From "Melody Time"
Release Date May 27, 1948
Synopsis
- The story of the hero of Texas and the biggest, bestest cowboy there ever
was, and the way he was brought down to earth by a woman.
Characters
- Pecos Bill
- Widowmaker
- Sluefoot Sue
Credits
- Director : Clyde Geronomi
- Story
- Erdman Penner
- Joe Renaldi
- Animation
- Ward Kimball
- Milt Kahl
- John Sibley
- Marvin Woodward
- Cliff Nordberg
- Ken O'Brien
- Effects Animation
- Josh Meador
- Ed Aardal
- Music : Paul Smith
- Layout
- Hugh Hennesy
- Lance Nolley
- Background
- Claude Coats
- Merle Cox
- Brice Mack
- Vocalists : Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers
- Songs written by Eliot Daniel and Johnny Lange
- "Blue Shadows on the Trail"
- "Pecos Bill"
Cut Scenes
- A scene where Bill is seen taming a tornado and lighting up a cigarette has
been cut. Also, any scene with Bill smoking has been digitally altered to
remove his cigarette.
Videos
- United States
- American Heroes
- Melody Time
- Melody Time
- Germany
- Donalds Hitparade : Melody Time
- Melodie Tanz Rhythmus
- Italy
- Paperino nel Far West
- Lo Scringo Della Sette Perle
Laserdiscs
- Japan
- Melody Time
DVD
- Melody Time
Technical Specifications
- Color Type : Technicolor
- Animation type : Standard
- Sound mix : Mono
- Aspect ration : 1.37 : 1
- Negative format : 35mm
- Print format : 35mm
- Cinematographic process : Spherical
- Original language : English
Released by RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.
Comments
-
From Hal Wilkins : I smoked for forty years
and I never remember this movie having any influnce on my decision to start.
In fact when I started smoking the movie, Pecos Bill, was the farthest thing
from my conscious or sub-conscious mind. I have more feelings about this
subject and many others that have been forced upon us; but there is nothing
we can do about them now. We should have gathered our resources when we had
the oportunity and put a stop to peoples stupidity and shortmindedness.It
takes all kinds. I quit smoking five years ago and it wasn't because a bunch
of radical idiots caused a wonderful and enlightning animated short to be
ruined.
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From Baruch Weiss : I have never seen the
uncensored version of this short and I wish I had.
-
From Keith Thrash : A charming and memorable
blend of animation (Pecos Bill's story) and live-action (Roy Rogers and the
Sons of the Pioneers singing around the campfire opens and closes the film).
A beautiful and moving opening sequence accompanies the song, "Blue Shadows
on the Trail", and at the end we all know why coyotes howl at the moon. I
rate it a 9, only because it is not quite as inventive as Disney at his best.
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From Sherry Oliver : I was 12 years old when
I saw Pecos Bill at the theater. It has been in my favorite memories ever
since. I must have seen it more than once, because I remembered all the words
to the song. My heart is broken to think someone "fixed it". In '48 there
were smokers everywhere, and I don't remember the film encouraged anyone
to smoke any more than it made us want to take "a stick and dig the Rio Grande".
It was simply a delightful film, with a tough little character that amused
you with his antics. Wonder why they haven't taken out the part about him
shaking the indians out of their makeup?
-
From Charles Hill : I saw this when it was
new in the theaters and I was five years old. And several times on Disney
as the years passed. I never saw it with the tornado cut tho and even the
thought of that inhuman cutting sets me on edge. The pea-brain that did that
should be taken to Texas, his sins read, and turned loose for the people
to deal with. What next? Edit Bogy so he looses the ciggies?
I still have the RCA story record set with the text and the Disney drawings.
I have it and a few other story sets still, but Pecos Bill will be mine as
long as I live. The first "movie" that I remember that made me cry.
-
From Bill Andrew : At the time I was born, RKO Pictures
was the distibutor for Walt Disney's films; this was before he created Buena Vista
Pictures and his own distribution chain. In the late '40's and early '50's, 16mm
prints of major films were available for use by schools and non-profit institutions.
My father brought home these versions and showed them to us and neighbors. I saw
"Pinnocchio", "Melody Time", "Make Mine Music", "Peter Pan", and many others sitting
cross-legged on the floor my parent's living room.
