Film Snail

The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin
The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin

6.5

The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin

PG·1967·108m

Summary

To restore his family's lost wealth, a young Boston lad stows away on a ship bound for the California Gold Rush. When their very proper butler gives chase, all roads lead to nonstop adventure, wild and woolly characters, and a lucky punch that leads to a bonanza of belly laughs!

Crew

Director

James Neilson

Novel

Albert Sidney Fleischman

Screenplay

Lowell S. Hawley

Reviews

r96sk

r96sk

July 28, 2020

7

Just don't let Brian hear Stewie pronounce the title!

<em>'The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin'</em> is a strange one. From start-to-finish I never once cared for the actual premise to this, but unusually that actually isn't a negative as the film doesn't either! It's just one that is all about the adventure and it's certainly entertaining in that way, even if the supposed point of it does get lost almost completely.

The casting is splendid. Roddy McDowall gives a very good performance in the titular role, while Suzanne Pleshette (Arabella), Bryan Russell (Jack), Karl Malden (Higgins) and Mike Mazurki (Ox) are all enjoyable too.

The editing and humour is pretty solid as well, even if it does get a little weird in parts. I can't honestly rate this any higher, but it is a film I had a fairly fun time with - despite the earlier mentioned 'issues'. It's worth a watch.

Lastly, if they ever remake this they gotta get Ioan Gruffudd in as Griffin, he'd be perfect. Not that I'm saying they should redo this, but you simply never know with film companies.

Media

Status:

Released

Original Language:

English

Budget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Keywords

based on novel or book
boston, massachusetts
stowaway
gold rush
gold mine
prizefight
19th century