Walt Disney Treasures - Elfego Baca and The Swamp Fox - Legendary Heroes [DVD]

I give this set five stars for its content, not for the set itself. I used to watch "Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color" when I was kid, and these shows were just slightly before that time. I'd never seen them before, so I bought the set to view what was at least available. Then I went online to see how many episodes were originally aired, and came across a review by a critic on another website. He seemed impressed with "Elfego Baca," but this is what he said about "The Swamp Fox":"Whether historically accurate or not, this series places its interest more strongly into the battles and campaigns conducted by patriots like Marion than in any of the individual characters who might have figured into its stories. This focus on strategy, coupled with the physical similarities among the predominantly white male cast, makes it hard (at least for this modern viewer, seeing the show for the first time) to connect emotionally with the individual characters or invest too much into what happens. Next to 'Elfego Baca' and 'Davy Crockett', this series is considerably slower and dryer, in spite of the presence of guns and the inherent drama of galloping horses. It is dated and its historical origins seem to lend to only so much of more than minimal excitement."Hmmmm. Then he goes on to say this about Leslie Nielsen and the Revolutionary War: "Nielsen, who has been known for the past 25 years as purely a comedy actor, rarely cracks a smile in the three selected episodes, a fact which contributes to the all-too-serious nature of the dated proceedings. With its attentions held steadfastly to a war now rarely considered for the majority of the year, 'The Swamp Fox' is most entertaining in its subplots, where the slightest bit of humanity is enabled to show forth."Give me a break. Experience has taught me that usually if the critics don't like a show, it must be pretty good! The fact that the Revolutionary War is "a war now rarely considered for the majority of the year" is the very reason people need to watch "The Swamp Fox." I was excited to see Mel Gibson's "The Patriot" (2000) which is supposedly based on the same character, but the filmmakers spoiled it by adding unhistorical material simply for the sake of emotional effect (such as the British burning down a church full of civilians, which in reality would have gotten them in extreme trouble with their officers). I have always believed that American history is brimming with stories besides just the Civil War, the Old West, or WWII. One reviewer I read may have been on to something when he expressed his opinion that Hollywood types today generally don't like the Revolutionary War because "1)those guys dressed funny, and 2)they were right-wing gun nuts."I'm watching "Elfego Baca" right now and enjoying every minute of it. I can't wait to get to "The Swamp Fox." I came on here to see how the average person's review compared to the critic's review I quoted above. Sure enough, most of the reviews on here are from people who want "The Swamp Fox"! And as for Leslie Nielsen "rarely cracking a smile" during this series, what did the critic expect, that it would be like "Airplane"? I'm all for comedy and parodies, but it seems like people today (at least film and television writers) can't take romantic heroism seriously.My only disappointment with this set is the same as other reviewers, that they didn't include all the episodes of each series. I bought the two complete "Zorro" sets (which I love), and "Zorro" had a lot more episodes each season, so how difficult would it have been to include all of "Elfego Baca" and all of the "The Swamp Fox" in this one set? It seems like Disney today doesn't care, just throw out a few tidbits to please the old farts who will watch these old shows anyway. Yet I have seen some younger reviewers on here who appreciate the good material Disney used to produce. I think that if you just give them a chance, today's young people are as bright and intelligent as any generation. Many of them can stretch their attention spans beyond what they've been dealt all their lives and will enjoy and appreciate these fine historical programs.

