New Movies: The One and Only Genuine Original Family Band

Wal, it's spring and the sap is runnin' high at Disney's. They've perduced melliferous live-action pitchers 'fore Family Band, but this'n could be cut up and used for flypaper—and mebbe ought to be.

It's Nebraska 1888—election year, git the topicality? Grandpa composes a real rip-snortin' campaign song for Cleveland (Let's Put It Over with Grover) and every dang one of his relations accompanies him on a instrument. There's Mom (Janet Blair), Dad (Buddy Ebsen) and eight kids so durn sweet you could eat 'em up, cep'n they'd cause diabetes. Wai, 'fore you know it everybody's bein' as colorful as a cartoon, droppin' g's, singin' passels of ungrammatical songs (" 'bout you, 'bout me, 'bout us, 'bout we") and pronouncin' just about ev-erythin' on the fust syllable: Ree-pub-lican, convention, Yew-nited States, till you'd like to die gagging at some of the laffs.

Now wouldn't you know someone'd turn up and ruin it all? He's John Davidson, a singin' journalist—they're the wust kind—who finds the shiny-eyed eldest daughter (Lesley Ann Warren) to his likin'. Trouble is, the boy's a Ree-publican, and Democrat Grandpa finds him ree-voltin' Eventually Davidson talks the family into drivin' their folks' wagon on down to his home in Dakota, but that don't make no never mind. It's feudin' and fightin' soon's they git there. The young lovers fall out —but not out of the pitcher, unfortunately. Grandpa gits so riled he won't even conduct the family bane no more. The argyments continue up to ee-lection night, when Benjamin Harrison beats out Grover (hope that don't spile the suspense none). In the end, the couple gits reunited o'course, Grandpa picks up his baton, and it's choke-up time again, bringin' tears to the eyes and a lump to the studio. That family band is somethin', but that grandpa —he's somethin' else. Matter of fact, he's Walter Brennan and that means his creaky voice is goin' to turn all s's to slush. "Be sheein' ya shometime," he threatens. If it's in this kind of shtuff, nineteen-sheventy-eight would be too shoon.