''The Littlest Outlaw'' is a 1955

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

produced by

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

. It was released by Buena Vista Distribution on December 22, 1955. It was directed by

Roberto Gavaldón Roberto Gavaldón (June 7, 1909 in Jiménez, Chihuahua – September 4, 1986 in Mexico City) was a Mexican film director. Eight of Gavaldón's films were featured on the list 100 Best Movies of the Cinema of Mexico. His 1958 film ''Ash Wed ...

and written by Larry Lansburgh (story), and Bill Walsh (screenplay). It starred

Pedro Armendáriz Pedro Gregorio Armendáriz Hastings (May 9, 1912 – June 18, 1963) was a Mexican film actor who made films in both Mexico and the United States. With Dolores del Río and María Félix, he was one of the best-known Latin American movie stars ...

as Gen. Torres,

Joseph Calleia Joseph Calleia ( ; born Joseph Alexander Caesar Herstall Vincent Calleja, August 4, 1897 – October 31, 1975) was a Maltese-born American actor and singer on the stage and in films, radio and television. After serving in the British Transport ...

as the Padre, and Andrés Velázquez as Pablito.

Plot

Little Pablito is the ten-year-old stepson of a cruel horse trainer. The trainer is responsible for training a Mexican general's horse to jump for the grand race. The trainer's methods cause the horse to become afraid of jumping and the general orders the animal's death. Pablito runs away with the horse, becoming a fugitive. He travels throughout Mexico encountering several fugitives and a priest who tries to help.

Cast

as Gen. Torres *

as Padre *

Rodolfo Acosta Rodolfo Pérez Acosta (July 29, 1920 – November 7, 1974) was a Mexican-American character actor who became known for his roles as Mexican outlaws or American Indians in Hollywood western films. He was sometimes credited as Rudolfo Acosta ...

as Chato *Andrés Velázquez as Pablito *Laila Maley as Celita *Pepe Ortiz as Himself * Gilberto González as Tiger *José Torvay as Vulture *Jorge Treviño as Barber *

José Ángel Espinoza José Ángel Espinoza Aragón (2 October 1919 – 6 November 2015), also known as ''Ferrusquilla'', was a Mexican singer-songwriter and film actor. He was the father of actress Angélica Aragón. There is a statue of him along Olas Altas Promen ...

as Señor Garcia *Enriqueta Zazueta as Señor Garcia *Irving Lee as Gypsy *Carlos Ortigoza as Doctor *Margarito Luna as Silvestre *Ricardo Gonzáles as Marcos

Production

Larry Lansburgh had been at the Walt Disney Studios for approximately 10 years when he submitted the story treatment for ''The Littlest Outlaw.'' At the time, Lansburgh had directed several short films for Disney, mostly simple stories about animals. Bill Walsh expanded the treatment into a screenplay and Lansburgh was retained as producer. The entire film was shot in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, mostly around

San Miguel Allende San Miguel de Allende () is the principal city in the municipality of San Miguel de Allende, located in the far eastern part of Guanajuato, Mexico. A part of the Bajío region, the city lies from Mexico City, 86 km (53 mi) from Quer ...

, with a bilingual English/Spanish cast. Because of this, the film was shot twice, once in English and once in Spanish, enabling it to be released directly into Spanish-speaking markets without the usual dubbing process.

Reception

''The Littlest Outlaw'' received a mildly critical reception. ''Variety'' spoke well of the child star Andres Velasquez, but most critics dismissed the film as a routine affair.Maltin, pg. 132.

References

External links