Elfego Baca was a series of 10 episodes shown as part of the Walt Disney Presents anthology TV series 1958-1960. Elgego Baca was a former gunman who became a sheriff, and later a lawyer. The Disney westerns tended to be out-of-the-ordinary shows, which generally didn't follow the formula of other TV westerns of that time. This is high level entertainment if you are interested in the TV westerns of the late 1950s and early 1960s. I am not a western TV show fan, so I am not specifically interested in this series. I saw this series when it was shown on the Disney Channel, but it just didn't interest me. But I do recognize the quality for western TV show fans.The three Elfego Baca shows on this DVD set are:Show #1 of the series - Elfego Baca: Nine Lives of Elfego Baca. Elfego is deputized to catch a rampaging cowboy, but this leads to trouble with other cowboys in the area.Show #2 of the series - Four Down and Five Lives To Go. Elfego becomes sheriff and is able to convince most of the criminals to turn themselves in. He is badly injured trying to catch a murderer, and decides to study law instead of being a sheriff.Show #5 of the series - Attorney At Law. Elfego becomes a lawyer, and in his first case, he defends an accused thief, who has been framed.Swamp Fox was a series of 8 episodes shown on the Walt Disney Presents TV series 1959-1961. It told the story of the American Patriot Francis Marion (actor Leslie Nielsen), who fought the British during the Revolutionary War using unusual methods, such as guerilla attacks. Again, I saw this series when it was shown on the Disney Channel, but the Revolutionary War adventure just didn't appeal to me. It is a quality show and I'm sure anyone interested in such action adventures would enjoy it.The three shows of Swamp Fox on this DVD set are:Show #1 of the series - Birth of the Swamp Fox. Marion learns the British are about to attack Charleston, and he helps by leading the governor and his party safely out of the city. Eluding the British in the swamps, he works with a band of loyal colonists to save a group of captured patriots.Show #2 of the series - Brother Against Brother. Tories (British supporters) stge raids against their patriot neighbors. Marion plans to free a group of American prisoners when he learns the British are about to transfer them to another area.Show #3 of the series - Tory Vengeance. Marion's nephew, Gabe, joins the army, but he is captured, tortured, and eventually killed. Marion swears vengeance.Bonus materials on this DVD set are:An interview with Robert Loggia, the star of "Elfego Baca".A featurette that examines the origins of these historical figures and the story of their lives "Tales Of Courage And Adventure".Still frame galleries from these TV shows and "more".I do believe the shows are a bit dated, so I gave it 3 stars. But the production standards are high quality - 4 to 5 stars. I do not plan to buy this DVD set, but I feel anyone who enjoys such shows would be very happy with the set.

After the huge success of Davy Crockett during the first season of the TV show "Disneyland," Walt Disney began searching for other heroes from American history for the show. Two of the ones he settled on are Elfego Baca and The Swamp Fox. Three episodes each of their TV run are included in this two-disc set.Disc one features Elfego Baca (Robert Loggia). He was a Mexican American who lived in New Mexico during the late 1800's. He started out as a Sheriff but gave that up to become a lawyer. He always helped out the poor and downtrodden, as long as they were innocent. We get episodes 1, 2, and 5. I think they skipped to 5 since that episode featured Disney vet Annette Funicello.Disc two takes us even further back in time to the Revolutionary War. Francis Marion, aka The Swamp Fox (Leslie Nielsen) was a hero of the war who led his troops in many raids against the British in the Carolinas. This set features the first three episodes. They end on a downer, and the teaser for the next episode is included. Man, it makes me wish they had more in the set.Since the shows were originally filmed in color, that's what we get here, although the intros from the TV show are often in black and white. The picture has many flaws, betraying the show's age. Still, they are very watchable and look like the lavish productions they are. Extras include an interview with Robert Loggia on disc one and a documentary on Disney's history lessons on disc two.Even though the shows are almost 50 years old, they are still entertaining. Fans of history or Disney will be glad to add this set to their collection.

These are excellent series. No qualms with it, otherwise would not have bought it. One should not have to read reviews of this product when buying. Had I done so, i would not have bought it. My mistake. But, when buying a TV series, and for the ridiculous price, it should have been abundantly clear there were only 3 out of 10 episodes of El Fego Baca and 3 out of 8 of Swampfox. There is no reference to these shortcomings in the Product Description, or what is being offered. Clearly someone is mis-representing, or there is a clear omission of facts in the product labeling in an effort to sell it. Amazon and Disney should be held accountable.

Only 3 episodes of the Swamp Fox on this DVD. WTF! Wouldn't surprise me if Disney starts releasing only half of a feature movie?? I really enjoyed these shows as a kid and really expected more from this set. I agree leave Elfego Baco off and dedicate the whole set to the Swamp Fox.I think it's time Disney wakes up and starts thinking about what people want, and stop thinking only about profits!