Tall Tales & Legends
Tall Tales & Legends (also known as Shelley Duvall's Tall Tales & Legends) is an American folklore anthology television series of 9 episodes created by television and film actress Shelley Duvall, who also served as Executive Producer and narrator, alongside Fred Fuchs, following her success with her first anthology series, Faerie Tale Theatre. It ran from 1985–1987 on Showtime as well as The Disney Channel. It adapted various American-based folk tales and stories of bravery. The series was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. It was followed up by a four-part anthology series, titled Nightmare Classics.
| Tall Tales and Legends | |
|---|---|
| Also known as | Tall Tales & Legends |
| Created by | Shelley Duvall |
| Presented by | Shelley Duvall |
| Starring | Various |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 9 |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Shelley Duvall |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | Showtime |
| Original release | September 25, 1985 – January 2, 1987 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | Shelley Duvall's Faerie Tale Theatre |
| Followed by | Shelley Duvall's Nightmare Classic |
Episodes
| No. | Title | Directed by | Original airdate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" | Edd Griles | September 25, 1985 | |
| Ed Begley Jr. stars as Ichabod Crane, a timid schoolteacher who faces a headless horseman one dark Halloween night. Cast: Ed Begley Jr., Beverly D'Angelo, Charles Durning, Tim Thomerson [1] | ||||
| 2 | "Annie Oakley" | Michael Lindsay-Hogg | December 24, 1985 | |
| Jamie Lee Curtis stars as "Little Miss Sure Shot" Annie Oakley in this charming portrayal of the legendary sharpshooter & "Wild West" icon. Cast: Jamie Lee Curtis, Brian Dennehy as Buffalo Bill, Cliff DeYoung, Nancy Lenehan [2] | ||||
| 3 | "Pecos Bill" | Howard Storm | January 1, 1986 | |
| Raised by coyotes, Pecos Bill grows up to be the cowboy who puts the "wild" in the Wild West. His daring adventure to save the state of Texas from drought proves that acts of selflessness and bravery are never forgotten. Cast: Rebecca De Mornay, Steve Guttenberg, Martin Mull, Peter Billingsley, Claude Akins [3] | ||||
| 4 | "Casey at the Bat" | David Steinberg | January 20, 1986 | |
| Elliott Gould stars as Casey Frank, a down-on-his-luck baseball player who follows his dreams to become the biggest star in the game. Cast: Elliott Gould, Carol Kane, Hamilton Camp, Rae Dawn Chong, Bill Macy [4] | ||||
| 5 | "Darlin' Clementine" | Jerry London | February 8, 1986 | |
| Shelley Duvall portrays Clementine, a lonely woman who takes care of everyone around her until her selfish father learns a valuable lesson. Cast: Ed Asner, David Dukes, Shelley Duvall, Gordon Jump [5] | ||||
| 6 | "Johnny Appleseed" | Christopher Guest | October 31, 1986 | |
| Johnny Appleseed (Martin Short) travels across the land with a cooking pot on his head and his pockets filled with apple seeds and shows that there’s nothing wrong with being different. Cast: Rob Reiner, Molly Ringwald, Martin Short, Michael McKean, Anne Jackson, Will Sampson [6] | ||||
| 7 | "Ponce de Leon" | Sheldon Larry | November 16, 1986 | |
| Michael York stars as Ponce de Leon, the famed Spanish explorer whose quest to discover the legendary "Fountain of Youth" is botched by the actions of Lucy the Pirate. With a little help and guidance from the "Mysterious Stranger," the two learn that eternal youth is not all it's cracked up to be. Cast: Michael York, Sally Kellerman, Paul Rodriguez, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Lewis Arquette [7] | ||||
| 8 | "John Henry" | Ray Danton | December 1, 1986 | |
| Danny Glover stars as the greatest steel driver of all time, a former slave who stands up to his boss (Corbin) and the new steam drill he has purchased. Vowing not to be replaced by a machine, John Henry challenges the steam drill to a one-on-one competition. Cast: Danny Glover, Tom Hulce, Lynn Whitfield, Lou Rawls, Barry Corbin, Thelma Houston [8] | ||||
| 9 | "Davy Crockett" | David Grossman | January 2, 1987 | |
| A jr high teacher (Michael McKean) gives a bored, delinquent student a magical book, which takes him back in time to the open American frontier of the 1820s, where Davy Crockett (Davis) earns a reputation for bravery and courage and proves that anything is possible. Cast: Mac Davis, McLean Stevenson as Andrew Jackson, Adam Carl, Mimi Kennedy [9] | ||||
Home media
Several episodes were issued on VHS by CBS/Fox Video in the 1980s. Lyrick Studios made it a nine video series on VHS in 1998. Koch Entertainment issued the entire series on DVD in 2005. The episodes were available as separate DVDs or together as a nine-disc box set. The complete series was issued again, this time in a three-DVD set, by E1 Entertainment in 2009.