The adventure film is a broad genre of film . Some early genre studies found it no different than the Western film or argued that adventure could encompass all Hollywood genres. Commonality was found among historians Brian Taves and Ian Cameron in that the genre required a setting that was both remote in time and space to the film audience and that it contained a positive hero who tries to make right in their world. Some critics such as Taves limit the genre to naturalistic settings, while Yvonne Tasker found that would limit films such as Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) from the genre. Tasker found that most films in the genre featured narratives located within a fantasy world of exoticized setting, which are often driven by quests for characters seeking mythical objects or treasure hunting . The genre is closely associated with the action film , and is sometimes used interchangeably or in tandem with that genre.
56-645: The Great Locomotive Chase is a 1956 American adventure western film produced by Walt Disney Productions , based on the Great Locomotive Chase that occurred in 1862 during the American Civil War . Filmed in CinemaScope and in color, the film stars Fess Parker as James J. Andrews , the leader of a group of Union soldiers from various Ohio regiments who volunteered to go behind Confederate lines in civilian clothes, steal
112-471: A Confederate train north of Atlanta , and drive it back to Union lines in Tennessee , tearing up railroad tracks and destroying bridges and telegraph lines along the way. Written and produced by Lawrence Edward Watkin and directed by Francis D. Lyon , the 85-minute full-color film also features Jeffrey Hunter , John Lupton , Kenneth Tobey , Don Megowan , and Slim Pickens . Paul J. Smith composed
168-478: A "landmark of effects-led adventure cinema." Outside technical effects, adventure films of Douglas Fairbanks such as Robin Hood (1922) with its scenes of battles and recreations of castles cost a record-setting $ 1.5 million to produce also provided a variant of adventure spectacle to audiences. Tasker stated that The Lost World (1925) arguably initiated a jungle adventure film cycle that would be expanded on in
224-468: A continuing trend for Hollywood adventure films. The other major Hollywood style was the historical adventure typified by early films in the style of The Black Pirate (1926) and The Mark of Zorro (1920) which feature less intense violence. Historical adventure was a popular Hollywood staple until the mid-1950s. While the historical adventure film would be parodied or presented as highly camp , special effects -driven adventure films began to dominate
280-589: A grudge for deceiving him, acknowledging that they both fought in their own ways. Andrews laments that he will not live to see the end of the war , when both sides come together and shake hands. He asks Fuller if they could do so instead. Fuller obliges, marking the end of their war and putting Andrews at peace. On March 25, 1863, the eight surviving raiders are summoned to the US War Department and are brought before War Secretary Edwin Stanton to receive
336-587: A low critical status, with a few exceptions. Historically, the genre has not been seen as authored cinema. The genre's cinematic traditions were effectively absent from debates on genre cinema since the 1960s. Chapman echoed this statement. He argued that with only a handful of exceptions, adventure films have not won much favour with film critics: "In traditional film criticism there are few 'good' adventure films; those that have won critical acclaim have usually done so on grounds other than their status as genre films." When action and adventure cinema secure awards, it
392-682: A new courthouse square was built in Huntsville using a beige-colored native sandstone for the buildings' outer walls. Although the courthouse burned in 1946, two of these sandstone buildings remain— the First National Bank building and the Old Scott County Jail. Both have been placed on the National Register of Historic Places . The Baker family, which arrived in the Huntsville area shortly after
448-512: A quest narrative, where characters seek mythical objects or fabulous treasure as seen in films like King Solomon's Mines (1950) or Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Tasker opted for a broader sense of genre, and commented on Taves limits, stating it was an understandable impulse to place generic limits on potentially diverse bodies of texts, while included films like Raiders of the Lost Ark which she described as feeling "like an adventure in
504-435: A review by Bosley Crowther of The New York Times , "The excitement is over when they abandon the trains." Moreover, some felt the film to be rather depressing or downbeat since the main characters are unsuccessful in their mission and some, including the lead character, wind up being executed. Variety wrote: "It varies between good and fair entertainment values, with enough exciting passages to promise okay prospects at
560-590: A setting that was both remote in time and space to its audience. While Cameron refuted the idea of a clearly defined adventure genre, he said films described the "positive feeling for adventure" evoked from the scenes of action in the film and the identification with the main character. Taves echoed this, exemplifying the character of Robin Hood who deals with a valiant fight for just government in an exotic past. Taves wrote in The Romance of Adventure: The Genre of Historical Adventure Movies (1993) that defining
