Customer Reviews

The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T

5 star:		(35)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was one of my favorite films as a boy and its imagination and camp, crazy vision still enchants as an adult! Hans Conreid turns in the most wonderfully demented, camp villain performance since Ernest Thesiger's prim and fussy Dr. Pretorius in "Bride of Frankenstein"! "Do Me Do Duds" is a scream! The song of the Terwiliker Institute, "Hurray For Us!" is a riot! And, yes, the song, "You Have No Right," is touching and poignant. The one sure to give little ones nightmares will most likely be what I call "The Elevator Song." I don't know who the S&M Dungeon Master/Elevator Operator is, but BOY can he belt out a scary little ditty. One word of warning to those who care about the quality of the print of your films, the video reviewed here is an excellent restored print, apparently taken from the original negative. The Technicolors are vibrant and alive, BUT there's a clamshell packaged version floating around out there you should avoid at all costs. The print used for this version is washed out and lifeless and even turning the color control up on your TV won't compensate for a poor quality print. Apparently, when Columbia/Tristar labeled the film for their Family Collection, they figured most families must be color blind and wouldn't notice. So remember, if it says clamshell packaging, avoid it! The ONLY reason to buy the clamshell version would be if you needed the closed-caption feature, but what a rip off! The deaf are being cheated out of a great visual experience with this truly horrible print.

Hollywood could not do a better movie today if they tried, even with modern special effects technology and buckets of money, witness the live-action "Grinch" if you don't believe me. I first saw this movie as a child in the late 1970s where it was a staple of Saturday afternoon movies. What can be said? Hans Conried makes this movie as the campy, completely over the top and utterly mad Dr. Terwilliker.
The story and sets are wonderful, reflecting the fertile, and rather twisted, imagination of Theodore Seuss Geisel. Tommy Rettig is perfect, and never annoying as Bartholemew Cubbins, the precocious child star of the movie, Mary Healy plays his mother and Peter Lind Hayes plays the wise plumber, August Zabladowski.
This movie is billed as a musical, it's not much of one, the songs seem as if they were tacked on to the rest of the production, however the movie is so good that even this cannot detract from it.
The DVD transfer is very good, much better than the earlier VHS transfers, there isn't much in the way of special features, just a trailer and some photo stills, but given the fact that this movie was made 50 years ago this isn't surprising. My only complaint about the disk is that the sound seems somewhat muffled in places, although free of the more objectionable forms of distortion. The scene with Peter Lind Hayes and Hans Conreid attempting to put a whammy on each other is sheerly fantastic.

One of the things I loved so much about the 5,000 Fingers of Dr T is I related to the Tommy Rettig character in that I also had to practice the piano every day. It's a wonderful window into the world of the child who is basically at the mercy of whatever his parents deem appropriate for him to do in his spare time. When I got older I appreciated being able to play the piano but I was not overly fond of it as a child. Tommy Rettig was one of the best child actors of the day, prior to Lassie. Hans Conreid makes a wonderful villain but the absolute best part of the movie is the incredible Seuss sets! There's a wonderful scene of an enormous piano, seemingly miles long, with acres of enslaved children feverishly pounding away on the keyboard...I still want a beanie with a hand coming out of the top, and I would love to have a room or two in my house designed just like the sets in the movie. From the first time I saw a Dali painting as a child I loved surrealism and there is an abundance of it in this movie. Totally unique from anything you've ever seen, a different excursion into the Seussian interpretation of a child's world trapped in a musical dictatorship. Although it was made in 1953 it translates beautifully into today by virtue of its fantasy; children still dwell in dreams part of the time!

With script and set design by Dr. Suess, this 1952 film is a visual treat. It is both timeless and a 1950's time capsule. The stars are Peter Lind Hayes and Mary Healy, a popular married duo of the times who have slid into history. The main struggle is between piano teacher Dr. T played by Hans Conried [voice of Disney's TV Magic Mirror and Jay Ward's Snidley Whiplash] and his reluctant student Bart played by Tommy Rettig before he became Lassie's original TV owner. Dr. T wants the bored Bart to practice his piano playing for a recital, but Bart wants to go outside and play baseball. Hayes is a returning veteran working as a plumber who spars/sparks with Healy as Bart's mom, widowed by the Korean Police Action. The bulk of the film is a Suessian dream sequence featuring such set pieces as a dancing hypnosis duel between Hayes and Conreid, a roller skating duel between Hayes and a pair of twins joined at the beard, and the demented dance of the non-piano players. Then there is the giant piano where 500 children [the 5,000 Fingers]play simultaniously There are atomic fears, the powerless place of children, family bonding, Freudian symbolism, meglomania, and musical prejudice. Most of deeper themes will appeal to adults while the younger viewers will enjoy the fantasy [that becomes darker before rising to a happy ending] elements which stand the test of time over 50 years later. I am very pleased that it is finally on DVD.

Let me start by saying that I don't really consider myself to be a fan of Dr. Seuss - especially since his death when his talents have been overshadowed by merciless overexposure, merchandising, and rotten live-action films (i.e. Cat in the Hat). When I sat down to watch this film I wasn't sure I was going to like it, but in the first few minutes any doubts I had were swept away. This is one of the best movies I've seen in... well, probably ever.

