At the height of the Gold Rush boom of the 1840s, a Bostonian butler and his twelve-year-old charge sail to San Francisco in search of a fortune--followed by the boy's big sister, whom the butler harbors a crush on. Long-winded, unsuccessful live-action comedy from Walt Disney with wild-eyed character bits and a linking folk ballad (accompanied by animated inserts). Adapted from Sid Fleischman's novel "By the Great Horn Spoon", the screenplay gets off on the wrong foot and rarely recovers its balance. Casting mannered Roddy McDowall in the lead was suicidal; tiresome even in guest appearances, McDowall has two expressions throughout: upper-crust (i.e., snippy) indifference and comedic indignation. Suzanne Pleshette would seem to fare better as the proverbial love-interest, but she's not convincing as the musical attraction at the local saloon, nor does she get her share of amusing lines. *1/2 from ****
