Daniel Boone (TV Series) The Tortoise and the Hare (1965) User Reviews

All for Fun

[gordonl56 · 8/10 · 10 May 2014]

DANIEL BOONE – The Tortoise and the Hare -1965

This is the 31st episode of the long running 1964-70 series about the life of American frontiersman and explorer, Daniel Boone. The lead is played by Fess Parker. Also in the mix are, Ed Ames, Patricia Blair, Veronica Cartwright and Darby Hinton. This episode is from season two, which was the first season to be filmed in colour.

Daniel Boone (Fess Parker) is getting ready for the annual 10 mile footrace with the Creek Indian tribe. The event generates much trade and wagering between the residents of Fort Boonesborough and the Creek tribe. This year the Creek have brought in a ringer from a northern tribe to try and win. The winner four years in a row has been Parker.

Needless to say several flies in the ointment appear. Parker goes for a stumble while out hunting with Cherokee scout, Ed Ames. Parker twists his ankle and looks unlikely to be able to race. The Fort residents are in a frenzy to find a replacement for Parker. They have already made their wagers with the Creek and it is too late to cancel them.

Robert Logan, the hired hand for Fort trading post operator, Dal McKennon, seems like the best choice to replace Parker. Logan is seen running down rabbits and catching them by hand.

Logan however is not all that happy about being forced by boss, McKennon to enter the race. He would have liked if someone had asked him. Parker's daughter, Veronica Cartwright, has taken a shine to young Logan. She takes him meals and tells him how much her father is proud of Logan. This gives Logan a boost in the pride department. He tells Cartwright he will win the race for the people of the fort.

Now another fly alights in the ointment. Two rascals, James Griffith and Laurie Main step up. They sneak in to Logan's room the night before the race, bash Logan on the noggin, and carry him off. They leave a ransom note for the fort residents. Cough up some coin or they will keep Logan from the race. Now the old "dog ate my homework" gag happens. Logan's pet rabbit eats the ransom note.

The next morning everyone figures that Logan has bolted the fort because he is afraid to race. Parker, as poorly as he still feels, volunteers to race. Logan however has escaped Griffith and Main and ran the 5 miles back to the fort. He gets there in time to take his place in the race.

Off they go with Logan and the brave running neck and neck for the first half. Then Logan falls behind as the effects of the earlier run catch up. But at the finish line, everyone is surprised when Logan comes in carrying the brave piggy back style. The brave had tripped and busted a leg. Logan had picked him up and hobbled home carrying the man.

Griffith and Main are grabbed up and put to work doing Logan's chores. Logan is of course the hero of the fort.

Like watching a high school track meet when you know none of the competitors

[militarymuseu-88399 · 6/10 · 22 January 2024]

Daniel is scheduled to run in an annual ten-mile footrace against a representative of the Creek tribe, but he is injured in an accident. Most of Boonesborough has bets on the outcome, so the settlement attempts to persuade Jericho Jones (Robert Logan) to fill in, but he is recalcitrant about the matter.

More around-the-fort antics, probably to save some production money after Season 2's mini-epic opener. This is Robert Logan's second turn as a series semi-regular, and he obligingly slides into the young-whippersnapper-needs-elders'-guidance track so familiar to 1960's prime time. Along for the comic relief are a grifter team of genial TV everyman Laurie Main and villain for every occasion James Griffith, who are looking to fix the race.

Some big production values are thrown in; the outdoor Boonesborough stockade and Boone cabin sets encompass much of the action, but are mismatched to the assembly line quality story. Lots of Boonesborough patter and frontier yuk-yuks here better suited to any hour of "Bonanza" or " The Virginian," lengthy series always voracious for storylines of any kind.

The opening here was for the DB series to lay a multi-generational foundation as Veronica Cartwright - now even more fetching in color - develops a romantic interest in Logan. But, neither would be around by the end of the series.

Little of historical note here, except to note that many scenes were likely filmed in Kanab, southern Utah - certainly a unique, but probably inaccurate spin on what 18th century Kentucky looked like. Cincinatus also fires off a blunderbuss, which will be seen in one more episode - a shipboard weapon that would have little practical use on the Appalachian frontier.

A reasonable serving of Disney-fried family entertainment, but again that's Disney's job. The hour is a preview of what the series would look like by the end, with nonstop helpings of human- interest pablum and comedy. But looking at this earlier installment, one is slightly more understanding of Fess Parker's lengthy time-outs in the final years - seeing Daniel reduced to overseeing silly Boonesborough shenanigans is like watching Batman manage a department store.