Based on six years of original research and extensive interviews with former Disney studio staff, The Disney Live-Action Productions explores the live-action films and television shows of Walt Disney. The book takes the reader "behind the scenes" on such classic productions as Davy Crockett, Mary Poppins, The Parent Trap, Pollyanna, Treasure Island, Zorro, The Absent Minded Professor and many more. In addition, the book includes cast, credit and plot information for 38 live-action features and more than 70 television episodes.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
An exciting, revealing, and rewarding read for anyone who ever loved and was moved by a Walt Disney movie. Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, Academy-award winning composers of Mary Poppins and other films.
A captivating book that offers the most comprehensive look at Disney live-action productions ever compiled definitely a must have!Paul Anderson, Historian and Editor, Persistence of Vision.
***A Selection of the Movie-Entertainment Book Club
***Winner of a 1995 Silver Angel Award from Excellence in Media -- Publisher Comments
About the Author
John West is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Seattle Pacific University and a Senior Fellow at the Seattle-based Discovery Institute, where he runs the program on religion, liberty, and civic life. His previous books include The C.S. Lewis Readers' Encyclopedia (co-editor) and The Politics of Revelation and Reason: Religion and Civic Life in the New Nation.
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More About the Author
A native of the great Pacific Northwest, I'm currently a Senior Fellow of the Discovery Institute, which is perhaps best known for its work supporting the theory of intelligent design as an alternative to neo-Darwinism, although it has programs in many other areas as well. My special interests include the impact of modern science on politics and social policy, the role of faith in public life, and the writings of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. My current research examines how neo-Darwinism and scientific materialism shaped American public policy and culture from the end of the nineteenth century to the present. For 12 years I was a political science professor at Seattle Pacific University, where I also chaired the Department of Political Science and Geography for several years. I earned my Ph.D in Government from Claremont Graduate University and my B.A. in Communications (Editorial Journalism) from the University of Washington. I've authored or edited several books, and contributed essays to a number of others. Over the past few years I've had the opportunity to interact with the national newsmedia on the evolution issue quite a lot, and you can often find my observations on the quality of media coverage on the 'Evolution News and Views' blog, www.evolutionnews.org.
I'm a bit of a contrarian by nature, and I also like siding with the powerless and the underdog. When the establishment insists 'Go this way,' I am likely to ask 'Why?' When I get pushed, I tend to push back. That's one reason I was attracted to the nascent intelligent design movement in the mid 1990s. I was intrigued by the fact that a growing number of recent PhDs in the sciences were questioning neo-Darwinism based on science, not faith, and were facing harsh recriminations as a result. I thought then--and still believe now--that people should have the freedom to raise uncomfortable questions and champion unpopular truths.
My heroes from the past are people like Jeremiah Evarts, who stood up for the rights of the Cherokee in nineteenth century America (I tell his story in chapter 4 of my book The Politics of Revelation and Reason); Frederick Douglass and Harriett Beecher Stowe, who helped persuade Americans about the injustice of slavery; and C.S. Lewis, who was one of the few equal-opportunity critics of both communism and fascism in the early 1930s (my thoughts about Lewis can be found in The C. S. Lewis Readers' Encyclopedia, which I co-edited). One of my favorite quotes on the importance of speaking out comes from Martin Luther King, Jr.: 'Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.'
Although I'm generally 'conserative,' I'm a strong believer in civil liberties, and I'm skeptical of some of the tactics adopted in the name of fighting crime and terrorism. I am also an enthusiastic believer in religious liberty and free speech. I think the best way for people to spread their ideas is through unhampered discussion, not government coercion.
I'm a bit of a contrarian by nature, and I also like siding with the powerless and the underdog. When the establishment insists 'Go this way,' I am likely to ask 'Why?' When I get pushed, I tend to push back. That's one reason I was attracted to the nascent intelligent design movement in the mid 1990s. I was intrigued by the fact that a growing number of recent PhDs in the sciences were questioning neo-Darwinism based on science, not faith, and were facing harsh recriminations as a result. I thought then--and still believe now--that people should have the freedom to raise uncomfortable questions and champion unpopular truths.
My heroes from the past are people like Jeremiah Evarts, who stood up for the rights of the Cherokee in nineteenth century America (I tell his story in chapter 4 of my book The Politics of Revelation and Reason); Frederick Douglass and Harriett Beecher Stowe, who helped persuade Americans about the injustice of slavery; and C.S. Lewis, who was one of the few equal-opportunity critics of both communism and fascism in the early 1930s (my thoughts about Lewis can be found in The C. S. Lewis Readers' Encyclopedia, which I co-edited). One of my favorite quotes on the importance of speaking out comes from Martin Luther King, Jr.: 'Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.'