You can sense the touch of Dr. Seuss in the script, the sets, and the songs, but things don't get mired in the more nonsensical elements of some of his other work. You might say he dialed back his "seussiness" a little, and for me that was a good thing. Of course, there is still a strong undertone of weirdness, and wonderfully so. Most of the film takes place in a dream, and the narrative has that dreamy non-logic (it seems perfectly reasonable to have a cocktail of vintage pickle juice.) The sets are beautiful - sometimes austere, sometimes wildly surreal, with an excellent use of monotone and color to evoke mood. The songs are also very imaginative - Seuss' mastery of language shines without getting bogged down in made-up words. The "dressing song" has to be heard (and seen) to be believed.

The acting is top-notch, and some of the dance numbers are amazing (especially an incredible set-piece featuring all the captive non-pianists in Dr. T's dungeon). Some scenes may be a little off-putting to some viewers (a hooded executioner/elevator operator singing a song about the various tortures available in the dungeon, eyes bugging out through the holes in his mask, for example) but if you have a taste for the unusual, this movie is an absolute must.

The undeniable brilliance of Dr. Seuss' wordsmithing is most evident in this darkly comic fantasy. The songs are cute and clever, with "The Dressing Song" standing out as the high-camp highlight of the show; a hoot of a salute to cross-dressing. This movie was way ahead of its time, and the sets and costumes are nothing short of magnificent given the year in which it was produced. This new DVD edition has its little flaws, but they are only reproduced from whatever original was used, and overall it's a lovely digital transfer. I don't believe this was meant to be a children's movie at all, though Dr. T is a rather benign villain. The good doctor (Seuss) tries to add a bit of social relevance with a poke at the evils of atomic power, but all in all there are more serious psychological and homoerotic overtones that should worry parents of 4-8 year olds. I'll be watching this film over and over again to pick up the myriad avenues of fantasy that are employed. For adults, this is a great flick and definitely earns a spot on my "top ten" list.

"The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T" is a journey into the extraordinary, the unbelievable, and the entertaining. Albeit, it's wacky, but how else should the wonderful world of Dr. Seuss be? If you are up for a fantastic adventure into dreamland, than look no further!

Bart Collins is your average little boy--he loves his mom, he likes to play with his dog, and there is nothing he despises more than practicing the piano. No doubt his eccentric, but strangely captivating piano instructor, Dr. Terwilliker, has something to do with this. After a particularly trying lesson, Bart falls asleep at the ivories and is transported to the Terwilliker Institute, a prison-castle for tiny piano players like himself. He immediately attempts escape, but finds himself surrounded by a whole lot of bizarre characters, including some green-skinned musician-hostages who do not play the piano.

This colorful film may be a bit quirky, but beneath its oddity is a charming story that is sure to involve you and stimulate your imagination. Every aspect of "Fingers" is truly memorable, from the beautiful set to the catchy sing-along numbers to the original screenplay. This is a movie that the entire family will love--kids can identify with Bart and Dr. Seuss, adults can enjoy the music and choreography, and everyone will want to watch it again and again.

Once you watch "The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T," you'll see why I went crazy when I was able to tape it on TV (and went crazy when someone taped over it!). I couldn't wait until this title appeared on DVD! Get it while it's hot! :)

En helt underbar sagofilm i musikalform. Missa inte filmens absoluta höjdpunkt - de pianolösas konsert.

Forget about all the stupid crap Hollywood has made with Theodore Giesel's pseudonym on it that has been spewed in recent years, THIS is a 100% live-action Seuss feature co-written by the man himself. Lavishly produced and wildy inventive, The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T is the quintessential excursion into a child's wild imagination.

Dr. T centers around a boy named Bartholomew Collins who falls asleep playing the piano. He awakens in bizarre musical institution run by his real-life piano Dr. Terwilliker. He attempts to escape before Dr. T conducts a concert with 500 boys playing on a massive piano. As Bart makes his way through out the massive and bizarrely constructed building he finds his brain washed mother, a dugeon for anyone who dosen't play any instrument besides the piano, and a series of wonderfully coreographed and over the top musical numbers.

The great thing about Dr. T is it really feels like a kid's film. Dr. T's institute looks exactly like something out of a Dr. Seuss book. Adults are big orges who are corrupt and are after their own selfish interests and the kids are the great rebels. Nothing is grounded in reality. You have two guys skating who have attached by a long beard, half naked guys with stripped pants, and young men painted green preforming musical in shredded tuxedos. The songs are catchy and pleasing and as I said earlier, the coreography was spectacular. It's films like this that are missing out of kids' lives today; Entertainment that encourages them to use their imagination.

This has always been one of my all time favorite films.Everything about the film clicks and the spirit is deep and thought provoking.
A control freak is not going to like this since this is an allegory about control,anarchy,rebellion and their effects and consequences.
Don't let anyone tell you this film is harmless. It's not. It's 100% totally weird. And it's Atomic. Watch it at your own freak out. But don't forget to duck and cover.
James(alicefan)