The Missouri Traveler

1958
Approved
1h 43m

IMDb RATING

6.3/10

310

YOUR RATING

Brandon De Wilde, Lee Marvin, and Gary Merrill in The Missouri Traveler (1958)

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Watch The Missouri Traveler: You're Overstepping Yourself

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Drama Family Western

During the early 1900s, a runaway Missouri orphan reaches a town where the townsfolk are enchanted with him and where a wealthy rancher and a local newspaperman compete to give him an educat... Read allDuring the early 1900s, a runaway Missouri orphan reaches a town where the townsfolk are enchanted with him and where a wealthy rancher and a local newspaperman compete to give him an education.During the early 1900s, a runaway Missouri orphan reaches a town where the townsfolk are enchanted with him and where a wealthy rancher and a local newspaperman compete to give him an education.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.3/10

310

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Trivia
When Marvin and De Wilde first ride into town, Hosford is seen standing next to a 1911 Detroit Electric Brougham. This car was the choice of wealthy ladies at the time because it did not require the physical exertion of cranking to start the engine.

User reviews8

Review

Featured review

9/10

Very old fashioned...and very sweet

"The Missouri Traveler" is a film from Disney that seems to reinforce the values that Walt himself had growing up in this same state. He talked about the joy of growing up in small town Missouri and his Main Street USA at Disney World and Disneyland are modeled after this ideal.

The story begins with Biarn (Brandon De Wilde) walking down a country road. Tobias (Lee Marvin) stops to give the boy a lift into town. While it's obvious the boy is on the run, since he appears to be only about 13, the townsfolk don't question this and are quite taken with him. In fact, in a way, the people take him on as a special project, as they see he's very hard working, decent and honest. But there's a problem.... Tobias is a bit of a jerk and he seems to repeatedly make life tough for the kid. What's to become of this odd rivalry?

"The Missouri Traveler" is a very sweet film that manages to balance sentimentality and schmaltziness with entertainment. In other words, it doesn't overwhelm you with too much false sentimentality and the story works for many reasons. Of course the writing is good, but so is the nice direction and the great cast of actors....who are mostly character actors who really make you love the town. One of Disney's best live action films.