Spin and Marty
From Hey Kids Comics
Spin and Marty | |
---|---|
295x255px David Stollery (left) as Marty Markham and Tim Considine as Spin Evans introduce the series | |
Genre | children's serial |
Created by | Lawrence Edward Watkin |
Written by | Jackson Gillis |
Directed by | William Beaudine, Sr. |
Starring |
David Stollery Tim Considine Harry Carey, Jr. Annette Funicello Roy Barcroft J. Pat O'Malley |
Country of origin | USA |
No. of episodes |
The Adventures of Spin and Marty (1955): 25 The Further Adventures of Spin and Marty (1956): 23 The New Adventures of Spin and Marty (1957): 30 |
Production | |
Executive producer(s) | Bill Walsh |
Running time | 11 minutes per episode |
Broadcast | |
Original channel | ABC |
Picture format | black and white |
Original run | November 4, 1955 – December 13, 1957 |
Spin and Marty is a popular series of television shorts that aired as part of ABC's Mickey Mouse Club show of the mid-1950s produced by Walt Disney. There were three serials in all, set at the Triple R Ranch, a boys' western-style summer camp. The first series of 25 eleven-minute episodes, The Adventures of Spin and Marty, was filmed in 1955. Its popularity led to two sequels – The Further Adventures of Spin and Marty in 1956 and The New Adventures of Spin and Marty in 1957.
It aired as reruns on the Disney Channel until September 9, 2002.
The serials were based on the 1942 novel Marty Markham by Lawrence Edward Watkin.[1] The producer for Disney was Bill Walsh and the screenplay was written by Jackson Gillis.[2] The shows' success led to the Spin and Marty comic books of the late 1950s. The first season's 25 episodes with bonus material were released on DVD by Disney in 2005.
Premise and major characters[edit | edit source]
The series starred David Stollery as the rich, orphaned Martin "Marty" Markham and Tim Considine as the poorer Spin Evans, the most athletic and popular boy at the Triple R Ranch. When the pampered Marty first arrives at the ranch in a chauffeur-driven limousine, his contemptuous dismissal of the dude ranch as a "dirty old farm" and evident fear of horses result in his ostracism by the other boys, led by Spin. By the end of the first season, however, Marty overcomes his fears and wins acceptance, becoming close friends with his erstwhile foe, Spin.[2] Supporting roles include Sammy Ogg as their jokester sidekick Joe Simpson, and B.G. Norman as Ambitious, Marty's first friend at the Triple R. The second season adds Annette Funicello and Kevin Corcoran to the cast as Annette and Moochie, respectively. The third season adds Darlene Gillespie, and quickly turns into a showcase for song and dance sketches as part of a "Let's put on a show!" storyline reminiscent of Mickey Rooney–Judy Garland movies. All three serials also co-star Roy Barcroft as Triple R owner Col. Logan, Harry Carey, Jr. as popular counselor Bill Burnett, and J. Pat O'Malley as Perkins, Marty's butler and the Triple R's assistant cook.[3] In the first two serials, Leonard Geer played Ollie, the wisecracking (and wise) stablehand in charge of the horses.
Music[edit | edit source]
The series featured a couple of songs, Triple R Ranch song ("Yippee Yay, Yippee Yi, Yipee Yo"), as well as a song about Slue-Foot Sue ("Buckaroo"), named for Pecos Bill's tragic love story. Among the musical pieces featured in the third series was a cover of the Disney song Nowhere in Particular by Perkins and Sam the cook.
Remake[edit | edit source]
A TV movie focusing on updated versions of the eponymous characters, The New Adventures of Spin and Marty: Suspect Behavior, was made in 2000. However, it bore almost no resemblance to the original. It was based on the Paul Zindel novel The Undertaker's Gone Bananas.[4] Stollery and Considine made cameo appearances.
DVD release and comic books[edit | edit source]
A DVD version of the 1955 season, The Adventures of Spin & Marty, was released in December 2005 as part of the fifth wave of the Walt Disney Treasures series. Hosted by Leonard Maltin, it includes the complete first season of 25 episodes, plus bonus features such as interviews with David Stollery, Tim Considine, and Harry Carey, Jr., on the 50th anniversary year of the series' original telecasts. Maltin wrote of Considine's and Stollery's roles, "The key to the serial's success was ... Tim and David seemed genuine, and boys and girls related to them. The series may seem low-key to a modern generation raised on video games and the internet, but it was that unhurried pace and simple storytelling that captured the hearts and imaginations of an entire generation".[5]
Western Publishing published comic book adventures of Spin and Marty beginning in 1956, first under Dell Comics Four Color title (#714, 767, 808, 826), then under their own title (#5-9), then in Four Color again (#1026 and 1082).[6] The comic books continued even after the television series had ended, such as issue number 7 in September, 1958 (pictured): Stollery and Considine, by then 17-year olds, are depicted on the cover in their Spin and Marty characters, as they confront danger at the Triple-R Ranch. Disney included this cover with its 2005 DVD release. Gold Key Comics would later reprint some of these stories in their titles, such as the Walt Disney Showcase comic book issue of 1975, "The Treasure of Old Fort Resolute".[6]
Disney Legends[edit | edit source]
In October 2006, Stollery, Considine and Corcoran were all honored as Disney Legends[7] . Funicello had been so honored in 1992.[8]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ Watkin, Lawrence Edward (1942). Marty Markham. New York: Henry Holt. LCCN 42021068.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Spin and Marty review". Atlas Communications. June 2006. Retrieved 2008-04-20.
- ↑ Cotter, Bill (1997). The Wonderful World of Disney Television. New York: Hyperion Books. pp. 187, 189, 191. ISBN 0-7868-6359-5.
- ↑ Firebrand Productions Past Projects Retrieved 2008-01-31.
- ↑ Clicking on the link on this page will redirect to Wikipedia's Spin and Marty article. Template:Cite video
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Comic Art Collection (Reading Room index, "Spin" to "Spiridione")". Michigan State University Library. Retrieved 2009-06-17.[dead link]
- ↑ "Sir Elton John, Joe Ranft Headline Disney Legends Award". AWN Headline News. 2006-10-09. Retrieved 2007-07-07.
- ↑ Disney Legends - Annette Funicello
External links[edit | edit source]
- Pages which use a template in place of a magic word
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- Articles with dead external links from October 2010
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- Television series by Disney
- American Broadcasting Company network shows
- Dell Comics titles
- Gold Key Comics titles
- The Mickey Mouse Club serials
- 1950s American television series
- 1955 American television series debuts
- 1957 American television series endings
- Summer camps in television