Davy Crockett and the River Pirates (1956)

The second Davy Crockett movie made from episodes of Disney's "Disneyland" television series. The first part has Davy (Fess Parker) and his comic relief sidekick Georgie (Buddy Ebsen) in a keelboat race with blowhard Mike Fink who calls himself the "King of the River." The second part continues from the first and deals with Crockett fighting river pirates Samuel Mason and Big & Little Harpe. It's a fun movie with a lot of action and humor. Fess Parker and Buddy Ebsen are both great. The rest of the cast includes Kenneth Tobey, Jeff York, Clem Bevans, and Mort Mills. It's a beautiful-looking movie, with lovely scenery and filmed with that wonderful old-school Disney polish. Some cute songs in it, too. In addition to Crockett, some of the other characters, like Mike Fink and the Harpe brothers, are based on real people. Obviously this is no documentary so don't expect a history lesson. It's a fun movie that should appeal to the kid in all (well, most) of us. Definitely worth a look.