The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T is a darkly brilliant, surreal musical. How can such an astute critic of musicals miss the humorous satire of Dr. Seuss? It's a satire of 1950s culture which incorporates the fears of childhood; he was way ahead of his time. Yes, it was creepy and disturbing, but it was also downright funny. Do you seriously not get it, or are you just pretending to be clueless on this? Your reactions to this movie mystify me. (Hans Conreid's getting dressed number is wonderfully camp.)
The movie is brilliant. People forget that the dream world is actively being dreamt by a child, so all the conversations are acted out as sincere by the actors, but sound like a child wrote them. Dr. Seuss knew what he was doing when he made this, and I'm forever grateful he did.
Even as bad as the child actors were I still LOVE this movie! The music is pretty good, the choreography is fantastic (the half naked all male orchestra is not only inventive but highly homoerotic! WOOF!!!), the visuals are very Seussian and colorful AND the lyrics are appropriately silly and sometimes inane - listen to My Doe-Me-Doe Duds and then see the Simpsons episode with Mr. Burns singing See My Vest, which is actually a musical mash up of My Doe-Me-Doe Duds and Be Our Guest from Beauty and the Beast.
So... did anything actually get resolved with the kid and his piano teacher? Or did he wake up, play matchmaker with his mom and the plumber, and run off to play?
Hans Conried is the only reason I love this movie tbh. Although it's not bad, it could have been much better if the studio hadn't made all the changes to Dr. Seuss' ideas
I wonder if Lady Gaga would appreciate the Do-Mi-Do song? Did Do-Mi-Do actually mean something back in the 50s? Or is it just more Seussian wordplay? That song would be the best song ever if the wardrobe department had built every garment named in it! But at least we did get the purple spats!
You grew up in a very sheltered and unimaginative environment, didn't you?? Dr. Seuss was THAT weird even in his early books. You're still a very good chronicler of musical theatre and some pop culture - you'll get there! Did you get the theme of Equus (the play is MUCH better than the sucky movie)? Yeah I understand, not everyone is into avante garde, ridiculous, absurd or surreal theatre. I love Beckett, Pinter, Genet, Ionesco, Brecht, Pirandello, Joyce (love his children's books!) e.e. cummings, Gertrude Stein, Sartre, Ludlum, and Giraudoux etc. and just because I understand these authors certainly doesn't mean you are stupid - you are FAR from stupid just not as exposed to other genres as I and some others are. I wold love to see you write a musical as I think you would be absolutely brilliant at it!
Well, seeing that his full name was Dr. Robert Terwilliker, I think it's quite possible that the Simpsons took him, shortened Robert to Bob and Sideshow was born.
if they asked me, i'd tell 'em that this picture should be brought to the broadway stage under julie taymor's direction. but, alas, they never ask... (p.s. - you say 'weird' like it's a bad thing)
See, this movie *nearly* put style before cohesion, but the fact that this is a dream, and the dream of a child, no less, permits plot holes and other out-of-place phenomena. After all, how many times have *we* dreamed things that didn't make any sense at all? The inventiveness in this movie is staggering, especially for pre-CGI 1953. I consider this to be a *very* underrated film that deserves far more recognition than it's received.
I had started watching this, but then my electricity went out . . . and when it came back on, I needed to do more . . .but I heard that "what's his name?" and I know it was Bartholomew Cubbins - in his books - The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins and Bartholomew and the Oobleck (yes, where that stuff they make you play with in science and they ask if it is a solid or a liquid gets its name).
Sam Pflugrath I agree, I thought surely that song would garner some comment with its nightmare inducing collection of torments mashed up with a department store elevator vibe
My memory of this film is based my memories as a 5 year old watching it on a black and white TV in the late 60s early Sunday morning before my parents woke up. Even then I knew this was a really bizarre movie.
