It is hard to believe that it was not until 1962 that Disneyland finally appeared on the big screen in a feature film. There had been short subjects and various appearances in television productions, but it was this comedy that brought the first film crews to the Happiest Place on Earth. Some may wonder how Disney ended up with a film story about a casino manager on the run from his ex-wife’s attorney, carrying on a romance with a lounge singer, and all the while dealing with an abandoned child. The answer to that one is pretty straightforward. The movie was made by Universal.
It was really the brainchild of producer and star Tony Curtis. How Universal ended up making the first feature film at Disneyland has never been fully explained. Possibly, it was a result of the close friendship between Walt Disney and Jules Stein, the head of MCA, which was the parent company of Universal-International.
However it came about, for Disneyland fans, the eighteen-minute-long “hilarious adventures in Disneyland” (that is how it was billed in contemporary publicity) remains a special treat. This article will not break down the entire sequence, but it will look at some of the more memorable aspects.
After arriving aboard an LA Airways helicopter (which was a very real thing in 1962), the trio of Tony Curtis, Suzanne Pleschette, and newcomer Claire Wilcox enters the park via monorail blue. The first hilarious scene is their view from the Tomorrowland platform… looking straight down Main Street USA toward the castle! This would be the first of many baffling geographic impossibilities.
The next scene finds the group headed out of Tomorrowland and past an oddly placed phone booth (a necessity of the plot). Stranger still is the nondescript card table on the other side of the entrance, loaded with hats and a solicitous vendor.
The sequence also offers glimpses of fondly remembered details from Disneyland’s past. Entering Storybook Land, one can see the Skyway buckets swaying overhead. And once inside, viewers are treated to a canal-level look at Toad Hall and Mr. Rat’s house in their original locations. (Today, this area is occupied by Agrabah.)
Having seen the Skyway from below, the film also offers a brief sequence aboard, featuring the original round buckets passing through the Matterhorn. This was before the Abominable Snowman took up residence.
There is also an obligatory sequence aboard the Matterhorn Bobsleds. Screenshots reveal sparse development in the surrounding area. Anaheim had not yet replaced the open fields with endless tract homes and resort hotels.
A theme that runs through the “hilarious adventures” is Things-You-Cannot-Do-At-Disneyland. Among them is turning around at the exit to the Bobsleds and jumping back into your car for another trip.
There is also an extended sequence on Tom Sawyer Island (here called Tom Sawyer’s Island). It is at the fondly remembered Treehouse that the pace picks up, as Tony Curtis’ character (“Steve”) is spotted by a private detective. Their chase is cut short at the fort as an Indian attack begins.
Another Thing-You-Cannot-Do-At-Disneyland is to leap from the shore of the island and onto the departing raft. It is also worth noting that on the opposite shore of the Rivers of America, one can spot modern trucks and even an earthmover. In 1962, they were doing site work on the area that would become New Orleans Square.
After witnessing the leap onto the raft, it hardly seems worth pointing out that they are pulling up to the dock reserved for the Mark Twain and Columbia. And take a look at Cascade Peak in the background, at the upper left corner of the screen.
This is followed by another geographical impossibility. Steve races through the Mine Train tunnel that exits Rainbow Ridge, headed into Beaver Valley. He is then depicted exiting through the tunnel that marks the entrance to Rainbow Caverns… at the opposite end of Nature’s Wonderland. The chase then turns up in the Indian Village, all the way on the other side of the Rivers of America.
One puzzling sight for modern audiences is Steve’s entrance through (and exit from) a covered bridge along the railroad tracks. Hard to believe, but that covered bridge is still a part of the Disneyland Railroad. It served as the original exit from the Grand Canyon. And today it serves as the connection to Primeval World.
From the front of the park, the chase cuts immediately to the original Fantasyland Pirate Ship. Tony/Steve races through the castle (which could happen), but the detective pursuing him is trapped inside as the portcullis abruptly drops in front of him (which could not happen).
Another Thing-You-Cannot-Do-At-Disneyland: leap over the crowd at Autopia and commandeer a car. But that is exactly what Tony Curtis is doing in this scene (look closely). The car chase aboard the Autopia is not as exciting as one would hope— at least until Tony/Steve abandons his car and climbs aboard the Disneyland railroad caboose, as it is at full steam!
This brings him back to the front of the park (at least they got that part right), and reunites him with the rest of the cast. All that’s left is the escape through the old-style exit gates and a confrontation in the parking lot. (You’ll have to get the movie to see how that turns out!)
Forty Pounds of Trouble, like so many films in Hollywood, was a remake. In fact, it was a remake of a remake. Based on a short story, “Markie,” by Damon Runyon, it was first a star vehicle for Shirley Temple under the name Little Miss Marker (1934). This is the story of a little girl who is abandoned by her gambler father and considered a “marker” for his bad debts.
In 1949, the same story turned up as a Bob Hope comedy, named for his character, Sorrowful Jones. This version has been largely forgotten. 40 Pounds of Trouble would likely not be remembered at all if it were not for the Disneyland sequence.
Incredibly, there was yet another remake, in 1980, again under the name Little Miss Marker. This version starred Walter Matthau as Sorrowful Jones, playing opposite Disney’s own Mary Poppins, Julie Andrews. And closing the circle, Tony Curtis also appeared in this version (not as Steve, but as Blackie).
It is worth noting that Disneyland was featured prominently in the publicity for 40 Pounds of Trouble. The press book noted that this was the first film to utilize Disneyland as a $40 million location. Because the publicists were from Universal, they did get a few facts wrong. Among the “legendary Disney characters” they describe are The Mad Hatter, Mickey Mouse, Alice in Wonderland, and… Bugs Bunny?
They also had to include at least one of Tony Curtis’ spectacular leaps among the stills and lobby cards. This is the one showing him circumventing the line at the Autopia.
It stands to reason that Disneyland would be given its own “star” billing in publicizing the film. “…Wait’ll you see their hilarious adventures in Disneyland…” was a featured positioning line in most publicity, and the press book included an admonition to not modify the art work without permission.
Perhaps the most intriguing item in the press book is the Ultra-Special Lobby Display. This was a set of six colorful images that were sent free to any theater that requested them. To date, this writer has never seen a single one of these outside the pages of the press book.
