Ted Geisel (Dr. Seuss) wrote 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T, an eccentric fantasy about a young boy named Bart (Tommy Rettig), who doesn’t enjoy his piano lessons with the mean Dr. Terwilliker (Hans Conried).
The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. | |
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Instead, he prefers to play baseball with his friends or helping his grown-up buddy-plumber Arthur Zabladowski (Peter Lind Hayes).
One night, while asleep, Bart has a dream in which he’s trapped in the kingdom of the fearsome Dr. T, who has enslaved many little boys, forcing them to practice on the world’s largest piano. Bart plans a revolt that will destroy Dr. T’s evil empire.
The movie features songs for which Geisel contributed lyrics.
Oscar Nominations: 1
Scoring Musical: Frederick Hollander and Morris Stoloff
Oscar Context
The winner was Alfred Newman for Call Me Madam.
Narrative Structure:
Young Bart Collins (Tommy Rettig) lives with his widowed mother Heloise (Mary Healy). He endures piano lessons under the tutelage of the autocratic Dr. Terwilliker (Hans Conried). Bart feels that his mother has fallen under Terwilliker’s influence, and gripes to their plumber, August Zabladowski (Peter Lind Hayes). While hammering at his lessons, Bart dozes off.
In his musical dream, Bart is trapped at the surreal Terwilliker Institute, where the piano teacher is madman dictator who has imprisoned non-piano-playing musicians. He built a piano so large that it requires Bart and 499 other boys (hence, 5,000 fingers) to play it.
Bart’s mother has become Terwilliker’s hypnotized assistant and bride-to-be. Bart must dodge the Institute’s guards as he scrambles to save his mother and himself. He tries to recruit Mr. Zabladowski, who was hired to install the Institute’s lavatories ahead of a vital inspection, but only after skepticism and foot-dragging is Zabladowski convinced to help. The two construct a noise-sucking contraption which ruins the mega-piano’s opening concert. The enslaved boys run riot, and the “atomic” noise-sucker explodes in spectacular fashion, bringing Bart out from his dream.
The movie ends on a hopeful note for Bart, when Mr. Zabladowski notices Heloise and offers to drive her to town in his jeep. Bart escapes from the piano and runs down the street to play, with his dog Sport joyfully capering at his heels.
Cast
Peter Lind Hayes as August Zabladowski
Mary Healy as Heloise Collins
Hans Conried as Dr. Terwilliker
Tommy Rettig as Bart Collins
John Heasley as Uncle Whitney
Robert Heasley as Uncle Judson
Noel Cravat as Sgt. Lunk
Uncredited
Henry Kulky as Stroogo
George Chakiris as Dancer
Tony Butala as Boy pianist
Harry Wilson as Guard / doorman
Credits
Directed by Roy Rowland
Screenplay by Dr. Seuss, Allan Scott, based on Story and conception by Dr. Seuss
Produced by Stanley Kramer
Cinematography Frank Planer A.S.C.; Technicolor
Edited by Al Clark, A.C.E.
Music by Frederick Hollander
Production companies: Stanley Kramer Company; Columbia Pictures Corporation
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date: July 1, 1953
Running time: 92 minutes
Budget: $2.75 million
DVD: April 24, 2001