Treasure of Matecumbe

Treasure of Matecumbe is a 1976 American family adventure film directed by Vincent McEveety and produced by Walt Disney Productions. It was based on the novel A Journey to Matecumbe by Robert Lewis Taylor. The filming locations were in Danville, Kentucky, Sacramento River at Colusa, California and Walt Disney Golden Oak Ranch in California. The final scene at a beached shipwreck was filmed at Walt Disney World's Discovery Island.[1][2]

Treasure of Matecumbe
Theatrical release poster
Directed byVincent McEveety
Produced byBill Anderson
Ron Miller
Written byDon Tait
Based onA Journey to Matecumbe
by Robert Lewis Taylor
StarringJohnny Doran
Billy Atmore
Robert Foxworth
Joan Hackett
Peter Ustinov
Vic Morrow
Music byBuddy Baker
CinematographyFrank V. Phillips
Edited byCotton Warburton
Production
company
Distributed byBuena Vista Distribution
Release date
  • July 1, 1976 (1976-07-01)
Running time
115 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

In post-Civil War Kentucky, young David Burnie (Johnny Doran) becomes the unexpected heir to a map revealing treasure on the Florida isle of Matecumbe. Joined by four fellow adventurers, Davie begins his search for the treasure despite deadly interference by his late father's Civil War nemesis.

A boy named Davie and his companion, Thad (Billy Atmore) run away from their home on a Kentucky plantation to search for treasure. Davie and Thad board a steamboat to Louisiana, but wind up off the boat when they jump overboard to save Lauriette Paxton, a fellow passenger who is thrown overboard trying to stop a thief from stealing the boys' money. Paxton turns the boys in as runaways, but after they escape and secure employment as apprentices of the snake oil salesman Dr. Ewing Snodgrass (Peter Ustinov) and saving Davie's uncle from a Ku Klux Klan lynching, they earn Paxton's respect. Along the way they are chased by a carpetbagger named Spangler, an enemy of Davie's late father. A Yankee from the north, Spangler is hated by the proud confederate southerner Mrs. Paxton. The map leads them to an isle in Florida, where they dig for treasure.

Cast

Reception

Blogger Peter Hanson wrote of the film, "An adventure saga that steals elements from the fiction of Robert Louis Stevenson, Mark Twain, and others—then shoots those elements through the simplistic prism of the Walt Disney Productions house style—Treasure of Matecumbe is as amiable as it is disposable. […] Beyond the implied element of racism, Treasure of Matecumbe includes murder, attempted gang rape, an attempted lynching by the Ku Klux Klan, the desecration of Native American burial grounds, and the transformation of white hostages into “squaws” by Native American captors."[3]

The film's availability on Disney+ caused it to return to public attention in 2019–20.[4] Yardbarker compared its racial content to Disney's infamous Song of the South.[5] YouTuber Jenny Nicholson described it as an "overly long racist [romp] about boys encountering an endless parade of character actors."[6]

Reception
  1. Maltin, Leonard (September 2, 2014). "Leonard Maltin's 2015 Movie Guide". Penguin – via Google Books.
  2. Taylor, Drew (November 13, 2019). "15 obscure movies and TV shows on Disney+ you need to check out". SYFY WIRE.
  3. Hanson, By Peter (July 14, 2015). "Every 70s Movie: Treasure of Matecumbe (1976)".
  4. "What To Watch On Disney+: The Ultimate 70s Movies Watchlist". April 28, 2020.
  5. "Hidden gems to check out on Disney+". Yardbarker. March 31, 2020.
  6. https://twitter.com/JennyENicholson/status/1264002702805135360


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