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Johnny Tremain is a 1957 American adventure drama film made by Walt Disney Productions, released by Buena Vista Distribution, and based on the 1944 Newbery Medal-winning children's novel of the same name by Esther Forbes, retelling the story of the years in Boston, Massachusetts prior to the outbreak of the American Revolution. Johnny Tremain was the first Disney live-action film to be directed by Robert Stevenson. It was made for television but was first released in theatres. Walt Disney understood the new technology of color television and filmed his Walt Disney anthology television series in color, but the show, known as Disneyland at that time, was broadcast in black and white. After its theater run in 1957, the film was shown in its entirety on television in two episodes, rather than as a complete film on a single evening, on November 21 and December 5, 1958.