revolution. Nielsen pointed out the irony that he, a Canadian, starred in the only Disney production banned in Canada.
The Disney Channel
reran Swamp Fox episodes in the 1980s and 1990s, while Nielsen was at the height of a second career as a white-haired comedy movie star. The first three episodes of the series were also released in 2005 on DVD (in a set including three episodes of The Nine Lives of Elfego Baca
).
Ironically, the actual Francis Marion typically rode into battle with a pot on his head, a forerunner of the modern helmet, rather than a tri-cornered hat.
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
and starring Leslie Nielsen
Leslie Nielsen
Leslie William Nielsen, OC was a Canadian and naturalized American actor and comedian. Nielsen appeared in more than one hundred films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying more than 220 characters...
as American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
hero Francis Marion
Francis Marion
Francis Marion was a military officer who served in the American Revolutionary War. Acting with Continental Army and South Carolina militia commissions, he was a persistent adversary of the British in their occupation of South Carolina in 1780 and 1781, even after the Continental Army was driven...
.
The theme song *("Swamp Fox, Swamp Fox, tail on his hat... nobody knows where the Swamp Fox is at...") was sung by Nielsen as well. One of the Swamp Fox's adversaries was Colonel Banastre Tarleton
Banastre Tarleton
General Sir Banastre Tarleton, 1st Baronet, GCB was a British soldier and politician.He is today probably best remembered for his military service during the American War of Independence. He became the focal point of a propaganda campaign claiming that he had fired upon surrendering Continental...
, played by John Sutton
John Sutton (actor)
John Sutton , who was born in Rawalpindi, British India , was actor of British parentage.-Filmography:*Rawhide as Lord Ashton...
. Patrick Macnee
Patrick Macnee
Patrick Macnee is an English actor, best known for his role as the secret agent John Steed in the series The Avengers.-Early life:...
played a British captain, Tim Considine
Tim Considine
Timothy Daniel "Tim" Considine is a former American child actor and young adult actor who was popular in the late 1950s and early 1960s...
played Marion's nephew Gabe Marion and Slim Pickens
Slim Pickens
Louis Burton Lindley, Jr. , better known by the stage name Slim Pickens, was an American rodeo performer and film and television actor who epitomized the profane, tough, sardonic cowboy, but who is best remembered for his comic roles, notably in Dr...
played Plunkett, one of the Swamp Fox's men. Hal Stalmaster
Hal Stalmaster
Harry Lapidus Stalmaster, known as Hal Stalmaster , is a former actor best known for his lead role in the 1957 Walt Disney film of the American Revolution, Johnny Tremain, based on the 1943 Esther Forbes novel of the same name.-Johnny Tremain:In the dramatization, Stalmaster is an apprentice...
appeared in three of the eight episodes as "Gwynn." The Swamp Fox did not bring to Disney the commercial success that had been achieved by Davy Crockett
Davy Crockett (TV miniseries)
Davy Crockett is a five part serial which aired on ABC in one-hour episodes on the Disneyland series. The series stars Fess Parker as real-life frontiersman Davy Crockett and Buddy Ebsen as his fictional best friend, George Russel....
.
The series encompassed eight episodes, running as part of the Disney anthology television series
Disney anthology television series
The Walt Disney anthology television series refers to a television series which has been produced by the Walt Disney Company under several different titles from 1955 to 2008...
. Episodes were presented on Sundays on ABC from 6:30-7:30 p.m. and were also broadcast by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
In an episode of Mansbridge One on One
Mansbridge One on One
Mansbridge One on One is a weekly TV program of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation featuring CBC’s News' chief correspondent Peter Mansbridge. The program began airing in 1999. -External links:* http://www.cbc.ca/thenational/mansbridge/...
, Nielsen revealed that, during its initial broadcast, The Swamp Fox was condemned by the Canadian House of Commons
Canadian House of Commons
The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...
for portraying United Empire Loyalists
United Empire Loyalists
The name United Empire Loyalists is an honorific given after the fact to those American Loyalists who resettled in British North America and other British Colonies as an act of fealty to King George III after the British defeat in the American Revolutionary War and prior to the Treaty of Paris...
as villains during the American Revolution. Nielsen pointed out the irony that he, a Canadian, starred in the only Disney production banned in Canada.
The Disney Channel
Disney Channel
Disney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
reran Swamp Fox episodes in the 1980s and 1990s, while Nielsen was at the height of a second career as a white-haired comedy movie star. The first three episodes of the series were also released in 2005 on DVD (in a set including three episodes of The Nine Lives of Elfego Baca
Elfego Baca
Elfego Baca was a gunman, lawman, lawyer, and politician in the closing days of the American wild west. Baca was born in Socorro, New Mexico just before the end of the American Civil War to Francisco and Juana Maria Baca. His family moved to Topeka, Kansas when he was a young child...
).
Ironically, the actual Francis Marion typically rode into battle with a pot on his head, a forerunner of the modern helmet, rather than a tri-cornered hat.
- "Swamp Fox, Swamp Fox, tail on his hat... nobody knows where the Swamp Fox at; Swamp Fox, Swamp Fox, hiding in the glen, He'll ride away to fight again. Got no money, got no beds, got no roof above our heads; got no shelter when it rains, All we've got is Yankee brains!"
Episodes
| Episode # | Title | Original Airdate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Birth of the Swamp Fox | October 23, 1959 |
| 2 | Brother Against Brother Brother against brother "Brother against brother" is a slogan used in histories of the American Civil War, describing the predicament faced in families in which loyalties and military service were divided between the Union and the Confederacy... |
October 30, 1959 |
| 3 | Tory Vengeance http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0561212/ | January 1, 1960 |
| 4 | Day of Reckoning Day of Reckoning -Music video:* "Singled Out" – Directed by Marc Mirnbach, and shot in Maine and Worcester, Massachusetts.-Personnel :* Colin Schleifer – Vocals* Jon Kita – Lead Guitar* Kirk Kolaitis – Rhythm Guitar* Jeremy Wooden – Bass... |
January 8, 1960 |
| 5 | Redcoat Strategy | January 15, 1960 |
| 6 | A Case of Treason | January 22, 1960 |
| 7 | A Woman's Courage | January 8, 1961 |
| 8 | Horses for Greene | January 15, 1961 |