THE 5000 FINGERS OF DR. T
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 1995 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ** 1/2
THE 5000 FINGERS OF DR. T. is 1952 movie showing in revival around the US, and it is also on video. My (almost) six-year-old, loved it so much that we saw it twice in the same month.
THE 5000 FINGERS OF DR. T. was written by Dr. Seuss but it *not* an animated film. Although the writing reminds you of Dr. Seuss's wit, it is not done in rhyme which I must admit I somewhat wish it had been. Of the many memorable lines was "I know he talks a lot, but I wonder if he says very much". The images are classic Dr. Seuss, but more on that later.
The movie tells the story of Bartholomew (Tommy Rettig) who is a little boy being forced by his mom (Mary Healy) to take piano lessons from the hated Dr. Terwilliger (Hans Conried). His mother is a widow and the boy wishes she would marry the plumber (Peter Lind Hayes). 98% of the movie is a dream the boy has where he is put in a dungeon along with 499 other boys. They are to play the worlds longest piano which is in the Terwilliger Institute. This turns out to be a scam to raise money, and Dr. T has drugged the mom into being his "number 2" in command. The boy and the plumber spend most of the movie trying to get out of this predicament.
The movie is partially a musical and has some dance numbers as well. It is filled with the same sort of bizarre images from the Dr. Seuss books. The guards are all beefy guys with Brooklyn accents and 2 day old beards. They wear bright blue uniforms with bright yellow swim caps, sashes, gun holders, and spats. The boys in the Terwilliger Institute all have blue beanies on with the words "Happy Fingers" and with a yellow hand on top with the fingers raised in a "happy position". Dr. T. and the boy's mom wear some pretty outrageous costumes as well.
Depending on your mood and your age, you may love this show, may think it is terminally silly, or may be somewhere in between. In the end I gave it ** 1/2, and I recommend it to people of all ages IF they can be young at heart. I understand that the movie bombed when it was first released, but is now considered something of a cult classic. My son, as would any kid from 3-10 I think, loves the show. We took along one of his buddies, and he liked it too. If your kid has to have the fast pacing of today's action heroes, he or she might be bored by it however. It does run 1:35 which was a tad long. It is unrated, but if there was rating below G, it would get it. The people in this movie did not even think bad words much less say them, and there certainly is nothing violent, sexy, or anything to offend anyone.
**** = One of the top few films of this or any year. A must see film. *** = Excellent show. Look for it. ** = Average movie. Kind of enjoyable. * = Poor show. Don't waste your money. 0 = One of the worst films of this or any year. Totally unbearable.
REVIEWED WRITTEN ON: January 21, 1995
Opinions expressed are mine and not meant to reflect my employer's.
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