The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T (lost original cut of Dr. Seuss film; 1953): Difference between revisions

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|imagecaption=A still of Bart in the 1953 film.
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[[Category:Partially lost media]]
[[Category:Partially lost media|5,000 Fingers of Dr. T]]
[[Category:Lost films|5,000 Fingers of Dr. T]]
[[Category:Lost films|5,000 Fingers of Dr. T]]

Revision as of 05:27, 3 October 2016

A still of Bart in the 1953 film.

Status: Partially Lost


The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T is the only film written by Theodore Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss.

The film itself, released in 1953, is not lost. However, the original cut of the film, which had a darker tone and included twice as many musical numbers, is so lost that even Sony Pictures hasn't been able to find it.

Geisel's original 1,000+ page screenplay, however, has been located. The script is long enough for several movies, wherein a typical movie script is about 100 pages long. And yet, for some reason, the screenplay is being kept in the vaults, with a few scans given to press outlets that write about the movie.

Before his death, Geisel denounced the film and purposely left it unmentioned in his biography.

Plot

The film's story focuses on Bart, a young boy living with his widowed mother. More than anything, Bart dreads his strict piano instructor, Dr. Terwilliker. After Bart complains to plumber August Zabladowski about how his instructor might be influencing Bart's mother, Heloise, Bart dozes off at the piano and dreams.

In his dream, he finds himself trapped in the Terwilliker Institute, a place where Bart's piano teacher is a dictator. Dr. Terwilliker has created a piano so massive that it requires 500 boys, including Bart, to play it, enslaving them in the institute. Bart's mother, hypnotized by Dr. Terwilliker, believes she is his bride-to-be. Throughout the film, Bart tries to save his mother by evading guards and recruiting the reluctant Mr. Zabladowski to help him. After convincing the plumber to help, the two build a machine that ruins the debut concert for the mega-piano and starts a riot for the enslaved boys. Eventually, the machine explodes, waking Bart from his dream. Noticing when he wakes up that the plumber has distracted his mother, Bart runs outside to play.[1]

Production

Many changes were made to the film prior to its release due to negative feedback from the test audience; 11 musical numbers were removed entirely from the production, leaving 13 in the movie. Prior to their removal, every musical number had been filmed.

Some censorship was also added to one musical number; the mention of "gas chambers" in "The Elevator Song" could have been misconstrued as a reference to the Holocaust, so the specific stanza was removed.[2]

References