Hot Lead & Cold Feet (1978)

There's magic in the memories as great Disney moments are captured right here for you and your family to enjoy. A two-gun terror and his terrified twin brother turn an old cowtown upside down. A blazing, rip-roaring, riotous saga of brotherly competition in a winner-take-all battle for an inheritance. Jim Dale (PETE'S DRAGON, UNIDENTIFIED FLYING ODDBALL) stars in a triple-header of a role, pulling all the stops out as he plays three different people: Old Jasper Bloodshy and his two sons.

Silly, lighthearted, entertaining.

Yes, a bit silly, very light-hearted, yet entertaining, probably most suited for children up to 15 years old. June 28, 2008

Great film for the children.

I always enjoy Don Knotts in all of his films. This show is simple but pleasant and can be enjoyed by all kids. June 24, 2008

Great Family Entertainment

This movie is the top pick by all my grandkids(13) as one of their favorites!! January 11, 2007

Safe, pleasant, silly Disney western

Pioneering old man Jasper Bloodshy presumably - strong emphasis on the word `presumably' - leaps off a cliff to his death. His will is read and, to the surprise of all, it mentions a second son. The old man's fortune will go to either gunslinging son Wild Billy or his Philadelphia sibling, `tambourine thumping' missionary Eli, depending on who wins a frontier version of an iron man race.

HOT LEAD AND COLD FEET is a featherweight comedy/western produced by the Disney factory in 1978. The three Bloodshys are all played by British actor Jim Dale. Wild Billy is impossibly bad, Eli impossibly good, and old man Jasper takes an awful lot of pratfalls. Come to think of it, everyone takes at least one pratfall here, but Jasper seems to do it most often and from higher places. In any event, Eli (with two young orphaned children in tow, natch) travels west from Philly to the wild and rambunctious town of Bloodshy to compete in the race, become determined to clean up the town, and falls in love with the town's new school teacher, Karen Valentine. The movie is a series of slapstick routines, with some serious, unstressed undertones - the kids want a father, Eli wants to bring civilization to a lawless town. The slapstick and roughhousing is of the gentlest variety. Every five feet or so there's either a fistfight or a rowdy firing off his six-shooter, but no blood is ever spilt, no bullets ever find flesh. All things considered, this is about as gentle as they come.

The supporting cast is pretty strong. Although Don Knotts seems to be prominently featured in most of the posters and dvd jackets, his role is fairly small. He's the nervous sheriff of Bloodshy, and his biggest scenes come when he squares off against Rattlesnake (Jack Elam). They growl, grumble, and glare at each other, but something always seems to happen after they've separated themselves from each other by ten paces, counted to three and reached for their guns. Why they want to blast each other to oblivion is never explained, but their scenes together are entertaining enough.

HOT LEAD AND COLD FEET is about as family-friendly as they get. Like most Disney movies of this type it'll be best appreciated by the pre-teens in the family, and adults who don't need to be challenged by a movie. Teen-agers and young adults will probably find this one insufferably corny. A safe bet for family night at the home theater.
November 27, 2006

Great

I remember watching this a while ago (I have it on VHS and will probably watch it again soon).

This is a great story about a father who has two sons: one is a tough, gunslinging bandit, and the other is a mild mannered preacher. The father leaves a will stating that the sons have to race each other in order to win his possessions. Hilarity ensues. May 25, 2006

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