The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band

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The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band
Theatrical release poster
Directed byMichael O'Herlihy
Screenplay byLowell S. Hawley
Story byLowell S. Hawley
Michael O'Herlihy
Based onThe Family Band: from the Missouri to the Black Hills, 1881-1900
by Laura Bower Van Nuys
Produced byBill Anderson
StarringWalter Brennan
Buddy Ebsen
Lesley Ann Warren
John Davidson
CinematographyFrank V. Phillips
Edited byCotton Warburton
Music bySongs:
Richard M. Sherman
Robert B. Sherman
Score:
Jack Elliott
Production
company
Distributed byBuena Vista Distribution
Release date
Running time
110 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$2,250,000 (US/ Canada)[1]

The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band is a 1968 American

American pioneers who settle in the Dakota Territory. The film stars Walter Brennan, Buddy Ebsen, Lesley Ann Warren, John Davidson, and marks the film debut of Goldie Hawn
.

Plot

The Bower Family Band petitions the

Dakotas, along with Montana and Washington
, evening the gains for both parties. The Dakotans, particularly the feuding young couple, resolve to live together in peace.

Cast

Songs

"The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band" The film opens with Grandpa conducting all ten members of the Bower family, each playing a different musical instrument. Practicing in their barn, the family dances among the animals and hay, boasting of their unique talents and versatility.

"The Happiest Girl Alive" Alice expresses her intense emotions over receiving her latest letter from suitor Joe Carder.

"Let's Put It Over with Grover" The Bowers perform this Grover Cleveland campaign song to a representative from the Democratic National Committee.[2]

"Ten Feet off the Ground" Ecstatic at the prospect of performing at the National Convention, the family band engages in an impromptu celebration. They sing about the feeling which only music can bestow, figuratively lifting them "Ten Feet off the Ground". (This was one of two songs from the film covered by Louis Armstrong later in 1968.)

"Dakota" Joe Carder entices local Missouri families, singing about the marvels of the Dakota Territory. ("Dakota" is similar in style to the title song of the Oklahoma! and was once considered as a candidate for "state song" for South Dakota.)

"'Bout Time" Joe Carder expresses his devotion to Alice, telling her it's "'Bout Time" they were engaged, she responds in kind, and the two sing this duet. (This song was covered by Louis Armstrong and was later featured in the 2005 film, Bewitched.)

"Drummin' Drummin' Drummin'" Grandpa Bower recounts the tale of a young

drummer boy during the Civil War, inspiring all the children in the school house
that they too can stand their ground and make a difference.

"West o' the Wide Missouri" On election night, locals dance and celebrate their part in American expansionism west of the Missouri River.

"Oh, Benjamin Harrison" The Republicans in town have their own campaign song; they sing their praise for Benjamin Harrison, who is "far beyond comparison."

The original cast soundtrack was released on

CD
or streaming services.

Production

The feature was originally planned as a two-part television special based on the Laura Bower Van Nuys memoir The Family Band, recounting her experience as the youngest of the Bower children, her family's brass band, and their journey from Missouri to their frontier life in the Black Hills.

Walt Disney sought the Sherman Brothers to help on the project, feeling the story was too flat. The Shermans wrote the song "The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band", which ultimately became the title of the motion picture. After hearing the song, Disney decided to add more songs to the film and turn it into a musical. In all, the Sherman Brothers wrote eleven songs for the film, though Robert Sherman reportedly did so under protest, believing the subject matter too mundane to be made into a feature-length musical film.

The film reunited

Mary Poppins kids Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber) to play Grandpa Bower because the actor reminded Walt of his father
.

Theatrical release and reception

The film premiered at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Originally intended to run 156 minutes, the Music Hall requested 20 minutes of cuts. Disney responded by cutting the film to 110 minutes, excising the songs "Westerinʼ", sung by Calvin (Buddy Ebsen) and "I Couldn't Have Dreamed it Better", sung by Katie (Janet Blair). The Sherman Brothers and producer Bill Anderson objected, but the studio heads told them the cuts would be just for the Music Hall's engagement. Robert B. Sherman pointed out that the Music Hall is where New York film critics screen musical films, arguing that the cuts weakened the characters' dramatic motivation. He also predicted that those cuts would result in negative reviews.

Radio City Music Hall got its way, and the 110-minute version is the only one that ever saw a release. Sherman's predictions came true when the New York Times' critic Renata Adler panned the film after seeing it at the Music Hall, calling the film "about as pepless and fizzled a musical as has ever come out of the Walt Disney Studios."[5] As of 2014, Disney has made no attempt at a reconstruction of the originally intended cut, but sheet music of the two cut songs was included in the book Disney's Lost Chords, Volume 2.

Reception from other critics

The film fared no better among most other major critics.

sasparilla may go down the wrong way. Certainly it's no runner-up to 'Mary Poppins' or 'The Sound of Music.' Not by a long shot, though the pitch is definitely aimed that-a-way."[9]

One positive review of the film came from Lou Cedrone, who remarked in Baltimore's Evening Sun newspaper that "the Walt Disney studios have done with 'The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band' what they tried and failed to do with 'The Happiest Millionaire.' That is, the film is pleasant in the Disney tradition and what's more, the songs and dancing, the latter choreographed by Hugh Lambert, are especially nice."[10]

Box office and television airing

Bringing in $2,250,000 in rentals, it was never reissued to theaters; instead, it aired on

The Wonderful World of Disney in two parts on January 23 and January 30, 1972.[11]

Home media

While a planned 1979

MCA DiscoVision release with the catalog number D18-513 was cancelled, the film was released on videotape in 1981 and on LaserDisc in 1982.[12][13][14]

After 20 years of unavailability, the film was released on DVD on July 6, 2004. Though the transfer was not in the original aspect ratio, it included an audio commentary from Richard M. Sherman, Lesley Ann Warren and John Davidson and a 12-minute making-of featurette featuring all three.

Literary sources

External links

References

  1. ^ "Big Rental Films of 1968", Variety, 8 January 1969 p 15. Please note this figure is a rental accruing to distributors.
  2. I Like Ike
    ."
  3. ^ Murray, R. Michael (1997). The Golden Age of Walt Disney Records, 1933-1988. Dubuque, Iowa: Antique Trader Books. p. 72.
  4. ^ Murray, R. Michael (1997). The Golden Age of Walt Disney Records, 1933-1988. Dubuque, Iowa: Antique Trader Books. p. 33.
  5. ^ Adler, Renata (March 22, 1968). "Film: 'One and Only Genuine Original Family Band". The New York Times. 55.
  6. ^ "Film Reviews: The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band". Variety. March 20, 1968. 6.
  7. ^ Champlin, Charles (July 12, 1968). "'The Original Family Band' Opens Citywide Engagement". Los Angeles Times. p. 8, part IV.
  8. Tribune Media Services
    . p. 5, s. 2.
  9. ^ Driscoll, Edgar J. (July 11, 1968). "'Family Band' ideal film for youngsters". The Boston Globe. Boston Globe Media Partners, LLC. p. 36.
  10. Tribune Media Services
    . p. E10.
  11. ^ Cotter, Bill (1997). The Wonderful World of Disney Television. New York, NY: Hyperion. p. 90.
  12. ^ "MCA Discovision Library". Retrieved December 27, 2013. Several anthology series episodes were released through this deal, and several other live-action features were part of it, but only Kidnapped ever saw a DiscoVision release.
  13. ^ "Disney Laserdisc Database". Retrieved 2013-12-27.
  14. ^ "New Releases". Billboard. Vol. 93, no. 32. August 15, 1981. p. 58.
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