A Gangue da Tortinha de Maça

One of the best live-action Disney movies. A sweet story about misplaced children, an unwilling but good-intentioned gambler as a foster parent and two bumbling crooks as the comic foil. Bill Bixby, of "My Favorite Martian" and "The Hulk" fame, plays Russell Donovan, the roaming gambler who is unwittingly stuck with some "valuables." Tim Conway and Don Knotts, a little past their prime, play the hapless crooks known as the "Hash Knife Outfit." Susan Clark plays the tomboy stage coach driver who fills in as the kids mother. It also stars Harry Morgan as the town sheriff. Beautiful scenery, lots of action, comedy, and a fabulous saloon brawl that is the highlight of the film.

This is a fantastic family movie that kids can watch and enjoy and those of us who love the Tim Conway-Don Knotts combination will get our money's worth as well. I know the movie is about Bill Bixby and the kids but really, it's all about Conway and Knotts. They worked so well together that even if the rest of the movie was worthless, they made it incredible. If you watch the scenes with the two of them moving the ladder, you'd swear that all of that was storyboarded and choreographed, but according to Conway on the special edition DVD, they improvised all of it. The bit with Knotts drinking out of the beer glass and Conway trying to get a drink out of too is some of the greatest schtick in movie history. This is a great movie with a great cast including Slim Pickens and Harry Morgan and some of the finest character actors of the day. It's great and even if you don't like live-action Disney movies, you should still be able to appreciate the comic genius of Conway and Knotts.

"The Apple Dumpling Gang" is quite agreeable, providing a generous amount of laughs and excitement as it delivers the Disney formula to a T. Adapted from a novel by Jack M. Bickham, it stars TV legend Bill Bixby as Russel Donavan, a gambler and rogue who shuns responsibility. When he comes into possession of three orphaned kids, he at first tries mightily to dump them on someone else. But surprise, surprise. The scoundrel turns out to be a pretty good parental figure. But the true sparks fly when the kids themselves come into possession of some honest-to-God gold. And naturally, EVERYBODY in town wants to get their hands on that gold, including a notorious outlaw (Slim Pickens) and two incompetent former associates of his, played by top comedy actors Don Knotts and Tim Conway.

The script is brought to life with some real zest, and as usual for Disney, it's a decent example of some good, straightforward storytelling, spiced up with fine period recreation and solid action scenes. But as any fan of this classic can tell you, it's Knotts and Conway that really steal the show. Knotts is perennial flustered straight man to the REALLY dumb Conway, who's hysterical. And of course, their union was fruitful enough to spawn more Knotts-Conway vehicles, some made for Disney, some not.

But the rest of the cast is quite engaging, and full of familiar faces and top character actors & actresses. Susan Clark is feisty fun in a de-glamourized role as a stagecoach driver, and love interest for Donavan. Harry Morgan is great as always, playing the local sheriff / barber / justice of the peace. The three kids are played by the endearing Clay O'Brien (who became a real-life cowboy), Brad Savage, and Stacy Manning. A running joke has Manning constantly needing to run off to urinate. Also to be seen in this most welcome ensemble are David Wayne, John McGiver, Don Knight, Dennis Fimple, Iris Adrian, Fran Ryan, Bing Russell, and Jim Boles. Richard Farnsworth has an uncredited bit as a mover.

Rollicking entertainment, complete with a feel-good theme song.

Followed by a sequel four years later, with Knotts & Conway reprising their roles.

Seven out of 10.

The movie felt average For sure. There was nothing special about it. The storyline, characters, characters development, plot line were all average. But the end of the movie it did get a little bit boring but not to the point where I turned off the movie. It was a good movie to watch but not a much watch but a lot shot.

Could've/should've been funnier, but 'The Apple Dumpling Gang' is still an entertaining enough 100 minutes.

I had a solidly good time with it, it never drags and has a few decent characters and a watchable plot to follow along. As noted, I think they were going for something way more amusing, especially with Theodore (Don Knotts) and Amos (Tim Conway) - who I liked watching, but they aren't overly funny.

Bill Bixby (Donovan) and Susan Clark (Dusty) team up to strong effect, while Harry Morgan probably gives the best performance as McCoy. The villains are largely forgettable, though Slim Pickens is OK as Stillwell.

Not much more to add in truth, except for acknowledging the nice set design. All in all, the film isn't anything incredible but I'd still very much recommend it.