Although I'm generally 'conserative,' I'm a strong believer in civil liberties, and I'm skeptical of some of the tactics adopted in the name of fighting crime and terrorism. I am also an enthusiastic believer in religious liberty and free speech. I think the best way for people to spread their ideas is through unhampered discussion, not government coercion.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Book for Film Buffs, Disney Fans and Aspiring Filmmakers,
By
This review is from: The Disney Live-Action Productions (Paperback)
John West's book offers an inside view of the film studio that chose to be different and became one of the nation's largest entertainment empires. The Disney difference was not just in content, but in how the studio was run. In the days when Walt was alive, the emphasis was on the script and on creativity, resulting in an esprit de corps among writers that no other studio could match.West brings objective balance to previous critics of Walt Disney's operational style as well as critics of Disney films. West reveals a man more complex, and therefore more real, than his critics have portrayed. Stories by members of the Disney corps describe a man both tough and fair, tempestuous, but also willing to let the battle drop, frugal, but almost always willing to put the creative vision ahead of cost concerns. West adroitly uses the right word for the right job in a manner that subtly shades his arguments and helps the reader see the finer distinctions he is making with regard to Disney's character. Disney was a man of the people, not given to the usual pretentious behavior of Hollywood executives. As a result, his heroes-like those in earlier Frank Capra films-were the little people, given a rare moment in life to show their courage, which always derived from their principles rather than from rising to meet someone else's expectations of what a hero should be. Disney the man cherished those beliefs in his own dealings with people, having, as West shows, an elastic view of his employee's talents, willing to let them move in directions where they had not had a chance to prove themselves because he saw the desire within. When Walt died, the studio floundered for almost two decades. One of the big changes that led to the decline at Disney Studios came because the new executives were strictly businessmen, not men of creativity. Not understanding the creative process as Walt had, they no longer placed the primary emphasis on the writer and the story, but tried in simplistic ways to mimic the family-values content of previous Disney material without recognizing that good stories are never written by committee. Although Walt shaped scripts in consort with his writers in a highly patriarchal fashion, he was a consumate creator himself-something the later suits at Disney were not-and he always left the final incorporation of his vision or revision with the original writer of the screenplay. Though Disney Studios has recovered from its perilous decline, it's executives might fine-tune their newly recovered success by reading this book and by realizing that the Disney difference was not just content, but an operational style that let writers see their own vision through from origination to the final shooting copy of their script. A good book for wannabe filmmakers, but an even better book for established film executives.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book is a winner,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Disney Live-Action Productions (Paperback)
This book does have some pictures, but it isn't a "coffee table" picture book. It is full of interviews with the people involved in the production of these films, that you can't find anywhere else. It contains lots of information and insight that you won't find in other sources. My favorite parts are the sections on Zorro, Davy Crockett, and the films of Hayley Mills. If you really want to learn about the best of early Disney live action, This is the book!
5.0 out of 5 stars
More, more!,
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This review is from: The Disney Live-Action Productions (Paperback)
This is a great book, very entertaining, and even in my own pile of books on Disney, it stands out as being the only book that focuses strictly on their live action subject. The author breaks down each film he covers, listing title, cast and crew, synopsis, and a review (he does a great job at this). He includes behind the scenes information and comments from original participants I have never seen published anywhere else. The only thing is is lacking is it has very few pictures, and and it needs some more interviews with the principle screenwriters, actors, directors, and such. While it does not cover all the live films, overall it is very comprehensive considering the library of live action films from Disney is much bigger than most people realize. It is also currently the BEST and most COMPLETE book on this specific subject. I am grateful at having found this book, and look forward to any future releases from the author or an expanded version of this book.If you want more books to consider on the subject of live Disney films, I reccommend the following books for sale at Amazon: "The Wonderful World of Disney Television" by Bill Cotter; "The Disney Films" by Leonard Maltin; "The Disney Studio Story" by Richard Hollis and Brian Sibley; "The Wonderful World of Disney Animals" by Disney's chief movie animal trainer William Koehler; "Walt, Backstage Adventures with Walt Disney" by Charles Shows; "One of Walt's Boys" by Harry Tytle.
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