''The Pied Piper of Hamelin'' is an American musical film that became the first

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

when it first aired on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

on November 26, 1957. It preempted that evening's telecasts of ''

The Nat King Cole Show Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

'' and ''

The Eddie Fisher Show ''The Eddie Fisher Show'' is an American musical comedy/variety television series starring Eddie Fisher. The series alternated on Tuesday nights with ''The George Gobel Show'' with episodes running from October 1, 1957 – March 17, 1959 on NB ...

''. Based on the famous poem of the same name by Robert Browning and using the music of

Edvard Grieg Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...

, arranged by Pete King with special lyrics by Hal Stanley and Irving Taylor, it stars

Van Johnson Charles Van Dell Johnson (August 25, 1916 – December 12, 2008) was an American film, television, theatre and radio actor. He was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer during and after World War II. Johnson was described as the embodiment o ...

, Claude Rains (in his only singing and dancing role),

Lori Nelson Dixie Kay Nelson (August 15, 1933August 23, 2020), known professionally as Lori Nelson, was an American actress and model mostly active in the 1950s and early 1960s. She had roles in the TV series ''How to Marry a Millionaire (TV series), How to ...

Jim Backus James Gilmore Backus (February 25, 1913 – July 3, 1989) was an American actor. Among his most famous roles were Thurston Howell III on the 1960s sitcom ''Gilligan's Island,'' the father of James Dean's character in '' Rebel Without a Cause, ...

and Kay Starr. It was directed by Broadway veteran

Bretaigne Windust Ernest Bretaigne Windust (January 20, 1906 – March 19, 1960) was a United States-based French-born theater, film, and television director. Early life He was born in Paris, the son of English violin virtuoso Ernest Joseph Windust and singer ...

. Nearly all of the dialogue in ''The Pied Piper of Hamelin'' is spoken in rhyme, much of it directly lifted from Browning's poem. In contrast to the usual televised family specials of the era, the film was not presented live but on motion-picture film using three-strip

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

, which had previously been used on television only for the one-hour science specials '' Our Mr. Sun'' and '' Hemo the Magnificent''. Theatrical prints erroneously bill the film as having been made in

Eastmancolor Eastmancolor is a trade name used by Eastman Kodak for a number of related film and processing technologies associated with color motion picture production and referring to George Eastman, founder of Kodak. Eastmancolor, introduced in 1950, was on ...

. The film's success spawned a record album, and the film was repeated on NBC in 1958. It was then syndicated to many local stations, where it was rerun annually for many more years in the tradition of other holiday specials. The film was briefly released to movie theaters in 1966, though it did not fare nearly as well. Years later, Van Johnson's performance was still so fondly remembered that he played a Pied Piper-like criminal called The Minstrel on the 1966 TV series '' Batman''.

Plot

The Pied Piper is first spotted working magic in Hamelin by a disabled boy, Paul, and playing his signature tune "

In the Hall of the Mountain King "In the Hall of the Mountain King" ( no, I Dovregubbens hall, , In the Dovre man's hall, link=no, italic=no) is a piece of orchestral music composed by Edvard Grieg in 1875 as incidental music for the sixth scene of act 2 in Henrik Ibsen's 1867 ...

." Paul tells his best friend, the schoolteacher Truson (who bears an uncanny resemblance to the Piper), who is skeptical. The town of Hamelin has entered into a competition between several villages in order to win a banner from the king. The mayor exhorts the people, even the children, to work incessantly to build a clocktower to the extent that the children are denied school and play. Truson protests to no avail. As part of the competition, the mayor and his cabinet plan to cast golden

chimes Tubular bells (also known as chimes) are musical instruments in the percussion family. Their sound resembles that of church bells, carillon, or a bell tower; the original tubular bells were made to duplicate the sound of church bells within a ...

for the clocktower in order to impress the king's emissary, who is due to pay a visit to Hamelin. However, their efforts are temporarily halted when the town is invaded by rats, which have fled the neighboring city of Hamelout after the

Weser River The Weser () is a river of Lower Saxony in north-west Germany. It begins at Hannoversch Münden through the confluence of the Werra and Fulda. It passes through the Hanseatic city of Bremen. Its mouth is further north against the ports of Br ...

