''The Man from Button Willow'' is a 1965 American

animated Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby image, still images are manipulated to create Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on cel, transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and e ...

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

film about the adventures of Justin Eagle, the first U.S. government agent. It was released in the United States on April 3, 1965.

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an American nonprofit organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

noted in their review that the film is romantic and ethnocentric in its depiction of American superiority; some of the Native American and Asian characters would be considered stereotypes by today's standards.

Plot

During construction of the

first transcontinental railroad America's first transcontinental railroad (known originally as the "Pacific Railroad" and later as the "Overland Route (Union Pacific Railroad), Overland Route") was a continuous railroad line built between 1863 and 1869 that connected the exis ...

, unscrupulous land grabbers are buying up land on which the railroad is to be built, forcing the U.S. government to purchase it at inflated prices. The government has deployed

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

investigators to put a stop to this, and has assembled a team of men who work in secret to protect them. One such man is Justin Eagle, who operates from his ranch, the Eagle's Nest, near the town of Button Willow in the

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

foothills. Justin returns from business in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

, reuniting with his adopted Japanese daughter Stormy and ranch hand Jeremiah "Sorry" Baker. Justin notes the presence in town of land grabber Montgomery Blaine and his henchman "the Whip". Justin's

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equidae, equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more th ...

, Savannah, gives birth to a

foal A foal is an equine up to one year old; this term is used mainly for horses, but can be used for donkeys. More specific terms are colt (horse), colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, and are used until the horse is three or four. Whe ...

sired by his

stallion A stallion is an adult male horse that has not been gelded ( castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cre ...

, Rebel. The foal escapes the ranch and goes up a nearby mountain, accompanied by Justin's dog Shady and pet

skunk Skunks are mammals in the family Mephitidae. They are known for their ability to spray a liquid with a strong, unpleasant scent from their anal glands. Different species of skunk vary in appearance from black-and-white to brown, cream or gi ...

, Alfie. When the foal is attacked by a

cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...

, Rebel rushes to the rescue and fights the predator off; Shady is injured but survives. Justin learns from

general store A general merchant store (also known as general merchandise store, general dealer, village shop, or country store) is a rural or small-town store that carries a general line of merchandise. It carries a broad selection of merchandise, someti ...

proprietor Abner Hawkins that several settlers have recently had their homes burned and been chased off their land, and that Senator Freeman is in San Francisco to investigate. The senator soon disappears; without his vote, the settlers will lose their land to land grabbers. Justin's contact sends word to him via

homing pigeon The homing pigeon is a variety of domestic pigeon (''Columba livia domestica''), selectively bred for its ability to find its way home over extremely long distances. Because of this skill, homing pigeons were used to carry messages, a practice ...

, summoning him to San Francisco. There, he informs Justin that Senator Freeman has proof that Blaine has cheated and driven hundreds of settlers off their lands. The senator has been kidnapped and is being held on a ship, but it is not known which one. Once the ship is at sea, the senator will be murdered. Following a tip to a saloon, Justin observes the proprietor, "Shanghai" Kelly,

shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

a sailor. Starting a fight as cover, Justin follows Kelly but falls through a trap door into a rowboat and is himself shanghaied by a ship captain. The ship sets sail, and Justin finds Senator Freeman captive aboard. With the help of kidnapped sailor Andy Svenson, Justin attacks the crew, knocking most of them overboard. They force the captain to sail the ship back to San Francisco. Returning home, Justin is welcomed by Stormy and Sorry. Blaine and the Whip are imprisoned for their crimes.

Voice cast

Dale Robertson Dayle Lymoine Robertson (July 14, 1923 – February 27, 2013) was an American actor best known for his starring roles on television. He played the roving investigator Jim Hardie in the television series ''Tales of Wells Fargo'' and railroad own ...

as Justin Eagle, and as himself in the live-action prologue *

Edgar Buchanan William Edgar Buchanan II (March 20, 1903 – April 4, 1979) was an American actor with a long career in both film and television. He is most familiar today as Uncle Joe Carson from the '' Petticoat Junction'', '' Green Acres'', and '' The Bever ...

as Jeremiah "Sorry" Baker *

Howard Keel Harold Clifford Keel (April 13, 1919November 7, 2004), professionally Howard Keel, was an American actor and singer known for his rich bass-baritone singing voice. He starred in a number of MGM musicals in the 1950s, including ''Show Boat'' (195 ...