I think it's just a shame you missed the actual sung Dungeon "song" with that bizarre toppless guy! As an adult I still remember that wierd bit... it's in my nightmares STILL
I want you to know that as soon as you said "Legends of the Hidden Temple," I RAN to the computer to subscribe:) I liked the vid when you mentioned "Antiques Road Show". You must be in LA, right?
All I can think of while watching this is the episode of Law and Order SVU when the piano teacher abuses and video tapes his students... and then his prize pupil begins doing the same thing. This is just as creepy and horrifying.
Omg I had this movie on VHS when I was a kid (in the nineties). I totally loved it. I remember it being kinda slow but so crazy I would be enthralled. It would just creep up into my thoughts and I'd have to go watch it to make sure it actually existed and wasn't just a fever dream. Haha I had almost completely forgotten about it. It *had* completely slipped my mind that it was a musical though, which goes to show how disappointing the music was. :/
Oh, I love a good B movie . . . have you watched Night of the Lepus, Attack of the Mushroom People (Matango), Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, or this old "educational" movie Mr. B Natural?
Crummy "review". No offense. Just doesn't grab me. I remember this movie as a kid and will probably watch it tomorrow. I'm 60 by the way so I look at this movie probably a little different this this pup does. I love classic movies and I HATE the way Warner Brothers and company and now You Tube has turned classic movies and TV shows as old or older than I am into their personal extortion rackets. That's how they reward us for making them stinking rich. And that's why I've boycotted theaters for years.
Tyler Worden The actor playing Dr T actually went on to voice Snidely Whiplash, as well as Captain Hook in Disney's Peter Pan. He was also in a Kander and Ebb musical called 70, Girls, 70 that made it to Broadway between Caberet and Chicago. He has one of the two songs in it I really enjoy, The Caper. The other song I really enjoy from it, not by him, is The Elephant Song.
This was endlessly entertaining, mostly because of your commentary (which was hilarious) without it though, the movie just looks incredibely disturbing
This is so simple it's frightening. 5,000 Fingers is a children's horror movie musical, a children's version of something like, say, Little Shop Of Horrors. It's not supposed to make sense to an adult. You cannot go back in time and become a child to watch it. Same thing with Alice, Wizard Of Oz, etc. Difference is, a lot of people have watched those as a child. ( as I did with 5,000 Fingers) And they have the patina of childhood memories, and so we can watch them with nostalgia. But fewer and fewer people alive actually saw 5.000 Fingers around the time it came out, and so cannot pass on a sincere love of it, like, say, Alice. And so you get these homophobic reviews and comments online around the campiness of the the material. And the actual inspiration in this movie, the fantastic realization of the Seuss universe in live action form, becomes obscured by an insistence on adhering to the same tired formulas and cliches that films have been crippled by since the eighties, and which we are only now beginning to challenge again.
I've just witnessed a man lose his mind.I honestly enjoyed it.
Hey fun fact: The mom and plumber were married in real life
They been married since 1940 and stay together into one of them passed away the plumber was actually an impressionist on radio in the 1930s
They’ve been married since 1940 so when they did that they were been married for 13 years
Man, the sets of this movie were AMAZING! Seriously, take a look at some of these places, it must've taken months!
"Who are these bearded connected men on rollerskates*
The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T is a darkly brilliant, surreal musical. How can such an astute critic of musicals miss the humorous satire of Dr. Seuss? It's a satire of 1950s culture which incorporates the fears of childhood; he was way ahead of his time. Yes, it was creepy and disturbing, but it was also downright funny. Do you seriously not get it, or are you just pretending to be clueless on this? Your reactions to this movie mystify me. (Hans Conreid's getting dressed number is wonderfully camp.)
Quote Matt Sloan after watching the getting dressed number: "That was the gayest thing I've ever seen."
The movie is brilliant. People forget that the dream world is actively being dreamt by a child, so all the conversations are acted out as sincere by the actors, but sound like a child wrote them. Dr. Seuss knew what he was doing when he made this, and I'm forever grateful he did.
