James Garner and the Disney Corporation may not sound like a likely mix, but it did happen - twice, as a matter of fact. In 1973, Garner and Disney made a two movie agreement. Garner was looking for flavorful movie vehicles, and Disney was looking for a major star in order to regain the audience it had lost since Walt Disney's death several years earlier. But everyone's expectations were not met. The first movie, "One Little Indian", did not wow critics or audiences, and the same fate was met with "The Castaway Cowboy". It has an interesting premise - starting a cattle ranch in Hawaii during the days cowboys were kings - but the execution is severely lacking. It has a real sedate, almost boring tone for the most part. Both kids and adults will be restless. Almost nothing is done with Robert Culp's villain character - his footage can't add up to more than five minutes. It's only Garner's charisma that saves the movie from total decay, but even he can only do so much. Word of warning to parents: While the movie got a "G" rating in 1974, the movie would get a "PG" rating today due to a couple of violent fistfights.
Review of The Castaway Cowboy