616-509: A telegraph sent ahead of the raiders. Fuller arrives and reclaims his train as the raiders, having failed in their mission, flee into the wilderness and try to make it back home. Over the next week, the raiders are hunted down and captured. The group is transferred from jail to jail across the south, ultimately learning that they have been found guilty and are to be hanged soon. One day, while in their cell in Atlanta, one of them manages to break
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#1732772589828672-482: Is often in categories such as visual effects and sound editing. Tasker found this reflected Richards comments on the creative labor as being the primary appeal on work in the genre. Huntsville, Tennessee Huntsville is a town in Scott County , Tennessee , United States. The population was 1,270 at the 2020 census and 1,248 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Scott County . Huntsville
728-620: Is situated atop the Cumberland Plateau at just over 10 miles (16 km) west of the plateau's eastern escarpment. Huntsville's southern boundary is located along a series of cliffs overlooking New River , approximately 15 miles (24 km) upstream from the river's mouth along the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River . Huntsville is surrounded by low mountains and hills that comprise the southern section of
784-764: The General was on display at Chattanooga Union Station , and the Texas was at the Atlanta Cyclorama . It would have been too costly to make them safely operational, but fortunately Disney had access to two working 4-4-0's of nearly identical appearance, both movie veterans: the William Mason and Inyo . For the film, with changes to the paintwork the William Mason became both the General &
840-406: The General , a locomotive waiting for the breakfast stop at Big Shanty . While on the train, Andrews is approached by the conductor William A. Fuller , who is suspicious about the men he boarded with. Andrews shows Fuller a letter from Brigadier General Beauregard . This convinces Fuller that Andrews and his men are Confederate agents. While the passengers and crew eat, Andrews and the men drop
896-592: The Yonah , was portrayed in the film by the Lafayette , a 1927-built 4-2-0 replica of an identical locomotive of the same name built in 1837. The original Yonah , however, did not have a 4-2-0 design, but was a 4-4-0 design that pre-dated the newer 4-4-0 designs of the other locomotives involved in the Chase. Two of the locomotives used in the actual Chase had been preserved, though were not in working order. In 1956,
952-650: The Cumberland Mountains . Huntsville's town center is situated along State Route 63 (SR 63, Howard Baker Highway), although the town's municipal boundaries stretch westward to SR 63's junction with U.S. Route 27 (US 27, Scott Highway). SR 63 intersects Interstate 75 (I-75) approximately 15 miles (24 km) east of Huntsville, near the base of the Cumberland Plateau. According to the United States Census Bureau ,
1008-639: The Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway (now CSX ), and unsuitable as background for a Civil War era film. The Disney studios looked about fifty miles (80.5 km) east to the Tallulah Falls Railway , a somewhat decrepit, but scenic shortline with photogenic curves and several wooden trestles. The film was shot at various points along the 35 miles (56.3 km) between Franklin, North Carolina and Cornelia, Georgia . The first of three locomotives commandeered by conductor William A. Fuller,
1064-480: The U.S. Senate in 1966 and gained national attention as Vice Chairman of the Senate Watergate Committee in 1973. Baker later served as Senate Majority Leader (1981–1985) and White House Chief of Staff (1987–1988). Huntsville is located at 36°24′39″N 84°29′42″W / 36.41083°N 84.49500°W / 36.41083; -84.49500 (36.410732, -84.495124). The town
1120-488: The silent films of the 1910s and 1920s. These films required elaborate visual effects that were important to displaying menacing or fantastic worlds. These films often took narratives from novels, such as films like 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916) and The Lost World (1925). Beyond being adaptations of famous books, Tasker said that the appeal of these films was also in their effects laden scene, finding The Lost World
1176-648: The "Catoosa", and Inyo served as both the Texas and the William R. Smith . Disney rented the Inyo from Paramount Studios , who owned it at the time. Mason and Lafayette were rented from the B&;O Railroad Museum , as were five Civil War era cars: two coaches and a baggage car finished in bright yellow, and two iron ammunition cars. The studio also constructed five wooden boxcars which could be, and were, destroyed during
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#17327725898281232-519: The Civil War, has been active in state and national politics for several decades. James F. Baker (1864–1934) was a successful attorney and newspaper publisher. Baker's son, Howard H. Baker, Sr. (1902–1964), was the Republican candidate for governor of Tennessee in 1938 and later served in the U.S. House of Representatives . Howard H. Baker, Jr. (1925-2014), son of Howard Sr., was elected to
