Tom Thumb [1958 / 2000] [DVD] [USA Release] The Wonderful Musical Adventure! He’s only 5½ inches high, but he is terrific! It’s Colorsome!
Things are looking up for the woodcutter's lad named Tom Thumb. Of course, when you're a mere 51/2 inches tall, that's the only way things can look. The tiny hero overcomes hard luck and huge obstacles while saving his parents from harm in this beloved Best Special Effects Academy Award winner based on the brothers Grimm tale and produced and directed by trailblazing effects moviemaker George Pal.
Russ Tamblyn plays the title role, bringing athletic enthusiasm to an imaginative story in which toys spring to life (but only for Tom!) and unoccupied shoes happily cavort. Peggy Lee composes two of the five songs. And Terry-Thomas and Peter Sellers provide gleeful villainy. Good things do indeed come in small packages.
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1959 Academy Awards®: Win: Best Effects and Special Effects for Tom Howard. 1959 BAFTA Film Awards: Nominated: Best British Actor for Terry-Thomas [USA]. 1959 Golden Globe: Nominated: Best Motion Picture for a Musical. 1959 Laurel Awards: Nominated: Golden Laurel Award for Top Musical [4th place]. Nominated: Golden Laurel Award for Top Male Musical Performance Russ Tamblyn [5th place]. 1959 Writers Guild of America: Nominated: WGA Award (Screen) for Best Written American Musical fpr Ladislas Fodor.
FILM FACT No.2: George Pal said he had the idea to make a film out of Tom Thumb in the late 1940s when making Puppetoons for Paramount Pictures. In June 1947 he announced he would make the movie as his first feature, using a combination of actors, animation and animals. George Pal signed a deal with United Artists to make the movie for a reported $2 million with Woody Herman and Peggy Lee to star.Buddy Kaye and Sam Kiberg signed to make songs. In November Pal was reported as filming Sierra backgrounds. In January 1948 Pal said Buster Keaton and Thomas Mitchell would appear in the film. In May 1948 George Pal announced he had hired Laslo Vadnay to make ‘Miklos and the Dancing Bear.’ In October Dick Haymes was announced for a lead role in Tom Thumb. Tom Neal signed to play Jan the Hunter. However the project kept being delayed. In October 1952 the film had still yet to be made. George Pal said he wanted Laurel and Hardy to play the thieves. Eventually in June 1957 George Pal signed a deal to make the film with M-G-M; and George Pal would use his company, Galaxy Productions and the movie would be made in England. In November 1957 George Pal announced he would direct as well as produce and the Russ Tamblyn would star. ‘Tom Thumb’ was filmed scenes in England in early 1958, taking over every one of the seven sound stages at M-G-M's London studios, and using two crews. George Pal moved his unit to Los Angeles in April 1958. In November 1958 George Pal announced plans to make three more ‘Tom Thumb’ movies each starring Russ Tamblyn, to be released once a year. The film ‘Tom Thumb’ was the 8th most popular movie at the British box office in 1959. According to M-G-M records the film earned $1,800,000 in the US and Canada and $1,450,000 elsewhere, making a profit of $612,000. In 1961 George Pal said the film was a personal favourite because “it was a wholesome picture which made people smile, especially the children.”
