The Pied Piper of Hamelin

it remains, after more than a half of century, surprising. and charming. and seductive. and nice. a family film from 1957. with the traces of the period sensibility, songs and love story. an old legend in decent adaptation. as vehicle for an useful state of soul. this is it . nothing less. good performances, seductive, dramatic and poetic. and real special.

I had never heard of this movie, and got a chance to see it for the very first time in a cheapie DVD edition. I marvel at the tremendous amount of obscure old films out there. An entire lifetime wouldn't be enough to know them all. While this one is problematic, on the whole I'm pleased to have discovered it, as I love finding these little-known byways of films past.

I agree that while this was originally conceived as a children's film, it would bore to death most kids today, having been desensitized by the blazingly fast pace of today's video and film styles. This is best appreciated as a bit of 1950s kitsch, and as such I find it an interesting museum piece. I was a bit puzzled by the lack of depth in much of the cinematography. It just didn't seem particularly cinematic, but looking it up at the IMDb and finding it to be a made-for-TV project sort of explained that to me. The look was dictated by the budget, and perhaps an idea that this shallow staging was best suited to the small screen circa 1957, which was very small indeed. As it was recorded on film rather than videotape, its origins as a TV production were not quite immediately apparent, but it's certainly an odd mixture of cinematic and television style.

What's been said below is true, i.e. garish primary colors, a clumsy sometimes-rhyming and sometimes-not script, saccharine sentimentalizing and simplistic moralizing. Some of the rhymes sound to be lifted from, or at least inspired by, the poem by Robert Browning originally published in 1887, "The Pied Piper of Hamelin: A Child's Story." Also, no doubt mandated by the demands of TV executives and/or sponsors, a happy ending is tacked on at the end which is quite unlike that of the original story. Regarding the odd name of Hamelin's unfortunate rival city, it seems to me that it was meant to be pronounced Hamel-OUT, as a simple (very simple) play on words (Hamel-IN and Hamel-OUT. In and out, get it? Har har!). Well, I guess they thought kids of the time would find that amusing.

It is an interesting idea to set a musical to tunes by Edvard Grieg, who produced an abundant supply of melodies. My guess is that this was inspired by the musical "Kismet" having used melodies by Alexander Borodin so effectively. Besides "Peer Gynt," there are tunes from Grieg's "Norwegian Dances" and his Piano Concerto. While the lyrics are hardly masterpieces, I did find it amusing to hear one of the Norwegian Dances adorned with the lyric "flim, flam, floom."

It's strange indeed to see chanteuse Kay Starr performing what sounds to me like a sultry torch song to lament the disappearance of her child. As the film was conceived as family entertainment, maybe this was thought to be something for the adults in the family, but the effect is just bizarre. I couldn't identify a Grieg melody in this song.

Van Johnson does a fine job in the dual roles of the Piper and Truson, the town civil libertarian and whistle-blower. More than addressing just the issue of human greed and deceit, the script seems a somewhat liberal take on the issues of free speech and the abuse of power in a democratic government. Good old Claude Rains seems to give his all in the role of the corrupt mayor of Hamelin, and though he's a bit long-in-the-tooth by then, he plays the part with relish and what seems to me total commitment. Good for him!

It seems to me that the main attractions of this film are its nostalgic and kitsch qualities, and if those attributes irritate you, you'd do well to avoid it, but it does have value as sort of a museum-piece curiosity, half video and half cinema, with some McCarthy-era liberalism thrown in. I'm glad to have discovered it.

I just wanted to correct the last reviewer. There were indeed color Televisions in 1957. In fact RCA introduced color TVs for the home in 1954. This TV movie was filmed in Technicolor and shown originally on NBC, a network that pioneered color (remember the Peacock?). It was made with every intent of its being seen in COLOR. Though I'm sure the producers wanted it to look good in b&w as well, it was a color film. And the colors in The Pied Piper '57 are no more garish than many other lesser-known Technicolor "extravaganzas." If producers back in those days were gonna pay for color, we by gum they was gonna use the hell out of it! Anyway, this is one weird ass film! Catch this and the Wizard of Oz double feature from Something Weird, and you've got some goooood Kid movie watchin'!

Do not believe bad reviews of this movie! I have loved it for as long as I remember. The symphonic music that the last review stupidly criticized is lovely pieces by genius composer Edvard Grieg. I still get chills when Van Johnson sings a song boasting of his accomplishments, with the Grieg piece Anitra's dance as the melody. Plus Claude Rains sings! This movie has great songs, great sets, great costumes, and is fun for everybody. I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes the story of the pied piper, or those who like musicals. It is a gorgeous movie. It has a perfect cast. I rate this a 10.

Geoffrey K.

I saw this film several times on TV as a kid in the 60's. I enjoyed in thoroughly. Jim Backus's hamming is delightful. The music was borrowed wholly from Peer Gynt by Grieg -- from Morning Mood to Hall of the Mountain King.

Another reviewer comments on the colors (in a rather unsympathetic and grinch-like manner ). You must remember -- THERE WERE NO COLOR TVs IN 1957! Anyone with any knowledge of media knows that! They only existed in factories and a few individuals. They did not hit the market until 1958, and they were not in major use until after 1962 - at least among the people in my neighborhood. Anyway, the colors used had to make appealing greys when viewed in black & white. Hence, you will get some pretty odd colors. The use of such garish colors probably contributed to the development of Op-Art and Psychedelic art in the 60's. However, I digress, anyone who lets technical details get in the way of enjoying a child-like bit of fluff, especially one made on a small budget for TV, should stay up on his mountain, and never be let into who-ville.

Also, the pace of the film has been criticized. Well, the pace editing in films has sped up in the last few decades (look at Ridley Scott's work --- sheesh, you need seatbelts in the theatre!) You must let yourself go with the flow and the speed of the film. Let yourself be taken by the music and the performances. Basically, if you liked Brigadoon, then you should like this.

My recommendation -- if you are a child at heart, and want a delightful heartwarming film, filled with great music, seeing great performers enjoying themselves, then watch this film. Otherwise, go rent "The Sorrow and The Pity".