The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin Movie Review (1967)

Having grown up seeing Roddy McDowall only in a brief supporting role in Bedknobs and Broomsticks, I was thrilled to see him as the title character for today’s movie. And then adding Suzanne Pleshette, Karl Malden and Richard Haydn provided a fun cast to watch, this movie was a new one to me. For this project, I’m focusing on the story itself, including dialogue, character development, any subplots, how a story presents itself, the speed at which it moves, if it slows down unnecessarily, etc.

A Brief Summary

(Taken from D23)

At the time of the California Gold Rush, a young boy from Boston runs away to California to try and restore his family’s fortune, pursued by the very proper family butler. The butler, Griffin, as the result of a lucky punch, becomes mistakenly renowned as a boxer. In a series of adventures, both boy and butler tangle with a crook who uses many disguises. But they find their fortune, and the staid butler becomes his own man and marries the boy’s attractive older sister. Released on March 3, 1967.

Note: This movie does have a “cultural warning” on it when watching on Disney+.

What works

• There are fun animations during the opening credits and throughout the movie (with ‘Chapter Title Cards’ as well as little momentary animations towards the end). They had a similar vibe that reminded me of animations used in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. And as a fan of the Nine Old Men, it was fun to see Ward Kimball credited for the animations (as Titles & Things in the opening credits).
• I do like how quickly the plot begins. It doesn’t take long (around 12 minutes or so) for the late grandfather’s will to be read, for Jack to run away, and for Griffin to follow Jack to California. It was the right amount of time to set up the three main characters (Jack, Griffin, and Arabella) before getting into the main plot of the movie.
• Bullwhip Griffin (whose first name, I think, is Eric) had an interesting arc, or rather an interesting way of showing his growth throughout the movie. When we first meet him, he’s very much a prim, proper butler. His hair was slicked, wearing clean, pressed attire, and, frankly, a resigned, serious look on his face. I mention his facial expression, because it becomes clear that he’s not overly fond of his role. He’s a butler as his father and grandfather were butlers before him. But it doesn’t look like he really wants to do it, just that he has to do it. So over the course of the movie, as his attire and hairstyle change (as he goes on the journey with Jack), he also seems happier and more relaxed. It was great to see.
• Having Richard Haydn appear as Mr. Bartlett was such a win for me. He was the voice of the Caterpillar in Disney’s Alice in Wonderland, as well as playing Max in The Sound of Music, so seeing him in this was such fun. Mr. Bartlett was a pretty eccentric character who spoke as if he was permanently in a Shakespearean play the entire time (not that I minded). It was a relief seeing him be a good ally to Griffin and Jack (and later Arabella).
• Arabella (Suzanne Pleshette) is such a fun character. She doesn’t mind the fact that her grandfather died broke, leaving her and Jack with nothing. Instead she packs her bags and follows them to San Francisco, and finds herself becoming the star performer at the Lucky Nugget Saloon. My favorite part is the part where she says that she loves singing in the saloon. She wasn’t forced, she loves her job. I love that for her.
  • I do like that the camera would cut back to show Arabella (once in Boston, once in San Francisco) before Jack and Griffin are reunited with her. It was nice to see what she was up to, and to know how she also made it to San Francisco.
  • I also liked the reunion between Jack, Griffin, and Arabella (now happily employed at the saloon). It showcased Arabella’s growth (even though she hasn’t had much screen time) and how she and Griffin adapted differently to life in the west.
• I really like the ending. It’s not perfect, but everything gets wrapped up well, and it doesn’t feel rushed (which is SUCH a relief)