Cast: Russ Tamblyn, Alan Young, June Thorburn, Terry-Thomas, Peter Sellers, Bernard Miles, Jessie Matthews, Ian Wallace, Peter Butterworth, Peter Bull, Stan Freberg [Yawning Man] (voice), Dal McKennon [Con-Fu-Shon] (voice), Wallace Bosco (uncredited), Norman Bowler (uncredited), Victor Brooks (uncredited), Ayshea Brough (uncredited), Jimmy Charters (uncredited), Barbara Ferris (uncredited), Suzanna Leigh (uncredited), Jack May (uncredited), Alan Meacham (uncredited), Jack Sharp (uncredited) and Jack Taylor (uncredited)
Director: George Pal
Producers: Dora Wright and George Pal
Screenplay: Jacob Grimm (based on a story from the pen of the Brothers Grimm), Wilhelm Grimm (based on a story from the pen of the Brothers Grimm) and Ladislas Fodor (screenplay)
Composers: Douglas Gamley (musical score) and Ken Jones (musical score)
Costume Designer: Olga Lehmann
Cinematography: Georges Périnal, B.S.C. (Director of Photography) and Tom Howard, F.R.P.S. (Photographic Effects)
Image Resolution: 480i (Eastmancolor) (uncredited)
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 and 1.37:1
Audio: English: 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono Audio
French: 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono Audio
Subtitles: English and Français
Running Time: 92 minutes
Region: NTSC
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer / Warner Home Movie
Andrew’s DVD Review: In the film ‘Tom Thumb’ [1958] we find a lonely woodcutter, called Honest Jonathan [Bernard Miles], heeds the wishes of the magical Forest Queen [June Thorburn], and spare the oldest tree in the woods. As a reward, Honest Jonathan and his wife, Anna [Jessie Matthews] are granted three wishes, which they quickly use up, by mistake, during an argument. After they make up, Anna wishes they’d wished for a child, and that she wouldn’t mind at all if he were no bigger than her thumb.
The wish is granted, and Tom Thumb [Russ Tamblyn] comes knocking on the door after midnight. Tom Thumb is like no other son, as he indeed not much taller than his mother’s thumb. After a welcome/birthday cake, they tuck him into his new bed in the nursery. The next morning, he is welcomed to the nursery by the toys [The Puppetoons], who have magically come to life for him.
Sometime later, while Tom Thumb and his father Honest Jonathan are out chopping wood, they’re spied upon by two unseemly rogues, Ivan The Villain [Terry-Thomas] and his strongman crony, Antony The Villain [Peter Sellers] who have designs for utilizing Tom Thumb’s size to rob the village treasury. They try to buy Tom Thumb, but Honest Jonathan quickly sends them on their way.
Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, the Forest Queen meets with Woody The Lover [Alan Young], a young musician, trying to be a success to be worthy of her love. The Forest Queen feels he already is, but he feels he can do better.
Later that day, Woody brings Tom Thumb with him to the village faire, where he’s playing in the town band. Across the square, a cobbler is selling “Talented Shoes” that grant their wearer the ability to dance. Woody leaves the bandstand with Tom Thumb to get a pair of shoes for Queeny (as he calls her). Putting on a tiny pair of shoes, Tom Thumb gets caught up in the shoes’ spell and dances away, getting tangled on a child’s balloon and flies away, much to Woody’s worry.
Tom Thumb inadvertently flies over the Treasury Tower, where the rogues Ivan The Villain and Antony The Villain are on the roof, trying to break into the treasury of golden coins. They spot Tom Thumb and pop the balloon, catching him. They then lie to Tom Thumb, saying that the mayor is a crook and keeps money stolen from orphans within. Tom Thumb helps them get a bag of gold coins and they give him a gold coin for his trouble. To make sure he doesn’t talk, they strand him in the Black Swamp, a horrible place that his father had warned him to avoid.
Queeny finds him after dark, and directs Woody to his side, who then takes him home, to face the anger of his parents for being out so late. While sneaking in, Tom Thumb drops the coin into the bread dough ready to be baked. Honest Jonathan catches Tom Thumb and sends him to bed. Shortly after, soldiers come to the cottage, looking for any clues to the robbery. Honest Jonathan and Anna offer them food, and of the soldiers bites into the gold coin hidden the bread. Thinking they’re involved in the crime, the old couple is arrested and taken away.
Frantically, Tom Thumb begins searching for them, and comes across Woody. They track the villains to their hideout, and after knocking woody out they try to make their getaway on horseback. Tom Thumb has stowed away in the horse’s ear and tells him where to go, bringing the villains to the town square JUST before his parents are whipped for the crime they did not commit. Woody catches up and helps apprehend them, and is rewarded with a kiss from Queeny. This turns her mortal, as she wanted, and soon they are wed. At the reception, in Honest Jonathan and Anna’s cottage, Tom Thumb, dressed as a groom on the wedding cake and kisses the bride doll that comes to life and dances with him to end the story with a very happy ending for all.
