Dad's Army - 1968-1977 (BBC TV series, Episode, If the Cap Fits). Captain Mainwaring (Arthur Lowe) scores a rare victory over Private Frazer (John Laurie) in an episode which concludes with the piping of the haggis at a regimental dinner.
Daffy Duck - The Tazmainian Devil is on the loose with $5,000 reward for his capture. Daffy hits upon the old notion of music soothing the savage beast. He tries various instruments to settle Taz down. In one scene he comes into frame playing the great highland bagpipes while sporting a tam and kilt. Taz, of course doesn't like the pipes, and tears them from Daffy's hands and stomps on them. They then die a slow whining death.
Dance me outside - 1994 - It features Adam Beach and Michael Greyeyes and has some brief bagpipe playing.
Darby O'Gill and the Little People - 1959 - This delightful Disney flick includes a Sean Connery so young that he is only easily identifiable by his voice. When Darby (Albert Sharpe) falls down a well and joins king Brian Connors and his subjects in a subterranean revel in the heart of Mount Knocknasheega, there is a leprechaun standing on a rock playing a reedy (what else), and primitive, set of pipes.
The Day They Robbed The Bank of England - 1960 - The solo piper plays Scotland the Brave and The Barren Rocks of Aden during the opening credits, Farewell to the Creeks in the middle, and Highland Laddie in the closing credits.
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The Dead Poets' Society - 1989 128 minutes. Directed by Peter Weir, starring Robin Williams, and Robert Sean Leonard, the movie tells the story of young men at a New England prep school and their unconventional teacher. A piper, performed by, John Bradley on a set of silver and ivory Hendersons (see image), plays Scotland the Brave in the opening scene. He is seen later playing The Fields of Athenry beside the lake and also is heard in a dorm room playing the practice chanter. This is perhaps the only commercial movie in which the practice chanter is played --- anyone know of others? During the closing credits, orchestral music accompanies three other pipers: Henry Rollins, Bill Boetticher, and Mike Reynolds of the Los Angeles and District Pipe Band.
The Desert Rats - 1953 88 minutes - Directed by Robert Wise, starring Richard Burton, Robert Newton, Robert Douglas and James Mason, the movie gives an impersonal account of warfare (The Battle of Tobruk) with very realistic battle scenes. The pipers play Gary Owen when the siege is broken by a British armored unit.
Dexter's Laboratory (TV cartoon on the Cartoon Network) One episode features a set of bagpipes. The bagpipes are portrayed as live monster. The bag is the body of the monster, the blowpipe is a tail, the chanter is a snout, and the drones are three heads.
| Historically The Devil's Brigade, as the First Special Service Force became known, was made up of Americans and Canadians. The Canadian contingent was known officially, for record keeping purposes in Ottawa mainly, as the First Canadian Special Service Battalion. This Battalion was drawn from volunteers from across the Canadian Army, and men arrived in Montana to start their training wearing a variety of uniforms (as is shown in the film). Eventually, American uniforms were issued to all. The American contingent became the forerunner of the U.S. Army Special Forces. |
The Devil's Brigade - 1966 - features the Salt Lake Scots portraying the pipe band of the Brigade. Richard Dawson, (of Hogan's Heroes and Family Feud fame), plays one of the pipers, and William Holden plays Colonel William Frederick, who was in charge of both units.
The Devil's Own - 1997 - Eric Rigler, probably the busiest American piper works again with James Horner on the soundtrack of movie starring Harrison Ford and Brad Pitt about a dramatic confrontation between the IRA (Pitt) and the NYPD (Ford). As in Braveheart Eric is heard on the uillean pipes.
The Dollar Bottom - 1980 - Produced by Lloyd Phillips, the film won an Oscar in 1981 for the best short film, live action. The movie was a short comedy about an imaginery Scots boarding school, and the bagpipes were played in the film. The piper in the film was Ronnie Abbott (who became a commissioned officer in the Hong Kong Police?). He was Pipe Major of the Daniel Stewarts Pipes Band at that time. His father, Jack Abbott is well known in the 1960s Edinburgh piping scene and was a prominent member of the Scots Guards, Edinburgh City Police Pipes Band and the Eagle Pipers Society. The movie was shot at Fettes College and at Cargilfield Prep School (both in Edinburgh) while the majority of the extras were students at Daniel Stewarts & Melville College (Edinburgh). Among the main actors were Scots thespians Rikki Fulton and Robert Urqhuart.
Dr. Phibes Rises again - 1972 89 minutes - Vincent Price stars as the abominable Phibes and in one scene he sets up mannequins holding bagpipes and plays a recording of bagpipes to lure one of his victims. (Hey, it would catch my attention).
Dr. Who - in the episode, Terror of the Zygons, the piping was heard off screen.
Dragon World - 1994 - Set in Scotland, the film is about a young American orphan who inherits a castle. In one scene, the little boy's grandfather is piping by the grave of his wife, playing The Dragon's Lullaby (possibly written for the movie --- certainly not a standard). He's shown on a set of Great Highland Bagpipes, but the sound is a duet of Uilleann pipes and pennywhistle. He tells the little kid (maybe six years old) about how the pipes are important to the lifestyle there at the old family castle, then hands the kid a miniature set of pipes, and says, "Here! You trrry!" (it is Scotland). The kid starts playing a flawless rendition of the dragon tune just like he was born to pipe, except that once again we hear the Uilleann pipes overlaid with a pennywhistle. This magical music does indeed call forth a baby dragon from the edges of time, or somewhere, and the kid then chases him down in the woods and "keeps" the dragon. The two grow up together, and live happily until some bonehead documentary director making a film about castles spots the dragon, tells some nasty industrialist, capitalistic nazi about it, and he tricks the kid into renting him the dragon for a theme park. Really stupid. There is a great looking girl as the love interest though, and they wind up all living happily ever after, except for the industrialist. The part of the piper is played by Andrew Kier.
The Drum - 1938 101 minutes - Directed by Zoltan Korda, starring Sabu, Raymond Massey, etc. the movie tells the story of an elderly Khan who is anxious for the Brits to insure his throne for his young son. Prince Ghul, however, has other ideas. It is about the British regiments and their role in India. One of the Highland dancers is a youthful John Roe, later to become the P/M of the 1st Battalion Scots Guards. The piping scenes are supposed to be very good.
Duck Tales - there is an episode in which Scrooge McDuck is having a feud with the uncouth neighbours. One night, the neighbours have a wild party, and the McDuck household can't sleep. "Now for a little Scottish Warrfarre!" says Uncle Scrooge, and marches out playing Scotland the Brave to annoy the neighbour, who proceeds to counter on the accordion.
Due South - (TV) has had a few segments of pipe music in the background of a Christmas Episode which had a bunch of Santa's with Shotguns robbed a bank.