Customer Reviews

William Tell

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I remember the "Marching behind William Tell" musical beeswax and then my math skills fail me... Perhaps the music had been changed for syndication and the music included here is the original, or perhaps not..."The Adventures of William Tell" includes thirty-nine episodes: l The Emperor's hat, 2 The Hostages, 3 The Secret Death, 4 The Gauntlet of St. Gerhardt, 5 The Prisoner, 6 Voice In the Night, 7 The Rats Who Died, 8 The Baroness, 9 The Elixer, 10 The Suspect, 11 The Cuckoo,12 The Bear, 13 The Magic Powder, 14 The Golden Wheel, 15 The Bride, 16 The Boy Slaves, 17 The Young Widow, 18 Landslide, 19 The Trap, 20 The Shrew, 21 The Manhunt, 22 The Killer, 23 The Surgeon, 25 The Ensign, 26 The Avenger, 27 The Bandit, 28 Gessler's Daughter, 29 The General's Daughter, 30 The Raid, 31 Castle of Fear, 32 The Black Brothers, 33 The Lost Letter, 34 The Secret Weapon, 35 The Master Spy, 36 The Traitor, 37 The Spider, 38 The Mountain People, 39 Undercover. This DVD collection of three DVDs includes ten episodes each in no particular order. And, that's the way it goes... However, reproduction is more than adequate. This is just a boy action television program. Oh well, so much the better. Perhaps, someday all thirty-nine episodes will be sold together with the marching song. Until then, buy this edition.

This is easily the best of the British adventure series of the late fifties and early sixties, though possibly tied with Sir Francis Drake. It has a great sense of the period, wonderful British character actors from that time and an energetic perfomance from Conrad Phillips, the first actor I ever associated with a role. I had previously purchased the set offered on Amazon UK and was extremely dissappointed to discover that the theme song (The Freedom Song - "Marching Behind William Tell, we rebel, in a cause that is just") was not used. Apparently, there were different theme songs used in the US and elswhere. If you are counting on hearing that song on this version, be warned that it might just not be there. Hopefully, someone will be able to post a review letting us know. For more information regarding the different themes, see the reviews (including two of mine) on Amazon UK for William Tell.

I was very young when William Tell first aired; I am so glad that many of the episodes are due out on DVD. I hope that the great theme song is not left out because of legal considerations about the music, e.g., The Fugitive Season 2 part I. The lead actor was great--as were the other cast members. I hope that all of the episodes will one day also be released.

William Tell is a series I used to watch when I was in short trousers! To see it now is still fun, especially Gessler. Wonderful. There are only 30 episodes on this 3 dvd set, I believe the original series contained 39. If you want to see a good programme from the past,this is my choice. Steve

This series caught my eye when it was played as a late night filler. The plots are a bit far fetched, but it is interesting to see the use of an obscure medieval legend from Switzerland as a TV show. I liked it. Better than "Merlin".

This series that MillCreekhas put out is a gem from the past. Created around the Time that the Adventures of Robin Hood starring Richard Greene it is full of action and will bring back lots of fond memories from those of us that are old of when we were kids. I get a kick out of the theme Music . I just wished that they had been able to get all of the 39 episodes instead of just 30.

great fun and adventure
great video quality for the age
i wish there were more episodes

About 2/3 of these episodes have reasonable plot lines and acting. A Sunday afternoon or late night popcorn sort of show. About a third have plots or events almost as silly as the antics on Gilligans Island.

Overall pluses: Very moral, the good guys win and sometimes without violence. Even in B&W some of the outdoor shots are very scenic. Lots of entertainment for the price.

Downside: It was probably not a big budget show, as a result some credibility is lost. For example, all cottages in Switzerland seem to have exactly the same front porch. The episodes are not in broadcast or story line order on the disks. This often does not matter. However the 1st episode that explains Tell's background and initial run-in with the Austrians half way thru the DVD set. It seems more than half the episodes revolve around buying, making, or stealing arms to fight the occupying Austrians. There aren't many side stories of having interesting people of mysteries in the castle.

Major characters: Rebel William Tell is very driven and far more prone to be fight than say Robin Hood in the 50's TV series. He's also a family man with the aid of a wife who always had perfectly styled hair, even while living in a cave. Landburger Gessler is a pig, having no redeeming qualities at all. This one dimensional character makes him rather predictable and uninteresting.

I'll admit it - I love these old shows: Richard Green's Robin Hood, The Adventurer of Sir Lancelot et al. This despite the fact that this version of William Tell is, to be kind, a bit cheesy - the costomes are terrible, the settings equally bad, the acting is challanged and the theme song! After hearing it twice I'm thankful for two things - a mute button and fast forward. That said, it is pure entertainment and I will watch every episode. Now if we could get the William Tell series titled 'Crossbow' that aired on the Family Channel, starring Will Lyman and Jeremy Clyde (of Chad and Jeremy fame) then we would really have some great viewing.

My whole family liked this series. We also like Daniel Boone, Robin Hood, and other oldies. It becomes increasingly hard to find something to wartch with your kids that doesn't have language, nudity, or sex. We recommend this one.