The Apple Dumpling Gang (1975)

The “Apple Dumpling Gang” is the equal of a sick beagle. You can’t not go, “Awww,” and smile. I must have seen this film a dozen times as a child, back when there was a “Disney Sunday Night Movie” on network TV, pre-cable. We have the Disney essentials: A trio of adorable orphans, an exasperated father figure (Bill Bixby), two bumbling thieves (Don Knotts and Tim Conway) who couldn’t steal bark from a tree, and a bad guy (Slim Pickens) so harmless, he’s huggable. The story: Bixby’s all-for-me gambler is hoodwinked into taking custody of the children, who in turn find a massive gold boulder in an abandoned mine. The gold brings much attention, but all the kids want is a dad. There’s a scene where Pickens says he’ll “blow a hole” in somebody “so big, you can throw a mule through it,” and that describes the plot. But this is harmless fun and still entertaining. Disney films from this era had amazing casts, hands down. B+