The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T (1953)

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The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T
DVD Price: ~~$19.94~~ $17.99
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Directed by	Roy Rowland
Cast	Peter Lind Hayes, Mary Healy, Hans Conried, Tommy Rettig, John Heasley, George Chakiris, Kim Charney and Henry Kulky
Theatrical Release	July 1, 1953
DVD Release	April 24, 2001
Running Time	92 minutes
MPAA Rating	G (General Audience)
UPC Code	043396058361
Buy this item	$17.99 at Amazon.com As of Oct 12 17:58 EDT (details) 1 DVD, Sony Pictures, Usually ships in 24 hours, Closed-captioned, Color, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Subtitled, NTSC Languages: English (Original Language - Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled), French (Dubbed - Unknown), Spanish (Dubbed - Unknown) Or 39 new from $7.02, 10 used from $7.34, 1 collectible from $20.00

About The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T

Bart: I don't think the piano is my instrument.
Dr. Terwilliker: What other instruments are there, pray tell? Scratchy violins, screechy piccolos, nauseating trumpets, et cetera, et cetera?

The only live-action Dr. Seuss movie for nearly a half-century, this delightful musical comedy is a treat--something for kids who thought they have seen everything. Young Bart (Tommy Rettig of TV's Lassie) detests his piano lessons with the fanatical Dr. Terwilliker (Hans Conried). As with Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, Bart falls into a dream world in which the piano teacher--renamed Dr. T--is ruler and children are hunted down to have piano lessons. Worse yet, Dr. T has magical control over Bart's mom (Mary Healy). The Oscar-nominated songs are uneven but the art direction is superb, creating a truly magical world (and the world's longest piano). Dr. Seuss's love for language stays intact. Many kids of the 1950s might remember Bart's five-fingered beanie, which was a top seller. Great fun for the 5-10 age range, and adults too. --Doug Thomas Amazon.com

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User Reviews

Average user review:

(38 reviews)

Wonderfully surreal!

Adult Dr Seuss fans will love this live action Dr Seuss movie from the early 50s. It's a bit advanced for the younger Dr Seuss set, but for this surreal tale of a boy's persecution by his piano teacher with music and sets in full Seuss mode bring howls of laughter from those of us who grew up on The Cat in the Hat and hated piano lessons! The background bits, like the fear of the bomb, make it a real period piece, too. We had it on VHS for years and were happy to be able to keep on watching on DVD. January 8, 2008

The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T

Wildly imaginative, deliriously kooky film was co-written by Theodor Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss), and captures the fun, off-kilter spirit of his books. Some over-the-top set pieces get showcased in saturated `50s Technicolor, sure to keep viewers of all ages glued to the screen. Conried is a hoot as the maniacal Doctor, Rettig refreshingly understated as Bart, and Hayes appealing as Zabladowski, the affable plumber (!) who comes through in the clinch. Sure-fire family entertainment, suitable for younger kids. June 26, 2007

Classics are good!

I remember watching this so many Saturdays mornings on my local TV station. When I caught it late night on AMC I knew I had to show it to my kids. Some songs were so stuck in my head that I was able to sing along. It wowed my kids with all the crazy Seuss details...the costumes and set design are a hoot! I loved the words and dialog. The story is a bit simple, but then most of life's pleasures are. Try it...you will like it. May 13, 2007

Deliciously Surreal

Colorful, vibrant, and sweetly charming.

Must have a good sense of humour to enjoy it! :) January 17, 2007

Great movie, but this DVD needs to be "dressed up" a bit more.

First of all, I'm reviewing the DVD product and not the movie.

This is one of those movies that you either get or you don't. If you've searched for this movie and bought it, chances are you "get it" so I won't write about the movie itself.

This is possibly the most disturbing, unique, and fun kids movie ever. I wish there had been some sort of documentary on the DVD. Even if all the original people involved in the production are no longer with us, just some commentary from a film historian would have been interesting. Just what impact did this film have when it was released in 1952?

Also, the DVD navigation acted strangely. When I was in the bonus cartoon the "return to menu" function on my DVD player didn't work. I had to hit stop and reboot the DVD to get out of the cartoon and back to the main menu.

The "bonus cartoon" however was a wonderful surprise: an original "Gerald McBoing Boing" cartoon (Gerald McBoing Boing's Symphony). I'd never seen one of these and I totally loved it.

So, I got a great and fascinating movie and a wonderful bonus cartoon, but I was left wanting to learn more, and all I had left to look at were a few black and white still pictures from the production. March 17, 2006

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