Peter Pan

This movie is one of the best versions of the Peter Pan story that I have ever seen I've been watching it for years and now at the age of 20 I still find myself singing the songs and tapping my toe to the beat.

It was done in the traditional theater way, with a woman playing Peter Pan, but Mary Martin did such a wonderful job you never think of her as a 'girl'. Tinkerbell is a light that whizzes across the stage, and the audience is drawn into the movie when asked to clap for the little fairy after drinking poison meant for Peter.

This is a wonderful movie and I recommend it for adults and children alike, its full of the wholesome kind of magic that you hardly see nowadays in film.

This thread has some confusing information in it. I think I can add some information.

The 1955 version of Peter Pan was done live from NY and then redone the following year. That version was preserved on Kinescope, but not videotape.

In 1960, NBC re-staged the production and videotaped it in their wonderful old Brooklyn studios - by the way, I believe that The Cosby Show in the '80s was produced at the same NBC Brooklyn Studios.

The 1960 production was videotaped and rebroadcast a number of times, and may be available on VHS now.

As the 4-year old son of an NBC publicity flack, I had the wonderful privilege of attending the taping of the show and I have a magnificent b&w photograph of me, in a gray flannel suit - in gray shorts no less - with Mary Martin in full costume.

It is one of the treasures of my childhood and Peter Pan has always been a favorite of mine.

By the way, there is/was a cast recording of Peter Pan - I want to say that it was on RCA Victor records, since of course, RCA owned NBC. But I have always been under the impression that is was of the Broadway play. This thread implies that the show never made it to Broadway, so I am not sure. However, I am certain that there was a record - vinyl, 33 1/3, long play, etc.

"I know a place where dreams are born...."

Eric

This movie was great, through the eyes of a child. Child of all ages will love it. The cast is actually very good at acting. The role of Peter Pan is casted by a girl actually, but don't let it fool you, she is an amazing actor and singer. You will be able to tell right from the start that she was meant for this role. It is a great movie to grow up with. Now of course not much beats the original animated version that Disney made, but for a movie with real people, it is the best one out there. There is so much imagination and creativity that went into this movie. The acting is set up on a stage and you can clearly tell you are in the audience watching from a far. It looks to me like it should have been made into a Broadway play. It follows the same story as Disney does with their version.

If you have an active imagination or children you will love this movie! It is a great version of Peter Pan. Has some good songs in it as well!

Awesome! Clearly, the commenter above didn't know one thing from another. The characters were masterfully played. Peter Pan was delightfully mischievous and willful while Captain Hook was devious and intriguing. The children sometimes got a little on the annoying side, but they are little to be dealt with, though Wendy could be accused of being whiny. Tinker Bell was classically played. Though Tiger Lily couldn't be played by today's standards, her song is fun as well are the animals which chase around Neverland. This makes a great play for children with active imaginations to watch and which parents can sit through without hitting themselves over the head with an empty video box. Fun, light hearted music and a hint of a moral.

In my opinion, this film should not be missed by any child, adolescent, or adult who likes music and loved J.M. Barrie's masterpiece novel. Unlike the animated Disney film made seven years earlier (also a classic musical), this film follows the original story more closely, as adapted by Jerome Robbins for the stage. The music is beautiful, catchy, and fun. Peter Pan is portrayed by a woman because any male old enough to play the role would have gone through puberty -- thus no longer looking or sounding like a 10 year old. In this day of shows about cross dressing and sexuality bending, is it really such a stretch to believe that a woman in costume is a little boy?

Of course its special effects are lacking in quality: it was filmed in 1960, before the innovation of Lucasfilm, and is not just a movie, but a filming of an actual stageplay. This is the reason for the "poor" special effects. Sorry, videogame generation, there's no CGI, so you'll have to leave something to your imagination...if you still have some.