sings the theme song "The Man from Button Willow". *

Barbara Jean Wong Barbara Jean Wong (March 3, 1924 – November 13, 1999) was a Chinese American actress, known for her role as Arabella on the hugely popular radio comedy, Amos 'n' Andy. She acted in numerous films before retiring from the industry and becomin ...

as Stormy *

Herschel Bernardi Herschel Bernardi (October 30, 1923 – May 9, 1986) was an American actor and singer. He is best known for his supporting role in the television detective series ''Peter Gunn'' (1958–1961) for which he was nominated for a Primetime Emm ...

as the ship captain, and as a man in the saloon *

Pinto Colvig Vance DeBar Colvig Sr. (September 11, 1892 – October 3, 1967), known professionally as Pinto Colvig, was an American voice actor, cartoonist, and circus and vaudeville performer whose schtick was playing the clarinet off-key while mugging. Co ...

as Abner Hawkins, as well as a man on a trolley, a man in the saloon, and various animals *

Ross Martin Ross Martin (born Martin Rosenblatt, March 22, 1920 – July 3, 1981) was an American radio, voice, stage, film, and television actor. Martin was best known for portraying Artemus Gordon on the CBS Western series '' The Wild Wild West'', which ...

as Andy Svenson *

Cliff Edwards Clifton Avon "Cliff" Edwards (June 14, 1895 – July 17, 1971), nicknamed "Ukulele Ike", was an American pop singer, musician and actor. He enjoyed considerable popularity in the 1920s and early 1930s, specializing in jazzy renditions of pop sta ...

as Button Willow's doctor "Doc" Redland, and as "the Whip" *

Verna Felton Verna Arline Felton (July 20, 1890December 14, 1966) was an American actress known for voicing many Disney animated films, such as the Fairy Godmother, the Queen of Hearts, and Flora. She also provided the voice for Fred Flintstone's mother- ...

as Mrs. Pomeroy of Button Willow, as Doc's wife, and as a lady on a trolley *

Thurl Ravenscroft Thurl Arthur Ravenscroft (; February 6, 1914May 22, 2005) was an American actor and bass singer. He was well known as one of the booming voices behind Kellogg's Frosted Flakes animated spokesman Tony the Tiger for more than five decades. He was ...

the Reverend The Reverend (abbreviated as The Revd, The Rev'd or The Rev) is an honorific style (form of address), style given to certain (primarily Western Christian, Western) Christian clergy and Christian minister, ministers. There are sometimes differen ...

of Button Willow, and as a man in the saloon *

Shep Menken Shepard Menken (November 2, 1921 – January 2, 1999) was an American character and voice actor. Early life Menken began his career at the age of 11, when he started appearing on children's radio programs. After high school, Menken attend ...

as "Shanghai" Kelly, as the Chinese singer in the saloon, as a man in the saloon, and as a trolley conductor * John Hiestand as Montgomery Blaine, and as an old salt who gives Justin a tip *

Clarence Nash Clarence Charles "Ducky" Nash (December 7, 1904 – February 20, 1985) was an American voice actor and impressionist. He is best remembered as the original voice of the Disney cartoon character Donald Duck. He was born in the rural community of W ...

as Senator Freeman, and as the cougar *

Edward Platt Edward Cuthbert Platt (February 14, 1916 – March 19, 1974) was an American actor widely known for his portrayal of the Chief in the 1965–1970 NBC/ CBS television series ''Get Smart''. With his deep voice and mature appearance, he pl ...

as "the man in the black cape", Justin's contact in San Francisco * Buck Buchanan as Doc's son, and as a

newspaper hawker A newspaper hawker, newsboy or newsie is a street vendor of newspapers without a fixed newsstand. Related jobs included paperboy, delivering newspapers to subscribers, and news butcher, selling papers on trains. Adults who sold newspapers from fi ...

Production

According to the film's

pressbook In the world of theatrical film exhibition, a pressbook was a promotional tool created and distributed by film distributors in order to market their films. Sometimes called "campaign manuals," most pressbooks took the form of large, multi-page bro ...

provided the original story, appears in the live-action prologue, and financed the film though his company, United Screen Arts.p.162 Beck, Jerry ''The Animated Movie Guide'' Chicago Review Press, 28 Oct 2005

Music

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Man From Button Willow 1965 Western (genre) films 1965 films 1965 children's films 1965 American animated films American Western (genre) films Western (genre) animated films Films scored by Georgie Stoll 1960s English-language films English-language Western (genre) films