Busby-Berkely meets Emerald City meets Alice in Wonderland meets Kafka’s “The Trial”. Story, lyrics and screenplay by Dr. Seuss. Originally created in 1953, just 8 years after the end of WWII. The sets are expressionistic, weird, Seussian. The acting is banal, that stylized “Leave it to Beaver” cadence: “Listen here Mr. Zabladowski, you may be the very best plumber in town, but when it comes to piano lessons I hardly think you qualify as an expert!” I suppose this is meant to be witty but nobody talks like this.

Peter Lind Hayes plays Mr. Zablodowski, a plumber who gets pulled into the drama and becomes a father figure to the main character, Bart Collins, played by child actor and Lassie star Tommy Rettig. Hayes’ low-energy vibe is decribed in Michael’s Moviepalace as “drab and passive, giving us no confidence in his skills as a hero, a father figure, or even as a plumber.”

In direct contrast to the languid nightmare that is the rest of the movie is this remarkable freak and breath of fresh air, Hans Conried:

He brings the zany full force. There are 11 musical numbers, cut down from an original of 20. Conried describes the audience at the Hollywood premiere of the original version ” “At the end there was only one boy left and he was waiting for his mother to pick him up” (Wikipedia). Apparently the original cut has been lost.

There are some fun touches, the chorus of green-painted zombie musicians are amusing.

The henchmen remind me of those on the old Batman tv show, bumbling oafs:

I suppose it would be too terrifying without the comic element, although there is a disturbing scene in a dungeon where a percussionist who played an extra bass drum hit is imprisoned in a bass drum that is being played foreverL

With movies like this I wonder did no one look at it and say “We have five different types of films here that are all somewhat bad and don’t work together?” I like the ambition, the fantasy, the anti-fascist themes, the creativity, but it this one was hard to sit through.