The Ballad of Davy Crockett (2024)

William Moseley is Davy Crockett and he’s in the middle of a meeting with Andrew Jackson in Washington, D.C., when he gets an urgent message from back home.

His wife Polly has taken ill. She’s bedridden. She urges Davy to rush home as soon as possible, lest their two young sons be left to fend for themselves.

So Davy begins the desperate dash back to Tennessee only to run into trouble when wolves spook his horse somewhere in Virginia.

He’s thrown and winds up with with a nasty wound to one leg. The horse winds up dead.

Back at the Crockett homestead, John (Wyatt Parker) and younger brother Will (Nico Turozzi) are already fending for themselves.

With food supplies running low, they head out to hunt game and wind up stealing a recently deceased beaver from a trap.

Unfortunately for them, the trap belongs to the Northern Fur Trading Co., run by a greedy and penny-pinching bully named Caleb (Colm Meaney).

He tracks the Crockett boys back to their homestead. And he wants compensation, figuring they’re responsible for the disappearance of more than one beaver pelt.

William Moseley as Davy Crockett, objecting to the harsh treatment of his family over a single missing beaver pelt in The Ballad of Davy Crockett (2024)

Valerie Jane Parker as Polly Crockett, urging husband Davy to rescue their sons from Caleb’s grip in The Ballad of Davy Crockett (2024)

Review:

They aren’t likely to write a ballad about this movie. In fact, it might be more entertaining to listen to the 1950s “The Ballad of Davy Crockett” on repeat for 90 minutes than endure this insipid mess.

That’s a shame, because the production values are better than lots of low-budget 21st Century Westerns. And most of the cast seems at home in front of a camera.

The biggest problem? The plot. Wow, what a plot. Lots of the worst B Westerns from the 1950s have story lines more plausible than this one.

So let’s see. Davy’s in a hurry to get back home. He’s already been delayed by a leg wound and the need to tame a new horse.

Yet he jumps into the middle of an Indian fight? To save the life of an Indian who was chasing him? And risks losing his life or perhaps his new horse in the process? Oh, boy.

Then there’s the question of historical accuracy. The story is set in 1815. Crockett didn’t become a Congressman until 1827, 12 years after his first wife Polly died. Yet in his opening scene, he’s shown meeting with Andrew Jackson and discussing the Indian Removal Act of 1830.

In fact, Davy’s shown pledging his support Jackson’s initiative, though one of his best known political stances was his opposition to that act. The film does correct that, with Davy indicating his opinion changed as a result of another of the film’s improbable plot twists.

Wyatt Parker as John Crockett, trying to explain his actions for fur company representatives in The Ballad of Davy Crockett (2024)

Nico Tirozzi as William Crockett, nervously holding a block of wood for his brother to chop in The Ballad of Davy Crockett (2024)

Directed by:
Derek Estlin Purvis

Cast:
William Moseley … Davy Crockett
Colm Meaney … Caleb
Nico Tirozzi … William Crockett
Wyatt Parker … John Crockett
Jesse Hutch … Spike
Valerie Jane Parker … Polly Crockett
Gray Wolf Herrera … Dawoni
Edward Finlay … Andrew Jackson
Rocky Abou-Sakher … Wilkes
Tommy Kramer … Daniel Boone
Alja Terauda … Margaret
Casey Fuller … Martin Van Buren
Andrews Erickson … James Polk
Craig Morgan … Davis Bridger
Jared Losano … Creek Red Stick

Runtime: 96 min.

Colm Meaney as Caleb, calculating how much restitution he’s owed by the Crockett boys in The Ballad of Davy Crockett (2024)

Jesse Hutch as Spike, one of the henchman helping enforce Caleb’s will in The Ballad of Davy Crockett (2024)

Memorable lines:

William Crockett: “Daddy said don’t ever take anything from another man’s trap. It’s stealing.”
John Crockett: “I’m not going to starve to death over a pelt.”

Caleb: “We don’t go in hostile. Looks more like a neglected homestead than a den of thieves.”

Caleb, once he finds the boys’ father isn’t home: “Is he coming back?”
William Crockett, trying his best to sound convincing: “He’ll be back any minute. You’d better run.”
Caleb: “I think I’ll take me chances.”

Davy Crockett to his horse, as he removes his saddle to use it as a shield: “If I survive this, I know you will find me.”

William Moseley as Davy Crockett, beaten but still determined to rescue his sons in The Ballad of Davy Crockett (2024)

Edward Finaly as Andrew Jackson, lobbying Davy Crockett for his support for an Indian Removal Act in The Ballad of Davy Crockett (2024)

Alja Terauda as Margaret, the woman who keeps the books and watches over the youngest workers at the fur company’s camp in The Ballad of Davy Crockett (2024)

Valerie Jane Parker as Polly Crockett, awakening to the danger her sons face from representatives of the Northern Fur Trading Co. in The Ballad of Davy Crockett (2024)

Colm Meaney as Caleb and Jesse Hutch as Spike, trailing beaver pelt thieves in The Ballad of Davy Crockett (2024)

William Moseley as Davy Crockett, taking a shot at the man trying to destroy his family in The Ballad of Davy Crockett (2024)