The 5,000 Fingers Of Dr. T
Watched a great film this weekend...
The 5,000 Fingers Of Dr. T is unfortunately an almost forgotten masterpiece of film that marked the first and best production of a Dr, Suess tale brought to life on the big screen. This 1953 movie is so brillant, so fun, so charming and vivid it's simply criminal that it fared poorly when it was released and as a result dwells in undeserved obscurity. This flick should be a staple along movies like the Wizard Of Oz and early Disney animation.
Here we see Bart, a young boy and his most dreaded chore, piano lessons, being forced upon him by a mother who doesn't see how harsh and over demanding Dr. Terwilliker, the toughest piano teacher ever, can be in his quest for perfection in his students. Worse yet, only Bart has uncovered the secret plan behind Dr T's marathon piano sessions, an insanely evil scheme to hold 500 boys in slavery in order to create the ultimate piano masterpiece. Dr. T will stop at nothing to get his way, constructing a dungeon to keep his students imprisoned as well as building a massive piano that requires 5,000 fingers to command it. He's so diabolical he'll even resort to hypnotizing Bart's mom to pull off his ruthless plan!
All of this is framed by wonderful sets and rich art-direction that alone makes this a fantastic movie. The surreal visual style of Dr. Suess is far-better realized here than the two most recent big-screen messes that Hollywood threw upon us based on the late Doc's work. The flowing, bright colored costumes are over the top in the right kind of way. Oh yeah, and it's also a musical that manages to avoid the typical showtuney annoyances of hideous songs and cheesy dance numbers! How can it be that this movie isn't a classic that everyone knows by heart?
The only thing I dread is that I'm sure there's some Hollywood hack out there who's thinking, "Y'know, we should "reimagine" that Dr. T movie, somebody get that Tim Burton guy on the phone...."
Here's a Dr. T fanpage with lots of informative stuff....
The 5,000 Fingers Of Dr. T is unfortunately an almost forgotten masterpiece of film that marked the first and best production of a Dr, Suess tale brought to life on the big screen. This 1953 movie is so brillant, so fun, so charming and vivid it's simply criminal that it fared poorly when it was released and as a result dwells in undeserved obscurity. This flick should be a staple along movies like the Wizard Of Oz and early Disney animation.
Here we see Bart, a young boy and his most dreaded chore, piano lessons, being forced upon him by a mother who doesn't see how harsh and over demanding Dr. Terwilliker, the toughest piano teacher ever, can be in his quest for perfection in his students. Worse yet, only Bart has uncovered the secret plan behind Dr T's marathon piano sessions, an insanely evil scheme to hold 500 boys in slavery in order to create the ultimate piano masterpiece. Dr. T will stop at nothing to get his way, constructing a dungeon to keep his students imprisoned as well as building a massive piano that requires 5,000 fingers to command it. He's so diabolical he'll even resort to hypnotizing Bart's mom to pull off his ruthless plan!
All of this is framed by wonderful sets and rich art-direction that alone makes this a fantastic movie. The surreal visual style of Dr. Suess is far-better realized here than the two most recent big-screen messes that Hollywood threw upon us based on the late Doc's work. The flowing, bright colored costumes are over the top in the right kind of way. Oh yeah, and it's also a musical that manages to avoid the typical showtuney annoyances of hideous songs and cheesy dance numbers! How can it be that this movie isn't a classic that everyone knows by heart?
The only thing I dread is that I'm sure there's some Hollywood hack out there who's thinking, "Y'know, we should "reimagine" that Dr. T movie, somebody get that Tim Burton guy on the phone...."
Here's a Dr. T fanpage with lots of informative stuff....