The Biscuit Eater (1972 film) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Biscuit Eater |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Vincent McEveety |
| Produced by | Bill Anderson |
| Screenplay by | Lawrence Edward Watkin |
| Story by | James Street |
| Starring | Earl Holliman Pat Crowley Lew Ayres Godfrey Cambridge |
| Music by | Robert F. Brunner |
| Cinematography | Richard A. Kelley |
| Editing by | Ray de Leuw |
| Studio | Walt Disney Productions |
| Distributed by | Buena Vista Distribution |
| Release date(s) | March 22, 1972 (US) |
| Running time | 92 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Biscuit Eater is a 1972 Walt Disney Productions film directed by Vincent McEveety and starring Earl Holliman, Pat Crowley, Lew Ayres, and Godfrey Cambridge. Based on a short story of the same name by James Street, it was released by Buena Vista Distribution. It is the last 'One Boy and his Animal' themed film made by Disney, as this subgenre eventually grew out of fashion. The 1972 film is a remake of a 1940 film starring Billy Lee as Lonnie.
Plot
The story revolves around a German Wirehaired Pointer named Moreover who has a strong relationship with a red-headed boy named Lonnie (Johnny Whitaker) despite his mishaps. Moreover is dealt to Willie Dorsey (Godfrey Cambridge), a gas station clerk, but Lonnie and his best friend Text gain possession of the dog through somewhat deceitful bargaining, securing the reluctant respect of Willie. They train Moreover to be a prize-winning bird pointer, entering him in a field trial.
The dog was initially raised by Lonnie's father, Harvey McNeil, who is an award-winning dog-trainer. Although Lonnie viewed Moreover as a personal pet and a close friend, his father considered the dog to be untrainable and a lackluster hunting dog due to his predilection to eat chicken eggs and biscuits instead of learning to train to be a bird dog. As he did not wish for Moreover to negatively influence the other hunting dogs on the farm, Harvey gifts the dog to Willie, who had previously asked Harvey for a dog to keep as a companion. Lonnie, distraught over the loss of his pet, conspires with his best friend, Text, to trick Willie, who infamously loves to engage in various trades with local individuals, to regain possession of the dog by having Willie trade them the dog for assistance with manual labor. Text, who lives on a farm, takes several eggs from his family's chicken coop to Willie's gas station and gives them to Moreover. Willie, who had initially been hesitant to take possession of the dog due to its reputation of eating eggs, finds Moreover eating the eggs, which he believes to be from his personal stash of eggs, and becomes irate at the dog's behavior. Lonnie and Text are overjoyed that their plan to deceive Willie worked and quickly offer to trade the dog in return for helping Willie carry firewood to his home. Willie agrees to the trade, and the boys decide to secretly train the dog together to become a prize-winning bird dog. Much to the chagrin of Lonnie's father, Lonnie and Text decide to enter Moreover in the state championship field trial. Moreover does well and an incident makes the boys think that Lonnie's father (Earl Holliman) will lose his dog training job if his dog, last year's champion SilverBelle, loses to their dark horse entry.
Cast
- Earl Holliman as Harve McNeil
- Pat Crowley as Mary Lee McNeil
- Lew Ayres as Mr. Ames
- Godfrey Cambridge as Mr. Dorsey
- Beah Richards as Charity Tomlin
- Clifton James as Mr. Eben
- Johnny Whitaker as Lonnie McNeil
- George Spell as Text Tomlin
- Mantan Moreland as Waiter
- Rolph Van Wolfgang as Moreover