"Pecos Bill" has always been a favorite of mine strictly because of the music.
Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers opened the segment in live action, around a
campfire. Roy eases into Pecos' story when he discovers there might be some in the
campfire group who don't know his legend. Each member of the Pioneers has a line of
dialogue or two before they launch into the animated tale. There's nothing deep or
subliminal about "Pecos," just a good old fashioned yarn.
The only part about the segment that didn't make any sense to me as a little kid
was when "Sluefoot Sue" comes into Bill's life. I thought it was amusing that
Widowmaker got rid of the woman in Bill's life so uniquely.
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From Lee Anna : Too bad it is so hard to find the old favorites of animated shorts. Even sadder is learning the censorship and the editing that was done to butcher these stories.
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From Nancy : I am now almost 69 years of age and of all the movies I have seen this short has stayed with me through all of these years. Of course, I have always loved (and still do) Roy Rogers and the Sons of the Pioneers so I sure that is a big part of it. There has never been a better group no matter what the song. I still can recall most of the words to the two songs but am glad you printed them so we can all brush up on them. I am sure some today would say that this is silly and time to forget it and put it in its place, however, the good memories it brings are always worth it! Thanks!
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From Troy Lomelin : I remember seeing Pecos Bill in elementary school during an assembly in the gym. (Now to date myself, this would have been the early 80's). They also showed Paul Bunyan and Johnny Appleseed. Not sure how they were shown but I think they were on a projector and all in one continuous movie. I just watched "American Legends" on DVD and lo and behold, no Pecos Bill. Apparently someone thought it was un-PC, so it's been replaced with a new cartoon about a freed slave named John Henry. The new cartoon is a good story, but the animation looks half finished. I miss Pecos Bill and would love to see the original version. Of those three mentioned, that's the one that I enjoyed the most and have the strongest memories of. It seems the Disney empire would like to forget it ever existed.
Lyrics
by Eliot Daniel and Johnny Lange
"Blue Shadows on the Trail"
Shades of night are falling
As the wind begins to sigh
And the world is silhouetted
'Gainst the sky.
Blue shadows on the trail
Blue moon shinin' through the trees
And the plaintive wail from the distance
Comes a driftin' on the evening breeze.
Move along, blue shadows, move along
Soon the dawn will come and you'll be on your way
But until the darkness sheds it's veil
There'll be blue shadows on the trail.
"Pecos Bill"
Pecos Bill was quite a cowboy down in Texas
And a western superman to say the least
He was the roughest, toughest critter
Never known to be a quitter
Cause he never had no fear of man or beast.
Yippee-ai-ay
Yippee-ai-oh
For the toughest critter west of the Alamo.
Once he roped a raging cyclone out of nowhere
Then he straddled it and settled down with ease
And while that cyclone bucked and flitted
Pecos rolled a smoke and lit it
And he tamed that ornery wind down to a breeze.
Once there was a drought that spread all over Texas
So to sunny Californy he did go
And though the gag is kinda corny
He brought rain from Californy
And that's how we got the Gulf of Mexico
Yippee-ai-ay
Yippee-ai-oh
For the toughest critter west of the Alamo.
Once a band of rustlers stole a herd of cattle
But they didn't know the herd they stole was Bill's
And when he caught them crooked villains
Pecos knocked out all their fillins
And that's the reason why there's gold in them there hills.
Yippee-ai-ay
Yippee-ai-oh
Pecos lost his way while travelin' through the desert
It was ninety miles 'cross the burnin' sand
He knew he'd never reach the border
If he didn't get some water
So he got a stick and dug the Rio Grande
While a tribe of painted indians did a wardance
Pecos started shooting up their little game
He gave those redskins such a shake up
That they jumped out of their makeup
That's how the Painted Desert got it's name.
Yippee-ai-ay
Yippee-ai-oh
For the toughest critter west of the Alamo.
While reclining on a cloud high over Texas
With his gun he made the stars evaporate
Then Pecos saw the stars declinin'
So he left one brightly shinin'
As the emblem of the Lone Star texas state.
I have seen "Pecos Bill" and would like to
submit a comment on this short