1288-622: The Confederates are now running extra freight trains down south, including another train coming in from the north unscheduled. After 45 minutes of extra waiting, the last train arrives, and the raiders continue north. Fuller and his men eventually reach Kingston. After alerting the station master of the situation, Fuller and his men take a locomotive, the William R. Smith , waiting on the side track and continue until reaching another section of removed track. Fuller and Murphy then wave down Pete Bracken and his southbound express freight and continue
1344-473: The Light Brigade (1936) and The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). The historical adventure film continued to be a popular Hollywood genre into the mid-1950s featuring various male stars such as Tyrone Power , Douglas Fairbanks Jr. , Burt Lancaster , and Stewart Granger . Imperialism -themed adventure films continued in the 1950s with a greater emphasis on location shooting . Examples include
1400-576: The Lost Ark (1981), The Mummy (1999), and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003). Few other films embarked on more serious tones, such as Ridley Scott 's Gladiator and Kingdom of Heaven (2005). Since the late 1970s, both action and adventure films have become synonymous with the high-budgeted and profitable Hollywood films and franchises. While both genres took on challenging material, towards
1456-537: The Movies (1973) stated that adventure "is not confined to a particular genre [...] it is a quality which turns up in almost every sort of story film; indeed the most obvious adventures movies, the sword-and-bosom epics, are usually among the least interesting." American historian Brian Taves wrote in 1993 that having such wide-ranging application of the genre would render it meaningless. Despite their different definitions, both Taves and Cameron stated that genre required
1512-501: The adventure film was defined from a fictional narrative and excluded films based on historical events and people such as Zulu (1964) and Lawrence of Arabia (1962), finding they belonged to other types of narratives such as the historical film and the war film . Chapman summarized the complicated nature of the genre, stating that the "Adventure film is a less clearly defined than most: indeed, this might be one reason why film historians have left it pretty much alone." He described
1568-415: The art director, costume designer, fencing master, stunt arranger, cinematographer and actor just much as the writer and director. For the swashbuckler is truly the sum of all their work." Both action and adventure are often used together as film genres, and are even used interchangeably. For Taves, he compared the styles saying that adventure films were "something beyond action" and were elevated "beyond
1624-593: The box office hit King Solomon's Mines (1950) which was shot in Africa. 1960s fantasy films such as Jason and the Argonauts (1963) combined the set-pieces and fantastic locations of historical adventures with renewed emphasis on special effects. By the 1970s, The Three Musketeers (1973) marked a point where the historical adventure has been firmly associated with what Tasker described as "comic - even camp - tone" that would inform later films such as Raiders of
1680-447: The box office." Harrison's Reports declared: "This Walt Disney historical melodrama should give fairly good satisfaction to the general run of audiences ... The action moves at a swift pace throughout, and is filled with many exciting, if incredible, situations before the raiders are caught." The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Despite the lack of inventive incident, the story has a number of tense sequences, without, perhaps, rivalling
1736-445: The broadest sense of the term." Tasker noted this specifically, that even when disregarding its historical setting, the film concerned a quest, with travel and developing moral sense of the hero's place in the world. Tasker wrote that these films films have no consistent iconography, their set design and special effects, ranging from stop-motion, to digital imagery and 3D are given a privileged place in these genres. Chapman also noted
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1792-632: The chase with his engine, the Texas running in reverse. The raiders try to stop their pursuers but only slow them down. The raiders arrive at the first bridge and attempt to burn it down by lighting a boxcar and setting the brake it so as to prevent it from being moved. Fuller disables the brake and the Texas pushes the car out, leaving the bridge intact. With the General out of wood and water and unable to continue, Andrews decides to stop and fight, but before they can, Confederate cavalry from Ringgold approach, sent by General Leadbetter after Fuller got
1848-473: The decade. Erb found that the jungle imagery of these films of the 1930s frequently showcased the jungle world as frequently alternating between "demonic and edenic " images, while Tasker said the jungle films and other adventure films of the period would establish a travelogue allure of these settings as romantic spaces. Within the Classical Hollywood cinema , one of the major other styles
1904-500: The filming. As of March 2021, the two surviving locomotives from the chase, and the three which appeared in the film, were located as follows: The film received mixed reviews upon its release. Though given acceptable reviews by most critics, the film was not as successful as Walt Disney had hoped it would be. This may have been due to the anticlimactic ending, where the Union spies are captured, jailed, and attempt to escape. According to