TOM THUMB MUSIC TRACK LIST
TOM THUMB’S TUNE (uncredited) (Music by Peggy Lee) (Lyrics by Peggy Lee)
AFTER ALL THESE YEARS (uncredited) (Music by Fred Spielman) (Lyrics by Janice Torre) [Sung by Jessie Matthews] (dubbed by Norma Zimmer)
TELENTED SHOES (uncredited) (Music by Fred Spielman) (Lyrics by Janice Torre)
THE YAWNING SONG (uncredited) (Music by Fred Spielman) (Lyrics by Janice Torre) [Voice Sung by Stan Freberg]
ARE YOU A DREAM (uncredited) (Music by Peggy Lee) (Lyrics by Peggy Lee)
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DVD Image Quality – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Warner Home Movie present us the film ‘Tom Thumb’ with a 480i Eastmancolor and can be viewed in either 1.85:1 or 1.37:1 aspect ratio and each has the advantage over each of the aspect ratios, so I am not hear to preach which is the best, that is entirely up to your choice of viewing experience that you will be happy to view the film, but overall I much preferred watching the film ‘Tom Thumb’ inthe 1.85:1 aspect ratio. Because it was made in Eastmancolor, they say it is the poor man’s Technicolor. But despite the film being in Eastmancolor, I was quite surprised how good it was, as film looked really good with natural colours for the viewing experience, mostly when it came to the scenes in the forest that looked really nice, and again very natural. Also good are the skin tones on the actors face and their eyes looked also looked really good. But when it came to the strong colours like red really stood out and again looked really natural. Now when all The Puppetoons come alive and all their glorious colours really stand out brilliantly. Also when we get to see the village faire and we see the yellow, green, blue and red balloons, their colours really sand out, as do the colours of the animated shoes. So all in all, despite viewing the film in the 480i image, it has been a very joyous colourful visual experience.
DVD Audio Quality – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Warner Home Movie brings us the film ‘Tom Thumb’ with one standard 1.0 Dolby Digital Mono Audio experience. Despite the sound was just mono, it all sounded very clear especially when the actors spoke, as you heard every word. As to the orchestration composed music was totally superb, and certainly adds a very a magical ambience to the film, as does all the sound effects that are very clear and precise.
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DVD Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Cast and Crew: Here you get to view a short list of the actors that includes Russ Tamblyn, Alan Young, Terry-Thomas, Peter Sellers, Jessie Mathews, June Thornburn and Bernard Miles. But with each name you see listed, a red dot appears first on Russ Tamblyn, press on the ENTER button on your remote control and you get to see an in-depth biography of the actors career and films he has appeared in. This same procedure happens with all the actors you want to view by pressing the ENTER button on your remote control. So happy viewing folks!
Special Feature: Awards: Here all you get to read is the 1958 Academy Awards® for Best Special Effects for Tom Howard.
Theatrical Trailer [1958] [480i] [1.85:1] [1:30] This is the original Theatrical trailer for the film ‘Tom Thumb,’ where they inform us that this is “A Milestone in Movie Imagination!
Finally, ‘Tom Thumb’ is based on the Brothers Grimm story, “tom thumb” and may just be the most undervalued musical made in the 1950’s. “Tom Thumb” has everything a family musical should have, a fantastical fairy-tale full of colour, vibrant songs and dance sequences, and a warmth to cheer the bluest of hearts. With the athletic and ebullient Russ Tamblyn taking the lead as Tom Thumb, and villains portrayed with such gleeful caddishness by Peter Sellers and Terry-Thomas, the film was always going to start from a good footing. Add in Tom Howard's Academy Award winning special effects, Douglas Gamley and Ken Jones' whimsical composed score and the zippy direction from George Pal, well what's the excuse for not letting this film into your heart and soul. ‘Tom Thumb’ deservedly won the Oscar for its Special Effects. Russ Tamblyn was well-cast as Tom Thumb. The romantic sub-plot is superfluous and Terry-Thomas and Peter Sellers all but steal the movie as a bumbling pair of thieves. It is a very funny and enjoyable fantasy film. Well worth watching for the special effects and especially British comedy genius’s Peter Sellers and Terry-Thomas. And as they say in the film trailer, this film is “A Milestone in Movie Imagination and I whole heartedly agree 100%! Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
