#140RVW
Among the least likely movies ever to come to fruition: Roald Dahl (!) adapts Ian Fleming (!) children’s book; Goldfinger sings! #SoWeird…
What’s more:
If this isn’t the single strangest children’s movie of all time it will do until I think of another one.
Disney hit it out of the park with Mary Poppins, so Bond co-producer Cubby Broccoli tried to replicate the success by hiring the Poppins musical team of the Sherman Brothers and Dick Van Dyke for good measure. (They even tried to get Julie Andrews, but she had the good sense to notice what a blatant rip-off this was going to be.) And by now he’d certainly gotten the hang of Ian Fleming’s writing, what with producing 4 Bond movies by this time.
You know, no analysis of the James Bond movies would really be complete without looking at this bizarre film. There are a ton of connections, although most of them support my theory that Cubby’s nose for quality may have been on the fritz at this time. Among other things:
- Desmond Llewelyn, the gentile & well-loved Q from the Bond films, has a cameo as Coggins, who according to the dialogue, “Wouldn’t light your pipe if his house was on fire.” The fact that Llewelyn is as likable as ever even in this small role makes it a curious bit of casting…
- Gert Fröbe, best known for playing Auric Goldfinger, turns in a “performance” and even “sings” the worst song ever written, “Chu-Chi Face”…
- Otherwise accomplished children’s author Roald Dahl, who previously did unspeakable things in “adapting” the Fleming novel “You Only Live Twice”, is brought back to work the same magic on this novel.
- Director Ken Hughes must have gotten the job by doing such a terrible job with the non-Broccoli-produced Casino Royale the year before.
- Bond screenwriter Richard Maibaum also did some script doctoring.
So if a kids movie straight from the 007 team was an admittedly odd idea, how does it all work? Not bad, actually.
Plusses:
- First off, it looks great. Gorgeous, colorful film-stock, shot in scope. Colors are bright and the picture is detailed.
- The Sherman songs, while not as consistently solid as Poppins, do contain some gems, nearly all sung by Dick Van Dyke. “Hushabye Mountain” is particularly lovely.
- Van Dyke is really on form here and justifies his leading man status. There is possibly no more under-rated talent in film history.
- Sally Ann Howes is fine, I suppose, and character actor Lionel Jeffries is a lot of fun as the grandfather.
- The kids may be a bit precocious, but not cloyingly so, and they have a great rapport with Van Dyke, Howes & Jeffries.
- The song & dance numbers are particularly epic; the dancing frankly outclasses the songs they dance to.
- My daughter used to sing and dance along like a wind-up music box doll and that makes me smile to this day…
Minuses:
- Just about everything after the intermission. (Oh yes, there’s an intermission. Why did this tool ever go away?)
- Once the movie goes into the dream sequences this just gets REALLY weird. Benny Hill is in this…
- The Child-Catcher had to be deliberately designed to make children have nightmares. Creation of this character has to be classified as a type of child abuse…
- I did mention it was 1968, yes? Ah, well, it’s good at it. What a trip…
Fun fact: Reportedly soft-rocker Phil Collins is in there somewhere with all the kiddie-winkies in Vulgaria. This kid had some agent; he’s also in Hard Day’s Night!
Poster:
Trailer:
Bechdel Test:
FAIL