THE 5000 FINGERS OF DR T
Oh, The Place You’ll Go!
released 24 July 1953 | u | Blu-ray & dVd (dual format)
Director roy rowland Cast Tommy rettig, Mary Healy, Hans Conried, Peter lind Hayes
Sadly, we’ll never see this captivating musical fantasy as originally intended, as producer Stanley Kramer took it apart, cutting a staggering 11 songs. But its Technicolor Expressionism remains a singular vision.
Conceived by Theodor Geisel – aka Dr Seuss – before he was a household name, its Wizard Of Oz-ish setup sees a boy who nods off during piano practice and transported to a dream realm, meeting versions of his piano teacher, his mother, and friendly plumber Mr Zabladowski. Young Bart’s just the first student seated at the tyrannical Dr Terwilliker’s giant piano, with another 499 due soon – hence the “5000 fingers”.
Anyone who thrilled to Seuss’s books as a kid will recognise his characteristic wordplay, and the production design is stunning, with epic sets and clever use of matte paintings creating a surreal world of towering structures. It’s a depopulated world, and the plot is similarly sparse. But sequences like the gesture battle between Zabladowski and the gloriously OTT Terwilliker, or a dungeon sequence with scores of extras playing weird mutant instruments, are a sheer delight.
Extras A pair of film historians provide commentary. Two new interviews (35 minutes) see musician Michael Feinstein discussing his quest to reassemble the soundtrack, and the director’s son providing an overview of pop’s career. A short intro and two more featurettes are carried over from a 2007 US release. You also get a short appreciation by Joe Dante, a gallery, the trailer and a 40-page booklet.
Director Roy Rowland got so stressed-out by what was going on with the film that he developed ulcers.