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12-year-old Hayley Mills starred as Pollyanna
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Considering his commitment
to Disneyland, it's not surprising that Walt was unable to devote himself
to the studio's film output as he had in the past. Though quality was
somewhat erratic -- more than one less-than-wonderful film was released
-- the studio produced a series of successful films through the early
1960s. The animated features included "Lady and the Tramp," "Sleeping Beauty,"
"101 Dalmatians," and "The Sword in the Stone." Live-action films included
"Johnny Tremain" (which featured Sharon in a bit part), "Old Yeller," "Darby
O'Gill and the Little People," "Swiss Family Robinson," and "Pollyanna." Walt
was always involved with casting, and for Pollyanna he hired 12-year-old
Hayley Mills, a very talented young lady who went on to star in a number
of Disney productions. "She would mess with her mouth and be very natural.
Walt loved her," reported artist Peter Ellenshaw.
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In 1959, Walt came
out with "The Shaggy Dog," the first of a series of lighthearted comedies
that did reliably well in the box office. Like "The Shaggy Dog," "The Absent-Minded Professor" similarly relied upon impossible situations for much
of its humor. Though Fred MacMurray was billed as the star of that film,
it was actually the flying car that held audiences spellbound. As a result
of the success of such films, by 1961, Walt's company was debt free for
the first time in some 20 years. He would have liked to expand his
scope to a wider range of films, but his public wouldn't have stood for
it. In the 1960s, he saw the movie "To Kill a Mockingbird" and told Ron
Miller he'd like to make a picture like it. But he knew that was impossible.
"He was very frustrated," recalled Miller. "Walt had created this image
and he got locked in."
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"The flying car held audiences spellbound ..."
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Walt and Roy
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Walt and Roy -- who
had always had their differences -- had one of their most protracted battles
in 1963 when Roy determined he had to deal with Walt's
own company -- WED -- which was beginning to put efforts into a new project
in Florida. Roy felt, perhaps justifiably, that there was a potential
conflict of interest between Walt's personally owned company and the
stockholder-owned Disney Company. Lawsuits could follow. Walt, he said,
would have to sell portions of WED to the Disney Company. Writes Bob Thomas,
author of biographies of both brothers, "For months they would not talk
to each other, communicating through intermediaries and impersonal memos.
Only their close associates were aware of the frost between them." Finally,
a compromise was reached. And Walt gave Roy a Native American peace pipe,
writing, "It was wonderful to smoke the pipe of peace with you again --
the clouds that rise are very beautiful."
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In 1964, Walt once
again focused most of his attentions on a big-screen creation -- "Mary
Poppins." Not a single element escaped his scrutiny. The result, of course,
was unforgettable. Walt and Roy had been trying to get rights to the book,
by P.L. Travers, for years, and were finally successful (though the relationship
between Walt and Travers was somewhat rocky through the creation of the
film). Walt brought in two of the best song-writers in the business, Richard
and Robert Sherman, who shared his vision for the story. He particularly
loved the song "Feed the Birds." In fact, many evenings toward the end
of the day, he'd call for the brothers to come to his office and "Play
the song" for him. They knew which tune he meant. "Mary Poppins" premiered
on August 27, 1964, to nearly universal critical acclaim. It received 13
Academy Award nominations.
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Mary Poppins became a smash hit with 13 Academy Award nominations
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