The Musical. This Blu-ray is the best by far. Shop The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T [DVD] [1953] at Best Buy. The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. is a 1953 American musical fantasy film about a boy who dreams himself into a fantasy world ruled by a diabolical piano teacher enslaving children to practice piano forever. : Dr. Seuss's Book of Wonderful Noises! Bart escapes from the piano, and runs off to play. [2] The "preview version" featuring the removed footage is considered lost. "[8] In 2005, the Baltimore City Paper called the film "refreshingly tart and defiant for a children's film, its space-age-by-way-of-Caligari world parks right on the delicious side of creepy. Kramer and Cohn did part ways acrimoniously in 1953, just as The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T was being released (and just as Danny Kaye and Bing Crosby, no doubt relieved at their earlier rejection of the script, were off filming their $30 million dollar smash hit White Christmas.) The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T (1953) November 30, 2008 February 6, ... Made on a fairly small budget in 1953, the film marks the only live-action piece Dr. Seuss was ever associated with during his lifetime. Period. And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, I Can Lick 30 Tigers Today! It was directed by Roy Rowland, with many uncredited takes directed by producer Stanley Kramer. Good. Certainly not your standard issue 1950s-style musical, The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T has gained a substantial cult following in the decades since its release. I have to wonder what this would have been like if left as Suess intended? Young Bart (Tommy Rettig of TV's Lassie) detests his piano lessons with the fanatical Dr. Terwilliker (Hans Conried). Geisel regarded the film as a "debaculous fiasco" and omitted mention of it in his official biography. (Prices may vary for AK and HI.). We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Bart feels that his mother has fallen under Terwilliker's influence, and gripes to plumber August Zabladowski (Peter Lind Hayes), without result. Read no more of this review if you want a summary of the plot for the the 1953 film, "5,000 Fingers of Dr. T". Bart's mother has become Terwilliker's hypnotized assistant and bride-to-be, and Bart must dodge the Institute's guards as he scrambles to save his mother and himself. The singing voice of Tommy Rettig was dubbed by Tony Butala,[citation needed] the founder of The Lettermen. The only live-action Dr. Seuss movie for nearly a half-century, this delightful musical comedy is a treat--something for kids who thought they have seen everything. "[1] His influence on set design and choreography is also evident in the film. Great musical numbers including a fantastic orchestral ballet. The art direction is one with the dream symbolism and it is fabulous. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Super 1950s early Wide Screen Musical from Stanley Kramer tells the story of a young boys nightmare being forced to play the piano in a creepy castle. It was directed by Roy Rowland, with many takes directed, uncredited, by producer Stanley Kramer. INVADERS FROM MARS and THE THING could do this and tell five other stories at the same time but those films were done by genius, not just competency. ), Reviewed in the United States on March 28, 2018. Films from this era don't look better than this. Dr. T is determined to prove that his "Happy Fingers Method" of teaching piano is the best method in the world. Dr. Terwilliker has built a huge Serpentine piano that requires 500 boys to play it, hence the 5,000 fingers. Childhood Memories brought about by this release. [1] Geisel followed it up with a 1200-page script, with "themes of world dominance and oppression coming out of World War II. 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