The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin (1966)

50% of users liked it
(586 ratings)

This rambunctious Disney comedy was based on the novel By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman. Roddy McDowall plays Griffin, the very proper butler of Bostonian Bryan Russell. When Russell runs off to California during the 1849 gold rush, Griffin dutifully tags along. Master and butler team up… More This rambunctious Disney comedy was based on the novel By the Great Horn Spoon by Sid Fleischman. Roddy McDowall plays Griffin, the very proper butler of Bostonian Bryan Russell. When Russell runs off to California during the 1849 gold rush, Griffin dutifully tags along. Master and butler team up with Shakespearean actor Richard Haydn, who owns a treasure map. Crooked judge Karl Malden (a master of many disguises), pilfers the map once Our Heroes reach San Francisco. While endeavoring to retrieve the valuable parchment, Griffin has any number of adventures, ranging from a bout of fisticuffs with ox-like Mike Mazurki to a romance with Russell's sister Suzanne Pleshette, a former debutante turned saloon singer. If Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin resembles an animated cartoon at times, credit should go to veteran Disney animator Ward Kimball, who provided the spirited cartoon transitions between scenes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: G, 1 hr. 50 min.
Directed By: James Neilson
Genres: Western, Kids & Family, Classics, Comedy

In Theaters: Mar 8, 1967 Wide
On DVD: Apr 12, 2005

Critic Reviews

Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com
Dated Disney fare, best left to TV.
Scott Weinberg, DVDTalk.com
It's not high art (and it's sure not close to "classic" status), but Bullwhip presents some old-fashioned family fun that won't have the grown-ups running for cover.

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Featured Audience Ratings

AJ V

It's a silly kids movie from Disney, but I liked it, it's fun. The cast is good, and it's sort of a western comedy movie too. McDowall is really funny in this movie as he goes from the kids' butler to a fearless fighter. A really interesting, and almost unknown… More
It's a silly kids movie from Disney, but I liked it, it's fun. The cast is good, and it's sort of a western comedy movie too. McDowall is really funny in this movie as he goes from the kids' butler to a fearless fighter. A really interesting, and almost unknown Disney movie, I hadn't heard of it before myself. I recommend it to both Disney and McDowall fans.