Tony Curtis Takes A Wild Ride

In 1962, Tony Curtis starred in the comedy “40 Pounds of Trouble.” This lackluster remake of Shirley Temple’s “Little Miss Marker” (1934) has at least one redeeming feature: beautiful color footage of Disneyland, shot with permission from Walt himself (albeit with minor script changes that he suggested first). Here’s Tony attempting to escape a detective (Tom Reese) hot on his trail as he dashes through the Teacup attraction. I wonder if there was any eye makeup left for costar Suzanne Pleshette after Tony was finished prepping for the film?



In between takes, Tony took his daughter Kelly (left) and costar Claire Wilcox (who played the Shirley Temple role) on Mr. Toad’s wild adventure.



Maybe Tony enjoyed the drag makeup from “Some Like It Hot” (1959) and decided to keep it.



A few screenshots from the movie that give rare interior views of Mr. Toad:





See more Disneyland Mr. Toad photos at my main website.

Mr. Toad Rides Again

Sure, the attraction vehicle and kids are a bit of a blur, but the mural for Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride attraction is fairly stable...AND IN COLOR! Yes, I had to have this 1956 image once I saw it. I am slightly obsessed with the original attraction murals from the Fantasyland dark rides, painted by Disney artist Claude Coats.

Here’s a previously posted 1958 black and white shot of the same area:



...with a little Photoshop distortion provided to give a better view of what the mural looked like:



See more Disneyland Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride attraction photos at my main website.

The Original Mr. Toad Mural

I am slightly obsessed with the original murals of the Fantasyland dark rides at Disneyland, so I was slightly excited to acquire a “new” vintage shot showing a portion of the one from Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, circa 1956.



Artist Kurt Raymond painted a very close approximation of the original mural and sold prints of it. Here’s a shot of him from the Mousewait website showing off his work:



Here’s a shot of the mural that now graces the queue, created when the attraction was completely redone in 1983:



Apparently the Disney Gallery sold re-creations of this mural back in the 1990’s. The Van Eaton Gallery Auction in November 2015 included one for sale:

(Disney Gallery, 1990s) Mr. Toad's Wild Ride mural lithograph produced in an edition of 150 pieces, Numbered 22/150, and measuring16"x23". In very good condition. Estimated: $300-500



See more Disneyland Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride attraction photos at my main website.

Mr. Toad Mural Extravaganza!

One new one and a lot of re-hash for today (yes, still catching up on life!). First shot is the "new" one, showing two tots who have just experienced Mr. Toad's Wild Ride in Fantasyland. Of course, the real reason for attaining this photo is the view of the queue mural in the background! While we're at it, how about a shot from December 1957 of Donna Reed and Steve Allen also enjoying this dark ride classic?



And Jerry Lewis:



Vice President Richard Nixon and family:



The Audie Murphy family, circa 1956:



Here I used a little photoshop magic to get a better look at the mural (human distortion be damned!), circa 1958:



Last one is a June 1955 image of the exterior of Mr. Toad's Wild Ride:



More vintage and contemporary shots of Mr. Toad at my main website.

Mr. Toad Mural

This vintage Spring 1957 black and white photo shows a young gent at the Mr. Toad's Wild Ride attraction in Fantasyland. More importantly, it's a nice view of the line attraction mural. Today, the mural is inside the attraction and looks much different:



More Mr. Toad at my main website.