What may or may not work

• The theme song for Bullwhip Griffin isn’t my favorite (when compared to ones like Davy Crockett or Zorro), but it is kind of fun to listen to. It is similar to Davy Crockett’s theme song, being a narrative style of song. It was used periodically throughout the movie to help progress the plot and connect different scenes/segments of the movie.
  • As an additional plug, it is SO MUCH BETTER than the theme song from Lobo.
• The special effects (including sped-up camera work) can be a little over the top (when people get thrown around, lifted up. half of the final fight, etc). Now granted, the fight is quite entertaining, and it’s one of the highlights for me. But, still, they were definitely having a lot of fun in adding special effect gags here and there throughout the fight. Also, the Lucky Nugget fire (specifically the building/roof fires outside, not the fires on the ground or inside the saloon) is so fake, and it cracks me up to see it every time.
• There was an odd balance between the plot and the pacing of the plot. Things were happening and yet it all felt slow.
  • I will say that all of the scenes did help move the plot forward. There was just enough critical moments in every scene (even the ones that dragged) that were important to the plot.
• Griffin certainly had plot armor in this movie because he was able to adapt super well to the Wild West. It did make sense with his character, but was it too easy to adapt? I don’t mind too much because it would have been worse if he had been more incompetent. Still, how much of his actions came from being the main character, and how much came from the character himself?
  • Something else I thought was interesting, is that though Griffin is established as a ‘proper’ hero, and he’s very smart and resourceful, he’s also kind of shallow. It’s nice to see that he isn’t perfect, but the shallowness was draining a bit.
• I’m not sure how I feel about Judge Higgins. I love the actor Karl Malden (who was also the Reverand Paul Ford in Disney’s Pollyanna), but Judge Higgins wasn’t my favorite. As the primary antagonist (in my opinion), he does the job well, but it seemed like he was winning more often than losing throughout the movie. So, though I liked how he lost in the end, it wasn’t quite enough to satisfy me after his multiple victories throughout the movie.
  • To continue on the Higgins train, he really was confusing at times. He was corrupt but a bit more, I’m not sure, something else. It’s like they tried to make him more nuanced with extra layers. Yet it just didn’t quite come off right. It’s not that I was looking for him to be either all good or all bad. I do like it when characters have a mix of both, but this wasn’t the right balance for him.
• In the middle of the movie, there’s this section where Griffin and Jack find Judge Higgins (impersonating a dentist and about to be hanged). They’re able to help him in order to try to get the map, which they do (sort of). But honestly, from the moment they find him to when they reunite with Arabella, it all kind of drags. It’s basically them vs Higgins the whole time, and I do get a little tired of it.

Honorable Mentions

• The kid who played Jack (Bryan Russell) also played Emil in Emil and the Detectives, which I reviewed earlier in this project series. I enjoyed him a lot more in this movie than in that, but I think that had more to do because the character/movie/plot was better here than in that one.
• At the beginning of the movie, there’s a painting of Alonso J. Flagg (the dead grandfather) hanging on the wall in the library where the will is being read. I quite enjoyed seeing his facial expressions change during that scene (based on who was talking/what was being said) and in a later scene as well. It was a small thing, but it was fun to watch.
• There’s a man who buys a ticket to California (winning it with his bid of $1200 dollars), and it gets stolen by Judge Higgins. I always feel so bad for him when I watch. He was so excited and then so sad, and it was all the money he had. Oh my goodness, I just wanted to give him a hug and a new ticket.
• The fight scene between Griffin and the Mountain Ox (who also appeared in Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier) was quite entertaining, though a bit over the top. That and the ending itself made it one of the better movie endings that I’ve seen for some of these new-to-me Disney movies.
• One of my favorite dialogue bits:
  • Early on in their voyage with Captain Swain, Jack, and Griffin notice that the captain’s about to eat a very unappealing fish head meal (which reminds me of the fish heads from the Fish Head music video). They put the cover back on the dish containing the fish, and the Captain sees them doing so:
    • “Get away from that, that’s not for you.” (The Captain)
    • “I appreciate that.” (I quite enjoy Griffin’s dry humor)

Side Questions

• I’m curious on whether or not Mr. Bartlett had actually had a ticket for the first voyage. Because he ended up having a room (a decent cabin, if you ask me), it makes sense that he would have a ticket, but he also snuck aboard with Jack. It was probably to avoid his enemies (aka Judge Higgins), but I don’t recall if he mentions that he’s a paying customer or not.
• The map to the mother lode was mentioned and focused on heavily during most of the movie, but then it gets shot during a robbery. While it’s shown later having a bullet hole right where the X would be, the rest of the map is completely intact. Yet the characters all acknowledge that it’s no good anymore. Now, I’ve never used a treasure map before, but it seems that they could have still tried to make it work. There still would have been guess work in locating the gold, but couldn’t it still have been done? I don’t know, I guess I just didn’t like that for such an important thing they needed to find (they go after Higgins to find the map), it just felt odd them letting it go just like that.

Would I watch this movie again?

• I wouldn’t mind watching it again, but it’s not one that I would choose to watch often. I would probably need to be in the right mood or with people who want to watch it.

If you’ve seen The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin, what are some of your thoughts? Share in the comments below!

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