1960-528: The first Medals of Honor . Stanton says that their perished comrades will also receive the Medal of Honor posthumously, with the exception of Andrews who is ineligible due to being a civilian operative (also excluding William Campbell). Pittenger thanks Stanton on behalf of all of the raiders. By the 1950s the Western and Atlantic Railroad tracks where the Chase took place in 1862 were a modernized main line of
2016-431: The genre in context with the historical adventure, and said explicitly excluding films with fantasy settings such as Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) as they involved the supernatural over human agency. Taves wrote that "unlike adventure, fantasy presents a netherworld where events violate physical reality and the bounds of human possibility." Comparatively, in his overview of British adventure cinema, James Chapman said
2072-776: The genre that would continue into the 21st century with film series like The Lord of the Rings , Harry Potter , and Pirates of the Caribbean . In their analysis of the genre in 2018, Johan Höglund and Agnieszka Soltysik Monnet found that the contemporary adventure form often appears in trans-genre work where the adventure component is perceived as secondary. They exemplified that in films such ranging from Top Gun (1986), Godzilla (2014), to Lone Survivor (2013), which range from fantasy film to science fiction film to war film genres, all adhere to traditional adventure narratives. Adventure films are generally perceived with
2128-411: The group's chains. They plan to escape the next morning. All men make it over the wall of the jail yard except Andrews and Campbell, who stay behind to fight off their captors. Eight of the raiders, including Pittenger, manage to escape while the rest are recaptured. Before his execution, Andrews requests a final visit from Fuller, who begrudgingly shows up. Andrews expresses hopes that Fuller will not hold
2184-521: The late 1970s of an adventure style geared towards more family-oriented audiences with films like Star Wars (1977) and Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). Star Wars exemplifies a resurgent adventure strand of the 1970s cinema with characters like the Jedi Knights who swing from ropes and wield light sabers recall sword-fighting and swashbuckling films. Tasker commented that this led to a commercially lucrative and culturally conservative version of
2240-536: The market towards the late 1970s, with films such as Star Wars (1977) and Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). This trend continued into the 21st century. Adventure is a broad film genre. Early writing on the genre had wide categorizations. Critic André Bazin went as far to say in the 1950s that "there is not difference between Hopalong Cassidy and Tarzan except for their costumes and the arena in which they demonstrate their prowess." Ian Cameron in Adventure in
2296-570: The mission of hijacking a train behind Confederate lines and destroying the bridges along the Western and Atlantic Railroad in order to delay reinforcements against Mitchell's planned attack on Chattanooga , as well as cripple the Confederate army's supply lines, possibly putting an end to the war. Pittenger, Campbell, and more soldiers meet Andrews the next night on a hillside where he tells them to arrive in Marietta, Georgia by April 10. Over
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2352-535: The next days, the men travel south through Confederate territory in small groups so as not to draw suspicion. Pittenger and Campbell rendezvous with Andrews and two others at an inn on the Tennessee River , but rain causes Andrews to delay the attempt for a day. On the morning of April 12, Andrews and the raiders congregate in a railroad hotel in Marietta. They board a northbound train, pulled on that day by
2408-733: The pace and gusto of Davy Crockett . The attempt to present both pursuer and pursued as equally attractive figures is highly successful, but this inevitably weakens the drama of the situation." The film was first released on video in 1983 and later on DVD (first on April 25, 2000 and re-released on May 4, 2004). It was one of the last several films to depict the Andrews Raid of 1862. Adventure film Adventure films boast their setting and visuals as key elements. This ranged from early technical showcases such as The Lost World (1925) and King Kong (1933). These films set up exotic locations as both beautiful and dangerous. This would be
2464-418: The passenger cars, hijack the engine , and proceed north. Witnessing this, Fuller pursues them on foot along with engineer Jeff Cain and foreman Anthony Murphy. Andrews and the men continue on, pulling up track to block any trains from the south and cutting telegraph wires to stop any towns ahead of them from being alerted. Fuller and his men continue to pursue the raiders; first on foot, then by handcar, then on
2520-1126: The physical challenge" and by "its moral and intellectual flavour." Forms of filmmaking that would become film genres were mostly defined in other media before Thomas Edison devised the Kinetograph in the late 1890s. Genres, such as adventure fiction were developed as written fiction. In the early Hollywood cinema, early adventure cinema were both original stories as well as adaptations of popular media such as adventure stories, magazines, and folk tales. Films were adapted from adventure stories such as King Solomon's Mines (1885), She (1887), and Treasure Island (1883). Tasker described both action and adventure cinema are resistant to any historical evolutionary chronology. Both genres are self-reflexive and draw from conventions of other genres ranging from horror to historical imperial adventure. Taves found that that films that were swashbucklers or pirate-themed adventures were often humorous, and that they retained viability even when parodied. Many silent films with action and adventure scenarios flourished in
