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DVD Cover Copyright Disney<\/em><\/p>\n A live action comedy, The Barefoot Executive <\/em>was theatrically released on March 17, 1971. The film is ninety-six minutes in length.<\/p>\n Plot Summary<\/strong><\/p>\n The United Broadcasting Corporation (UBC) television network is struggling, consistently finishing third among three networks in the ratings, and neither Vice President of Programming Francis Wilbanks (Joe Flynn) nor Network President E.J. Crampton (Harry Morgan) seem to have a solution to this problem. Fortunately for UBC, Steven Post (Kurt Russell), the mail delivery boy at the network\u2019s studios, finds the quintessential answer to UBC\u2019s conundrum in the apartment of his girlfriend and studio secretary, Jennifer Scott (Heather North). Steve has not uncovered a magic lamp, but he has found the next best thing, a chimpanzee named Raffles, which Jennifer adopted from her neighbors, who are moving to San Francisco.<\/p>\n After initially detesting Raffles because of his preference for boring programming, Steve realizes that the shows preferred by the chimpanzee in the various timeslots were the highest-rated programs of the night. Without revealing Raffles, Steve demonstrates the chimpanzee\u2019s competence to Crampton and quickly emerges as a national sensation. He is promoted to Wilbanks\u2019s former role, afforded a penthouse, and charged with evaluating pilot episodes for the network. Steve is at the top of the world, but the chimpanzee is making the picks. Can the young man continue to keep Raffles a secret?<\/p>\n Reviews<\/strong><\/p>\n Columnist H.T. of the New York Times <\/em>gave The Barefoot Executive <\/em>a mediocre review, finding the film pleasant but not especially funny, a sentiment that I completely disagree with.\u00a0 H.T. said, \u201cClean is one thing\u2014it\u2019s a lot now, in fact\u2014but funny is another. And the Walt Disney outfit only gets medium mileage out of a live-action satire titled \u2018The Barefoot Executive.\u2019 In this genial but strained and arch frolic, the one real joke is not only \u2018in\u2019 but it wears thin and even frantic. Does anybody out front really care about television-program ratings\u2014how many people watch what?<\/p>\n At any rate, not the chimpanzee who causes all the commotion here. He\u2019s a house pet, an avid TV fan who does wonders with pilot series, immediately spotting a stinker and a smash hit. A shrewd television company mail boy uses Raffles, the hairy wonder, in his climb up the executive ladder.<\/p>\n Slapstick and downright infantile dialogue flatten the fun, with such people as young Kurt Russell, Joe Flynn, Heather North and Wally Cox striving mightily. We liked Raffles, especially draining a beer during commercials, giving a lippy raspberry to \u2018Swan Lake\u2019 and jubilantly switching on a rootin\u2019-tootin\u2019 Western. Say, who\u2019s behind all that programming anyway?\u201d (1)<\/p>\n In Newsday<\/em>, film critic Jerry Parker offered some sarcasm in lieu of an actual review, saying, \u201cThe chimp is discovered to have an infallible knack for picking TV shows that will get the highest ratings. And we thought they tossed a coin!\u201d (2)<\/p>\n Missed Opportunity<\/strong><\/p>\n Disney-owned ABC-TV has endured its share of programming flops, such as \u201cPush, Nevada\u201d in 2002. (3) These failures are inexcusable because the company has Raffles at its disposal to evaluate pilots! Then again, Raffles is a fictitious character, so this strategy is not an option, and I am badly digressing into Fantasyland, so let\u2019s move on.<\/p>\n John Ritter<\/strong><\/p>\n The Barefoot Executive <\/em>marked the film debut of John Ritter, who played Wilbanks\u2019s snooty nephew Roger. Ritter tragically died while filming an episode of ABC\u2019s \u201c8 Simple Rules\u201d on September 11, 2003.<\/p>\n Youth<\/strong><\/p>\n In The Barefoot Executive<\/em>, Steve demonstrates that competence and age are not always directly proportional traits. Steve may be only twenty-one years old, but his vision and ability to reason make him more successful in programming UBC than the much older duo of Crampton and Wilbanks. Granted, Raffles is the genius, but, as Steve discusses with Jennifer, the chimpanzee\u2019s talent had to be discovered and applied, and Steve took this initiative for the benefit of the network.<\/p>\n Additionally, despite being mocked for attending the uninspiring Moonrise Night School, Steve exudes greater academic intelligence than either Crampton or Wilbanks. In defending the potential of youth to Mr. Wilbanks\u2019s chauffeur, Mertons (Wally Cox), Steve accurately mentions that William Pitt became British Prime Minister at the age of twenty four; that Louis XIV became king of France at the age of four; and that there was a British king, Henry VI, who succeeded to the throne at nine months of age. Steve incorrectly asserts that Alexander Hamilton signed the Declaration of Independence at age nineteen\u2014Hamilton did not sign the document\u2014but, if one accepts Hamilton\u2019s contested birth year as 1757 rather than 1755, that founder was nineteen in the summer of 1776.