I don't think the social criticism bit is all that intentional. it is pretty nonsensical as movies go, that's how seuss liked it
"Is it atomic?" OH, IT'S VERY ATOMIC.
Even as bad as the child actors were I still LOVE this movie! The music is pretty good, the choreography is fantastic (the half naked all male orchestra is not only inventive but highly homoerotic! WOOF!!!), the visuals are very Seussian and colorful AND the lyrics are appropriately silly and sometimes inane - listen to My Doe-Me-Doe Duds and then see the Simpsons episode with Mr. Burns singing See My Vest, which is actually a musical mash up of My Doe-Me-Doe Duds and Be Our Guest from Beauty and the Beast.
So... did anything actually get resolved with the kid and his piano teacher? Or did he wake up, play matchmaker with his mom and the plumber, and run off to play?
Wait this film is real? I thought I dreamt it
One of my fav movies from childhood. Rewatched it recently and was blown away by how creative it was, so visually stunning. Love Hans as Dr T
Captain Hook makes a good teacher!
This movie came out the same year he did Captain Hook
Fun Fact: The movie is a satire on Mccarthyism
Hans Conried is the only reason I love this movie tbh. Although it's not bad, it could have been much better if the studio hadn't made all the changes to Dr. Seuss' ideas
The best stuff was in the first draft which had some rather dark moments.
Yeah, Hans Conried is the only reason to watch this film.
Hans Conried to bring so much energy to this movie it’s great
I wonder if Lady Gaga would appreciate the Do-Mi-Do song?
Did Do-Mi-Do actually mean something back in the 50s? Or is it just more Seussian wordplay?
That song would be the best song ever if the wardrobe department had built every garment named in it! But at least we did get the purple spats!
Make Seussical your next Show of the Week, after this hilarious video, I want to hear you talk about it. Please, please, please!
Oh my gosh, I am laughing so hard!
Love this episode, this channel ~ everything! He is so delightful!
You grew up in a very sheltered and unimaginative environment, didn't you?? Dr. Seuss was THAT weird even in his early books. You're still a very good chronicler of musical theatre and some pop culture - you'll get there! Did you get the theme of Equus (the play is MUCH better than the sucky movie)? Yeah I understand, not everyone is into avante garde, ridiculous, absurd or surreal theatre. I love Beckett, Pinter, Genet, Ionesco, Brecht, Pirandello, Joyce (love his children's books!) e.e. cummings, Gertrude Stein, Sartre, Ludlum, and Giraudoux etc. and just because I understand these authors certainly doesn't mean you are stupid - you are FAR from stupid just not as exposed to other genres as I and some others are. I wold love to see you write a musical as I think you would be absolutely brilliant at it!
Was I the only one thinking about Sideshow Bob when they said "Dr. Terwilliger"?
Tom Leonard I think Sideshow Bob was inspired by this movie as both Terwilliger's arch nemesis were named Bart
Well, seeing that his full name was Dr. Robert Terwilliker, I think it's quite possible that the Simpsons took him, shortened Robert to Bob and Sideshow was born.
I loved that for whole sections of the movie you were too dumbfounded by the plot to make any comment at all.
I don't think I've ever laughed so hard or for so long in any other UA-cam video!
Tommy: Who are those beard connected men?
Me: The gay fingers
wHERE THE HELL DID YOU GET AN ANGELA LANSBURY MUG.???????????????)))
+Kittn Bravo I was just about to ask that!!!
It's on a website called www.huntees.com you can also get Meryl Streep mugs aswell 😂
Done by an AMAZING artist- Glen Hanson! :D
One of my faves from childhood!!! LOL! How could you???!!! LOL!!!
i dont think im high enough to understand this movie
The look of frustration when the sirens were heard... it was just perfect.
I can't tell if I have a memory of this or if I'm confusing A Wrinkle In Time + Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
I enjoyed this surrealistic journey.
this would make an amazing cirque du soleil show.
if they asked me, i'd tell 'em that this picture should be brought to the broadway stage under julie taymor's direction. but, alas, they never ask...
