The Adventures of Bullwhip Griffin

Nothing here to upset the kids, little to interest grown-ups except for Tony Hancock admirers. This was the picture for which the pride of East Cheam was summoned to Hollywood. He couldn't stay sober though, and Disney canned him, substituting Richard Haydn. The film is a pallid variation on Ruggles of Red Gap, with McDowall an English butler in the Wild West. The Hancock or rather Haydn role - just a turn, really - is required only to get the plot under way, but for fans even a proxy performance is worth having. For the rest, the seasoned cast and a few cartoon flourishes keep tedium at bay.