For those of us of a certain age, family movies were an essential part of the holidays, as the networks kept kids entertained so that adults could catch-up after the meal. In past years, we’ve reflected on “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory,” “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” and “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.”
On the next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner, we’ll take a nostalgic look back at George Pal’s “The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm” (1962). The narrative, as you would imagine, incorporates a number of familiar Grimm’s fairy tales, while also dealing with the brothers’ real-life struggles. The all-star cast includes Laurence Harvey, Russ Tamblyn, Claire Bloom, Barbara Eden, Jim Backus, Beulah Bondi, Walter Slezak, Yvette Mimieux, Buddy Hackett, and Terry-Thomas, among others.
Pal is certainly no stranger to the show, as we’ve discussed a number of his features in the past, including “The War of the Worlds,” “The Time Machine,” “Destination Moon,” “7 Faces of Dr. Lao,” and “Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze.”
There’s a certain amount of regret in having to view “Grimm,” originally shown in Cinerama, on a home screen, but it’s still an at times vertiginous experience. It’s easy to imagine what it must have been like to see it in the theater, with Tamblyn dodging branches on a wild ride atop a speeding coach, or gazing between his legs into a ravine as boards crack and tumble from a dilapidated bridge. The film also incorporates the producer-director’s trademark stop motion effects. Pal first achieved fame through his Academy Award nominated Puppetoons, which introduced subjects like “Tubby the Tuba.”
The music is by Leigh Harline. Harline was an integral part of the Disney team that scored an earlier fairy tale adaptation, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” He won two Academy Awards for his work on “Pinocchio,” including one for Best Original Song, for “When You Wish Upon a Star.”
Our conversation was originally scheduled to take place on Thanksgiving weekend, but had to be postponed, as Roy and I continued to metabolize our Thanksgiving tryptophan. However, since one of the film’s chapters, the Puppetoon-laden “The Cobbler and the Elves,” is a Christmas segment, the delay will do nothing to diminish the timely nature of the discussion.
We hope you’ll join us for a Grimm chat, as we remember George Pal’s “The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm.” Pal around grimly in the comments section, when we livestream on Facebook, YouTube, etc., this Friday evening at 7:00 EST!