2576-674: The score. Filmed in Georgia and North Carolina , along the now abandoned Tallulah Falls Railway , it was released in U.S. theaters by Buena Vista Distribution Company on June 8, 1956, and capitalized on Parker's growing fame as an actor from his portrayal of Davy Crockett . The film reteamed him with Jeff York , who had portrayed Mike Fink in the 1954-1955 Davy Crockett miniseries. In April 1862, Cpl. William Pittenger and several other soldiers, including William Campbell are posted outside Nashville under orders from General Mitchell . Andrews rides in to speak to Mitchell, who assigns him
2632-432: The similarly effects driven sound film King Kong (1933). In her study of King Kong , Cynthia Erb noted a conventions of both travel documentary and jungle adventure traditions. Tasker wrote that the best known displays of these films were those that focused on the character of Tarzan which found more significantly commercial success with the success of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films featuring Johnny Weissmuller during
2688-406: The small yard engine Yonah . The raiders make their scheduled stop at Kingston to wait for a southbound freight train. Andrews disguises their mission from the suspicious station staff by claiming that he is running an extra ammunition supply train to Beauregard. Once the southbound train arrives, the raiders learn, to their surprise, that Mitchell had captured Huntsville ahead of schedule and
2744-505: The style as being commonly applied to narratives where action and visual spectacle were foregrounded. He included styles like the swashbuckler , the British empire film, the sensationalized spy thriller, and mythological fantasy films as part of adventure cinema genre. Writing about the adventure genre in the 1970s, Jeffrey Richards said that "since the way a swashbuckler moves and looks is just as important as what it says, we must look at
2800-401: The style as not being a discrete genre in its own, but a flexible, overarching category that encompasses a range of different related narrative forms. British author and academic Yvonne Tasker wrote in her 2015 book The Hollywood Action and Adventure Film (2015) that adventure films imply a story that is located within a fantasy of exoticized setting. She found that these films often apply
2856-490: The town has a total area of 3.3 square miles (8.5 km ), all of it land. As of the 2020 United States Census , there were 1,270 people, 537 households, and 249 families residing in the town. As of the census of 2000, there were 981 people, 406 households, and 259 families residing in the town. The population density was 295.3 inhabitants per square mile (114.0/km ). There were 441 housing units at an average density of 132.7 per square mile (51.2/km ). The racial makeup of
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#17327725898282912-515: The town was 96.94% White , 1.12% African American , 0.61% Native American , 0.10% Asian , and 1.22% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.31% of the population. There were 406 households, out of which 32.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.8% were married couples living together, 14.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.0% were non-families. 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.1% had someone living alone who
2968-450: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.94. In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.8% under the age of 18, 12.1% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.2 males. The median income for
3024-421: Was named after a long hunter known only by the surname "Hunt." This long hunter camped under a rock shelter in the mid-18th century and later moved his family to the area. When Scott County was formed in 1849, Huntsville was chosen as the county seat due to the site's central location within the new county as well as an excellent spring that flowed across the property. During the U.S. Civil War , Scott County
3080-563: Was staunchly pro- Union . In Tennessee's June 1861 referendum on secession, the county voted 541–19 against secession, the highest percentage of any county in Tennessee. In spite of fierce opposition from Scott and other East Tennessee counties, the ordinance passed and Tennessee seceded from the Union. Later that year, Scott County voted unanimously to secede from Tennessee and formed the Independent State of Scott . In 1906,
3136-608: Was the historical adventure film. These films were typically set in the past and drew from the Fairbanks films such as The Black Pirate (1926) and The Mark of Zorro (1920). They feature violence in a less intense manner than other contemporary genres such as the Western or war film . While not specifically associated with one Hollywood studio, Warner Bros. released a series of popular historical adventures featuring Errol Flynn such as Captain Blood (1935), The Charge of
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