(p.s. - you say 'weird' like it's a bad thing)
I didn’t know that “Manos, the hands of fate” has a sequel
See, this movie *nearly* put style before cohesion, but the fact that this is a dream, and the dream of a child, no less, permits plot holes and other out-of-place phenomena. After all, how many times have *we* dreamed things that didn't make any sense at all?
The inventiveness in this movie is staggering, especially for pre-CGI 1953. I consider this to be a *very* underrated film that deserves far more recognition than it's received.
I had started watching this, but then my electricity went out . . . and when it came back on, I needed to do more . . .but I heard that "what's his name?" and I know it was Bartholomew Cubbins - in his books - The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins and Bartholomew and the Oobleck (yes, where that stuff they make you play with in science and they ask if it is a solid or a liquid gets its name).
oh ... my ... god
Aw, why'd you skip over the dungeon elevator?
Sam Pflugrath I agree, I thought surely that song would garner some comment with its nightmare inducing collection of torments mashed up with a department store elevator vibe
Since when does Dr. Seuss ever make sense? I'm amazed that you're even surprised by this.
a year and a half ( plus numerous rewatchings) later I finally get the Think system joke.
My memory of this film is based my memories as a 5 year old watching it on a black and white TV in the late 60s early Sunday morning before my parents woke up. Even then I knew this was a really bizarre movie.
The awesome Hans Conreid. The little boy (Bart) is played by Tommy Rettig, who was best know for starring on “Lassie.”
Never knew this existed. Looks like a riot!
I want that Angela Landsbury mug!
I think it's just a shame you missed the actual sung Dungeon "song" with that bizarre toppless guy! As an adult I still remember that wierd bit... it's in my nightmares STILL
Surprise the Get Together Weather song is about polyamy
Are those dungeon guys playing a hookah???? What
I love these watch with him videos. They always hit me straight in the funny bone!!! So thanks Mr. Mash!!!!!!!!!!
I want you to know that as soon as you said "Legends of the Hidden Temple," I RAN to the computer to subscribe:) I liked the vid when you mentioned "Antiques Road Show". You must be in LA, right?
Can you pleeeeeeease film yourself watching the "Cinderella" tv movie from 1997?
It's got tons of big names and cheesy graphics in it
Carlie Zucker well, do I have news for you!
What happened to the elevator song?
All I can think of while watching this is the episode of Law and Order SVU when the piano teacher abuses and video tapes his students... and then his prize pupil begins doing the same thing. This is just as creepy and horrifying.
I have so much trouble finding this movie.
Also I wish more people knew about inception's inspiration, Paprika.
please do Pontoffel Pock thats such a fun thing XD
ironically the actor of dr t would voice the grinch in grinch night
Omg I had this movie on VHS when I was a kid (in the nineties). I totally loved it. I remember it being kinda slow but so crazy I would be enthralled. It would just creep up into my thoughts and I'd have to go watch it to make sure it actually existed and wasn't just a fever dream. Haha I had almost completely forgotten about it.
It *had* completely slipped my mind that it was a musical though, which goes to show how disappointing the music was. :/
Homeboy, you’re taking it too seriously. Just let the wackiness wash over you and enjoy!
This movie terrified me! Also is it just me or does DR T sound like captain hook from the Disney original.
Same actor!
Yes, Hans Conried was a very busy radio actor back in the 1930s and 40s
Hans Conried was just awesome in this film
Christopher Lloyd reminds me of Hans Conried
Especially when they do that hypnotizing seen, I can see some Christopher Lloyd faces seriously the same faces
Especially when he goes crazy in this film very remind me of Christopher Lloyd
Especially the face is Hans Conried makes in this movie totally remind me of the faces Christopher Lloyd made in the back to the future movies
Sir this is a Dr Seuss movie, it isn’t gonna make sense, get over it. Thank you and good day
new favorite movie lol I have to find this lol
Oh, I love a good B movie . . . have you watched Night of the Lepus, Attack of the Mushroom People (Matango), Santa Claus Conquers the Martians, or this old "educational" movie Mr. B Natural?
