The Dangerous Christmas of Red Riding Hood

The wolf pack being The Animals. I found this in a greeting card store about 10 years ago in the discount video rack for about 2 bucks so, yes it does exist on video. You end up hitting the fast forward button till you reach Eric Burdon & the boys (they are featured doing one or two songs) unless you are a Vic Damone or Liza fan. I was hoping someone would post the Animals bits on Youtube so the whole world could enjoy it for free. I would not recommend anyone paying more than a couple dollars for this. As other reviews have said, the story is really thin. Why the Xmas theme is beyond me. It has been pointed out that the reason ABC did this was so they could link it with the holiday season so they could show it again & again every year, but something has to be really special & strike a chord with people for that to happen. Boy were they wrong. Cyril Ritchard is great though.

The title sounds as if this is some bad horror but this is a quite charming little Christmas special from 1965, starring the teenager Liza Minnelli in her first leading role.

With this movie Minnelli goes into her mother's footsteps. She dances and sings her way through this movie. She of course had a great example and teacher to look up at in the form of her mother Judy Garland, who starred in dozens of musical movies. Also her father Vincente Minnelli was no stranger to the genre and was an acclaimed and well known musical movie director.

Yes, Liza Minnelli is good and enjoyable in her role in this movie and shows that she can sign and dance. Something that would eventually even get her an Oscar 8 years later for her role in the movie version of "Cabaret". She is however not the most attractive person within the genre. She is not attractive no and she even wasn't in 1965. It's perhaps a reason why she never became such a big musical star as her mother was, even though she also wasn't among the best looking actresses of her time.

The movie is quite cheerful and therefore also charming. It features some good songs and characters that pop up. Cyril Ritchard is really great in his role as the Big Bad Wolf.

But how exactly is this a Christmas special? Just because there is a Christmas tree in the back doesn't make the story of Red Riding Hood really feel fitting for a Christmas special. An original attempt to try and re-tell the famous story but also a bit of a silly one.

The movie obviously looks as if it was filmed on a stage and it of course most likely also was but this feels sort of fitting for a TV special and actually suits the movie its atmosphere and overall cheerfulness quite well.

It's a good watch and basically just a fine simply enjoyable 50 minutes.

7/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

This is actually a sparkling little gem, with a lot of wit. The score is terrific, and Cyril Ritchard hams it up wonderfully. Liza Minnelli exudes charisma, and her musical numbers are often electrifying. For a 1965 TV special, it holds up very well.

I would be in heaven if someone would release this 1965 ABC TV special " The Dangerious Christmas of Red Riddinghood" on DVD. This is worthy of a DVD reissue. Christmas special on DVD. I hope I'm not 90 by the time SOMEONE decides to release this JEWEL on DVD Given that this was a score by Broadway Greats Jule Styne and Bob Merril and with an equally stealer cast in Liza Minnelli and Cyril Ritchard, and Vic Damone, you just can't go wrong. Eevry time about this year, I wish WISH WISH that this TV special would come out. We can only continue to PRAY. Originally the ABC TV network released this on November 28 1965. The special got glowing reviews in TV guide and the New York Times. Jule Styne was at his PEAK having just finished doing "Funny Girl" also with Bob Merrill as well. UPDATE: On October 30, 2007, the above title was FINALLY released on DVD ( YIIIPPPPEEEEE ). Fans of this Christmas classic REJOICE !( PLEASE SEE BELOW UPDATE ).

UPDATE: "The Dangerous Christmas Of Red Riddinghood" was released on DVD October 30, 2007. The DVD also includes the TV soundtrack released originally on abc records in 1965. The film print is not very good but at leaset it's on DVD now.

agog over Timmy Everett

Further to bluestreak45's comments, this is definitely worth a viewing for Eric Burdon and The Animals as the wolf pack, for Cyril Ritchard as the victimized Big Bad Wolf, for the polished musical score, and, if you're a Liza fan, for her belting out tunes at age 19.

Songwriter Jule Styne conceived the idea of telling the Red Riding Hood story from a lupine point of view (and wrote the music with Bob Merrill, who wrote "Mambo Italiano"), and it is an ambitious idea, and even has a few amusing exchanges of dialog, e.g., when RRHood (Liza) asks the wolf (Ritchard dressed as granny) to play something on the piano from "when you were a girl-- maybe something by Bach."

Unfortunately the production values are minimal and the videotape from the original ABC broadcast is grainy and washed out. Happily for obscurity lovers, as of this writing it is available in five parts at dailymotion.com/video/xuvlm_4-little-red-ridinghood-xmas_music . The Animals show up in part 2, but don't really get going until their howling song in part 4.