Toby Tyler

(aka TOBY TYLER, OR TEN WEEKS WITH A CIRCUS)
(1960, U.S.) Technicolor 96 minutes
Walt Disney Productions / Buena Vista Distribution Company
Story: James Otis Kaler (based on his novel)
Screenplay: Lillie Hayward, Bill Walsh
Music: Buddy Baker, Will Schaefer
Cinematography: William E. Snyder
Editing: Stanley E. Johnson
Produced by Bill Walsh
Directed by Charles Barton

With: Kevin Corcoran (Toby Tyler), Henry Calvin (Ben Cotter), Gene Sheldon (Sam Treat), Bob Sweeney (Harry Tupper), Richard Eastham (Colonel Sam Castle), James Drury (Jim Weaver), Barbara Beaird (Mademoiselle Jeanette), Dennis Olivieri (Monsieur Ajax), Edith Evanson (Aunt Olive), Tom Fadden (Uncle Daniel), Ollie Wallace (Bandleader)

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In 1960 Walt Disney produced a movie version of Toby Tyler, based upon the book by James Otis Kaler. The story tells of a young boy, running away with the circus and becoming a famous circus bareback rider. The film opens on the farm of struggling farmer Daniel Tyler (Tom Fadden, who had played Clark Kent's foster father on the “Superman On Earth” episode of the “Superman” TV Show a decade before). Daniel's nephew Toby is getting ready to do his chores until he sees a poster on the side of the barn advertising the arrival of Colonel Sam Castle's Great American Circus.

Despite angry shouts from his guardian to do his chores, the boy runs off to the main street of town to watch the circus parade. Following the parade Toby heads for the circus grounds where he tries to get a few peanuts for a penny from one of the vendors. The vendor Harry Tupper (Bob Sweeney) parts with six goobers, which are not the best of his stock. When the boy complains Tupper gives the boy six more and asks him to, “Run along or You'll miss the show.” With some sadness, Toby admits that he's not going to the show and that he is an orphan.

Seeing an opportunity to hire a boy to work for him for very little money, the conniving vendor tries to get the young man to sign on as a Concessionaire. Toby turns Tupper down since his uncle and aunt need him to work on their farm. Tupper's smile quickly fades and he prepares to leave but he gives the boy a pass for tonight's performance. Happily Toby heads for him. But, As soon as he enters the front door of the house, his outraged uncle grabs him and wants to know where he has been. When he tells him that he was at the circus and that he got a free pass for tonight's show, the angry farmer criticizes the boy for not doing his chores and allowing the cows and other farm animals to wreck the property to the point of putting them out of business.

Despite the efforts of Aunt Olive to prevent her husband from hurting their nephew emotionally. Daniel continues to spew out his vicious words and he sends the boy to bed without supper. Toby walks upstairs silently. Aunt Olive admonishes her husband for his verbal cruelty to the boy. That night, when the circus is getting ready to move on, Toby arrives to accept Tupper's job offer. Tupper takes the boy on, but warns him not to run off before he teaches him the business. He also gives the kid a banana, since he has had nothing to eat. Toby is about to eat the fruit, but one of the chimps snatches it and a fight for the fruit ensues. The fight comes to the attention of the driver of the monkey wagon and the circus' resident strong man Ben Cotter (Henry Calvin, best remembered as Sgt. Garcia on the “Zorro” TV Show).

Cotter accuses Toby of stealing from the chimp. The argument brings in Tupper and the owner and ringmaster of the circus Colonel Sam Castle (Richard Eastham). Trying to cover up the problem, Tupper creates an excuse for the chimp's excitability and informs the boss that the boy is his new helper. Not in the mood for delays, Castle allows Toby to work for Tupper and he advises Cotter let the boy ride with him. Cotter is annoyed at having the kid on his wagon. Firmly, Castle tells him, “Trim your wagon, Ben! We're moving!” Having no choice, Toby climbs up onto the wagon and Tupper gives him some peppermint candies to eat.