Goosebumps stole the piano idea
I need you to watch and react to Takarazuka musicals; I recommend Rose of Versailles. It'll blow your mind...I think.
Crummy "review". No offense. Just doesn't grab me. I remember this movie as a kid and will probably watch it tomorrow. I'm 60 by the way so I look at this movie probably a little different this this pup does. I love classic movies and I HATE the way Warner Brothers and company and now You Tube has turned classic movies and TV shows as old or older than I am into their personal extortion rackets. That's how they reward us for making them stinking rich. And that's why I've boycotted theaters for years.
The actor playing Dr. T has a voice that reminds me of Snidely Whiplash...
Tyler Worden The actor playing Dr T actually went on to voice Snidely Whiplash, as well as Captain Hook in Disney's Peter Pan.
He was also in a Kander and Ebb musical called 70, Girls, 70 that made it to Broadway between Caberet and Chicago.
He has one of the two songs in it I really enjoy, The Caper. The other song I really enjoy from it, not by him, is The Elephant Song.
His name was Hans Conried.
Because it is the same actor who played whiplash in 1959
@@ricardocantoral7672 Hans Conried was a very good actor one of the busiest and best radio actors of the 1930s and 40s
Okay I’ve seen this movie a million times but.. what is it actually about? Is there a deeper meaning?
I've never watched reviews like this, with somebody talking, but this is really funny.
11:39 broke me 😂😂😂
My dysphonia is so triggered listening to you swallow with the mic right on your goozle. (aka throat/adams apple)
I know it's not an unknown (or just weird) film, but I would like to see your take on the les mis film x
Just watch the movie for yourself and come up with your own conclusion.
I wonder how CHILDREN feel about this movie
Do the Happiest Millionaire
Sorry if I'm spamming u 😂
just out of curiosity, what do you think of Seussical?
It's weird. It's terrifying. I loved it.
5 minutes in and this is looking far more like Dahl than Seuss.
I am eminently glad that my childhood self was blissfully unaware of this mess.
Wasn't there a goosebumps book with the same plot?
You should watch the trial.
Can you watch les Mis the movie hairspray and hedwig and the angry inch
11:51 to 12:01 is hilarious haha :)
What movie is this?
well most dr seuss movies are terrible this is one of the two that are good and the only theatrical one
this movie seems like just a really bad/trippy version of chitty chitty bang bang
You accidentally posted this three times
+Gemel6 oops. my WiFi was being stupid and it let saying it didn't post so I eventually gave up and thought it didn't post at all
I enjoyed Dr. T but it's uneven because the studio butchered film prior to it's release.
I would have enjoyed it except for the dweeb blabbering all the way through it.
This was endlessly entertaining, mostly because of your commentary (which was hilarious) without it though, the movie just looks incredibely disturbing
I think Seuss was just a druggy and everyone's been giving him far to much credit
This is so simple it's frightening. 5,000 Fingers is a children's horror movie musical, a children's version of something like, say, Little Shop Of Horrors. It's not supposed to make sense to an adult. You cannot go back in time and become a child to watch it. Same thing with Alice, Wizard Of Oz, etc. Difference is, a lot of people have watched those as a child. ( as I did with 5,000 Fingers) And they have the patina of childhood memories, and so we can watch them with nostalgia. But fewer and fewer people alive actually saw 5.000 Fingers around the time it came out, and so cannot pass on a sincere love of it, like, say, Alice.
And so you get these homophobic reviews and comments online around the campiness of the the material. And the actual inspiration in this movie, the fantastic realization of the Seuss universe in live action form, becomes obscured by an insistence on adhering to the same tired formulas and cliches that films have been crippled by since the eighties, and which we are only now beginning to challenge again.
When in doubt call a plumber.