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Customer Reviews of The Great Locomotive Chase

History, Disney style
Walt Disney loved trains. He took the "Andrews Raiders" incident from the Civil War (that involved Union spies hijacking a Confederate train) and turned it into a movie. It has it's inaccuracies, but overall it gives you an idea of what really happened. What really makes this movie is that Disney contacted the B&O train museum in Baltimore, and borrowed some of their period locomotives and equipment. Portraying the hijacked locomotive "The General" is the "William Mason" from the museum. She's a fine lady of a locomotive, who appeared not only in this movie, but the recent flop "The Wild Wild West" as "the Wanderer". Fess Parker gives his usual wooden and stilted performance as Andrews, and being a Disney film there's singing (but no dancing) in the movie. But Jeffrey Hunter does a great job as Fuller, the Confederate conductor of the hijacked train. Most men would have been alarmed as they watched their train pull away without the regular crew, but how many would run after it like Fuller did? And run and run, commandeering a rail car and 3 locomotives before finally catching up with the stolen train. Hunter captures the determination of this man who is the single reason the plan of the Andrews Raiders failed.

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Fine Civil War Adventure
It's been many years since I had seen "The Great Locomotive Chase", and it was a real pleasure to watch it again. With so many other reviews, I don't think I need to summarize the plot.

Anchor Bay, as usual, has given us a DVD that is beautiful to look at, with only a few areas where the age of the film is apparent. This is widescreen and I can't imagine watching this film any other way. The sound is pretty much what you would expect for a 1956 release.

Fess Parker and Jeffrey Hunter are fine as the lead protagonists, with Jeff York also registering as one of Andrews' Raiders who would rather fight, than follow the "cloak and dagger" routine. Of course, York played Mike Fink--"King of the River"--opposite Fess Parker's Davy Crockett.

This movie is a dream for railroad buffs--old steam trains still provide a thrill for many people. It is also noteworthy for people interested in the civil war, being based on actual events, although I suspect history scholars might find it too superficial. However, the purpose of this movie is to entertain fans of all ages--not to get bogged down in too much detail.

Parents should find this movie a delight to watch with their children, especially young boys. The plot is not complicated--there is plenty of action--and while shots are fired, and some fists fly, there is none of the more graphic violence that today's films seem to wallow in.

Like other reviewers, I would have liked some "extras". Comments from Fess Parker--now a successful California wine-maker--added a lot to Disney's Davy Crockett collection. Mr. Parker's memories of this film would have been a nice plus. Sadly, Jeffrey Hunter passed away at a young age, during the 1960s.
Perhaps some day there will be a "deluxe" edition from Disney--but, in the mean time, we must thank Anchor Bay for giving us this highly watchable version.

Again, recommended viewing for the whole family.

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Review of Disney May 2002 release
After two previous releases by Anchor Bay, one would assume this release by the movie producer, Disney, would be the ultimate issue of this film. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Besides having zero....none, nyet....bonus features....not even a trailer, this release is riddled with problems. While the menu and FBI warnings are anamorphic, the movie itself is not. If the transfer had been halfway decent, this would be somewhat forgiveable. However, the transfer is grainy, the color pulses, and edge enhancement is frequent throughout. Certain portions of the movie even appear to be in the wrong ratio....as if the screen were squeezed top to bottom.

Another problem I encountered....and basically the last straw....was the random appearance of foreign subtitles as I watched the movie. Whether this is a problem with all DVD players, I do not know [mine is a Toshiba]....but on a quality product, this should never be a problem on any player.

While the movie is somewhat enjoyable [typical 50's Disney-style drama], I'd avoid this DVD [wish I HAD] based purely on the lack of effort Disney put out in assembling it.

Figures....Disney finally releases some of its movies in their entirety [not the destructive pan & scan], and they still put out a lousy DVD.