TRIVIAL PURSUITS
Remembering the spread of Beatlemania
On the night of Aug. 27, 1964, Hollywood’s iconic Grauman’s Chinese Theater was packed for the premiere of what would become Walt Disney’s biggest film success to date: Mary Poppins. When the curtain fell later, the audience rose to offer a five-minute standing ovation.
But not everybody stood to cheer that night. One holdout, a woman in her mid-60s, wept quietly. P.L. Travers, the author of the Mary Poppins books, disapproved of what Disney and his writers had done to her story. Travers, who once said Mary Poppins “never wastes time being nice,” envisioned her fictional nanny as one who avoids mawkishness and fanciful behavior as she seriously goes about her job—the opposite of what perky Julie Andrews brought to the screen in her first major movie role.
Disney became aware of Mary Poppins through the enthusiasm of his young daughters. He then spent 20 years in pursuit of Travers’ approval to turn her novel creation into a flesh-and-blood movie star.
Disney finally won a reluctant “yes” after offering Travers a $100,000 advance, 5% of the film’s gross and script approval (although the savvy Disney would really have the final say).
The British author felt the film’s original music hall-style tunes were a mismatch with
Mary Poppins’ themes, and she was irked by Dick Van Dyke’s animated dancing penguins.
Mary Poppins won five Academy Awards, including
Best Actress (Julie Andrews) and, undoubtedly to Travers’ chagrin, Best Visual Effects.
Mary Poppins was nominated for 13 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.