Missouri Traveler, The (BLU-RAY) Pre-Order Deadline December 29/26 Release Date February 2/27

Newly restored by ClassicFlix in 4K, the 1958 family classic The Missouri Traveler starring Brandon deWilde, Lee Marvin and Gary Merrill makes its Blu-ray debut!

While on his way to Florida, runaway orphan Biarn Turner (deWilde) finds himself passing through the small town of Delphi, Missouri, where he quickly endears himself to the local populace, and also becomes the protege of two of the hamlet's most prominent citizens: wealthy rancher Tobias Brown (Marvin), frequently at odds with the townsfolk, and newspaper publisher Doyle Magee (Merrill), who sees much of himself in the young traveler.

Featuring a spirited horse race, and a climactic knock-down, drag-out brawl between Brown and Magee, The Missouri Traveler is also a wonderful evocation of small-town, turn-of-the-century life (complete with Fourth of July parade) with a Disney-esque feel which can be attributed to the fact that the film was, in fact, distributed by Buena Vista Productions.

Child star Brandon deWilde – familiar to moviegoers for his starring turns in The Member of the Wedding and Shane – makes for an engaging juvenile protagonist, and is assisted with fine performances by Lee Marvin, Gary Merrill, Paul Ford and newcomer Mary Hosford (a real-life society woman married to producer C.V. Whitney at the time). Rounding out the cast of Traveler are a plethora of veteran character actors including Ken Curtis, Frank Cady, Will Wright, Kathleen Freeman and Mary Field.

Directed by Jerry Hopper (The Atomic City), and photographed by Winton C. Hoch (The Quiet Man), The Missouri Traveler was the second entry in producer C.V. Whitney’s “America” trilogy series (the first was the motion picture classic The Searchers).