<\/p>\n Music<\/strong><\/p>\n The film is bookended with a catchy theme song, \u201cHe\u2019s Gonna Make It.\u201d This upbeat lyrical number, which is reprised instrumentally throughout the movie, voices Steve\u2019s desire to prove his numerous doubters wrong by becoming a prominent figure.<\/p>\n Humor<\/strong><\/p>\n Saturated with random comments and visual gags, The Barefoot Executive <\/em>is one of the funniest movies in Disney history.<\/p>\n The dialogue may be considered \u201cinfantile,\u201d (4) but I found it hysterical. In particular, Steve\u2019s comments about the benefits of creating a new show called \u201cAbe Lincoln\u2019s Doctor\u2019s Dog\u201d had me rolling around in my bed in laughter. This bizarre idea, which was initiated by E.Z. Potter, a guest speaker involved in radio management, the previous night at Moonrise Night School, is actually logical, albeit too logical.<\/p>\n Although the dialogue is silly, many of the laughs arise from Steve disclosing the truth. For example, when UBC\u2019s morning programming director, Harry (Chet Stratton), tells Mr. Wilbanks that his seemingly lukewarm feeling on a pilot episode was a result of him \u201cnot liking TV very much,\u201d Steve tells Jennifer, \u201cHe doesn\u2019t like TV!? He\u2019s the morning program director!\u201d Later, after Steve explains the utility of \u201cAbe Lincoln\u2019s Doctor\u2019s Dog\u201d to Wilbanks, the latter explodes, \u201cI am not interested in your quacky theories that come from your quacky teachers that teach in your quacky night school!\u201d Noting that the idea came from a radio executive, not a teacher, Steve replies, \u201cBut, actually, in this case it wasn\u2019t a teacher.\u201d Moments later, after Jennifer tells Wilbanks that Crampton called from network headquarters in New York, the discombobulated executive replies, \u201cWell, why didn\u2019t you tell me that?! When the president of the network calls, you don\u2019t let me stand around talking about Abraham Lincoln\u2019s Dog\u2019s Doctor!\u201d Realizing that Wilbanks misspoke, Steve retorts, \u201cAbe Lincoln\u2019s Doctor\u2019s Dog, sir. There\u2019s a difference.\u201d Indeed there is; Wilbanks\u2019s version highlights a veterinarian, while Steve\u2019s concept concerns a dog.<\/p>\n Sorry sports fans. Raffles dislikes football, baseball, and basketball, the latter violently so.<\/p>\n When Steve knows something, he makes sure that everybody else knows that he knows but not necessarily what he knows.<\/p>\n Mertons demonstrates awkward vocal mannerisms. His recital of Steve\u2019s historical tidbits to Wilbanks and Crampton, while accurate, is amusing because of his delivery. The effect of his wheezing on Wilbanks during a heist scene late in the film is also funny.<\/p>\n Relationship to Other Disney Films<\/strong><\/p>\n The Barefoot Executive <\/em>was the second of four Disney films to feature both Russell and Flynn, the other three being the respective installments of the \u201cMedfield College Trilogy\u201d: The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes <\/em>(1969), Now You See Him, Now You Don’t <\/em>(1972), and The Strongest Man in the World <\/em>(1975). In these flicks, Russell played a college student, Dexter Riley, while Flynn played the Medfield College dean, Eugene Higgins.<\/p>\n Farnsworth, an executive from one of UBC\u2019s competitors, was played by Alan Hewitt, who also played a rival of Dean Higgins, Dean Collingsgood of Springfield State College, in the first two installments of the Medfield College Trilogy.<\/p>\n The different lyrics notwithstanding, \u201cHe\u2019s Gonna Make It\u201d is eerily similar to the theme song from The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes<\/em>.<\/p>\n In 2012, Disney\u2019s nature documentary label, Disneynature, released Chimpanzee<\/em>.<\/p>\n In the Parks<\/strong><\/p>\n No attractions or regular character meets directly related to The Barefoot Executive <\/em>are featured in Disney\u2019s theme parks. No chimpanzees are seen at Disney\u2019s Animal Kingdom theme park.<\/p>\n Overall<\/strong><\/p>\n Simply put, The Barefoot Executive <\/em>is so bad that it is good. Everything about the movie is haphazard, but this randomness renders the effort consistently uproarious.<\/p>\n Notes<\/strong><\/p>\n 1) T, H. (1971, May 27). ‘ Barefoot Executive’ New York Times<\/em>, p. 33. Retrieved May 21, 2016, from http:\/\/0-search.proquest.com.alpha1.suffolk.lib.ny.us\/docview\/119157813?accountid=35174<\/a><\/p>\n 2) Parker, J. (1971, May 27). A feast of flicks. Newsday<\/em>, p. 9A. Retrieved May 21, 2016, from http:\/\/0-search.proquest.com.alpha1.suffolk.lib.ny.us\/docview\/917389315?accountid=35174<\/a><\/p>\n 3) Stewart, J. B. (2005). Disenchanted Kingdom. In Disney War<\/em> (pp. 392-393). New York: Simon & Schuster.<\/p>\n 4) See note 1.<\/p>\n What do you think of The Barefoot Executive? Let me know in the comments!<\/em><\/p>\n