The next morning while washing up Tupper gets rough with the boy for not getting ready to work. Bothered by the man's abuse of the kid, Ben grabs Tupper and tells him, “If he don't do his job right, you can fire him, but If I ever see you roughing him again, Well, I'm libel to do something like this!” And Ben tosses Tupper into the elephant's water tank. Ben also tells Toby to be respectful of his boss and to do his job. While he stops for breakfast at the cook's tent. Toby makes friends with Jeanette, one of the bareback riders, and with Sam Treat the clown (comic actor and musician Gene Sheldon, who also appeared with Calvin on “Zorro” as Zorro's aide, Renaldo).

Toby also becomes the enemy of Jeanette's arrogant and ego-tripping partner, Ajax. The boy does his job well, and even makes friends with the food-snatching chimp, whom he nicknames Mr. Stubbs. The Colonel is so impressed with Toby's control over Mr. Stubbs that he makes the little fellow the chimp's guardian. Yet, Toby doesn't spend his money unwisely; he saves his pay to send back to his aunt & uncle to help them with their meager income. During a visit to the big top to watch the bareback riders perform, Ajax is fuming over Jeanette's flirting with Toby.

To impress her, the stupid boy does his trick riding without his belt and harness. A slip occurs and Ajax falls off the horse and badly breaks his leg. Concerned over who will do the act for tonight's show, Jeanette tells her boss that Toby can do it (which he can't - Toby was trying to impress the young lady with some wild tales of riding his uncle's horse Old Red). Unaware of his fancy talk, Castle gives the boy the new post of replacing Ajax as the bareback rider. Ben and Sam are assigned to show the boy the ropes. Toby has no choice but to do the job and despite some false starts he becomes a top notch artist.

While Castle pays Tupper a portion of Toby's pay for compensation for losing his native flunky, Toby becomes a hit with crowd and he is finally accepted by his fellow performers. But, Tupper creates more problems for the kid. When Toby is out rehearsing the act, the mail comes in. Tupper takes the boy's letters and he illegally opens one of them. Aunt Olive writes in her letter that Uncle Dan has done all of Toby's chores, to the point where the stress of taking on too much work has taken it's toll on the poor old man and he has become very ill.

Fearing that the boy may run home to his family, Tupper keeps the letter from the boy. This doesn't prevent Mr. Stubbs from finding the letters inside of the crooked vendor's coat pocket. After his turn, Toby reads the letter and he realizes that he must leave the circus and return home. Toby ties up Mr. Stubbs to prevent him from following him. The chimp gets loose anyway and follows the boy, but not before their departure is seen by Tupper, and when he reads Toby's note to Ben And Sam, the angry villain hires a buckboard, the next morning and stops at the local general store to place a call to the sheriff in Bartonsville to find the pair and bring them back to the circus.

Mr. Stubbs finds Toby sleeping under a bridge and the pair head for his uncle's farm. But the pair are soon being shot at by a hunter (James Drury, who that same year would play George in Disney's “Pollyanna”). Mr. Stubbs is shot, and Toby fears that the little ape is dead. Tupper comes by and tries to soothe the boy with false kindness prior to taking him back to the circus. Seeing his ex-boss as a creep, Toby rejects Tupper's sympathy. The angry vendor grabs the boy and takes him back to the circus. When they return to the grounds, Toby heads for Castle's wagon, where he is greeted by his aunt and uncle. Uncle Daniel embraces his nephew and asks him to accept his apology for hurting the boy. Toby accepts his uncle's apology to the smiles of Castle.

Tupper is about to barge into the Colonel's wagon. However, Ben Cotter grabs Tupper and he angrily reminds the crook of his stealing Toby's letters and unjustly taking a portion of the boy's pay. Holding onto Tupper Ben warns him to stay away from the boy not to touch his monies and mails again. He also tells the vendor that Toby's Aunt and uncle are going to watch the boy perform in the show tonight and that Tupper had better stay away from them too. To make his point clear he tosses Tupper into the elephants' water tank again.

Toby finds out later that the hunter has brought Mr. Stubbs back to the circus, where the little ape is healed by Sam Treat. Toby And Jeanette perform to thunderous applause, and the boy remains with the circus for the entire summer, making more monies that he or even his aunt and uncle ever dreamt of.

TOBY TYLER became a hit with moviegoers in 1960, and has also been on “Disney's Wonderful World Of Color.” I've seen the film many times, and it enchants me and warms my heart to this day.

- Kevin S. Butler