flooded and destroyed the town. The Piper magically appears before the mayor and his councilors. Asking to be paid all the money in the town's treasury, he offers to rid the town of its rats. Whenever the Piper plays a happy song for the children, only Truson and the children can hear it. When he plays "In the Hall of the Mountain King" and leads the rats to their doom in the river, the children quickly fall asleep and only the materialistic adults such as the mayor, but not Truson, can hear the music. The Piper has rid the town of its rats, but rather than simply paying him, the mayor and his cabinet attempt to trick him into signing an agreement whereby, among other legalistic trickery, he must deposit money to guarantee that the rats will not return. Furious, the Piper leaves without his money and the mayor plots to use the gold to construct the chimes. Truson, who is in love with the mayor's daughter Mara, is thrown in jail for speaking out against the injustice. The mayor plans to marry Mara to the king's emissary, but the Piper takes his revenge: playing a happy variation on "In the Hall of the Mountain King," he leads the children of Hamelin away into a beautiful kingdom concealed in a cave that magically opens for the children. Paul is accidentally left behind after falling, and the cave closes before he can pass through. The town's leaders attempt to recover the children by blasting the mountain with cannon fire, and when this fails the mayor scapegoats Truson, using his resemblance to the Piper as one excuse, but this too fails when Truson appeals to the people. The mayor is deposed and Truson is chosen as the new mayor. He and Paul prepare to deliver money to help the refugee population of Hamelout, but before they depart Truson leads the town in silent prayer. Suddenly the sound of the Piper's pipe is heard. The Piper sets the children free, and Truson is magically gifted with the Piper's pipe, which he gives to the repentant former Mayor.

Cast

as Pied Piper / Truson * Claude Rains as Mayor of Hamelin *

as Mara *

as King's Emissary * Kay Starr as John's Mother *

Doodles Weaver Winstead Sheffield Glenndenning Dixon "Doodles" Weaver (May 11, 1911 – January 17, 1983) was an American character actor, comedian, and musician. Born into a wealthy West Coast family, Weaver began his career in radio. In the late 1930s, he p ...

as the Mayor's Councillor * Stanley Adams as the Mayor's Councillor *Carl Benton Reid as the Hamelout Mayor *Oliver Blake as Leading Villager *Amzie Strickland as Leading Townswoman *Rene Kroger as Paul *Brian Corocan as John

Music

As in the 1944 Broadway musical '' Song of Norway'', many of Grieg's most famous pieces are heard, but with lyrics. The first movement of the '' Piano Concerto in A Minor'' serves as the tune for the lovers' duet, '' Wedding-Day at Troldhaugen'' plays as a work song for the townsfolk and Grieg's '' Peer Gynt'' is used for most of the other musical numbers.

Soundtrack

All music by

, and lyrics by Irving Taylor. Orchestra conducted by Pete King. * "Pied Piper’s Morning Romp/In the Hall of the Mountain King" (orchestral arrangement adapted from '' Peer Gynt'') * Doodles Weaver and chorus - "Work Song" (adapted from "Wedding Day at Troldhaugen") * Van Johnson - "How Can I Tell You?" (adapted from "Piano Concerto in A Minor") * Claude Rains, Doodles Weaver, Stanley Adams and Councilors - "Prestige" * "Befriendment of the Children/In the Hall of the Mountain King" (adapted from ''Peer Gynt'') * Van Johnson and Villagers - "Feats of the Piper" (adapted from "Anitra's Dance" from ''Peer Gynt'') * "Rat Exodus/In the Hall of the Mountain King" (orchestral arrangement adapted from ''Peer Gynt'') * "Morning Waltz" (adapted from "Morning Mood" from ''Peer Gynt'') * Van Johnson - "Flim Flam Floo" (adapted from one of the "Norwegian Dances") *Claude Rains, Doodles Weaver, Stanley Adams and Councilors - "Prestige" Reprise * Van Johnson - "Fool's Gold" (adapted from "Solvejg's Song" from ''Peer Gynt'') * Lori Nelson - "My Heart Will Fly to Heaven" (adapted from "Wedding Day at Toldhaugen") * Villagers - "Welcome Emissary Song" (adapted from "Arabian Dance" from ''Peer Gynt'') * Van Johnson and Lori Nelson - "How Can I Tell You?" Reprise * "Exodus of the Children/In the Hall of the Mountain King" (orchestral arrangement adapted from ''Peer Gynt'') * Kay Starr - "A Mother's Lament" (adapted from "Aase's Death" from ''Peer Gynt'') * "Return of the Children/In the Hall of the Mountain King" (adapted from ''Peer Gynt'')

Production history

The film was one of several 1950s telecasts of musical fantasy specials for children. This trend started after the great success of the first two live telecasts (in 1955 and 1956) of ''

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...

'', which had gained the largest audience for a televised special to date. In late 1955, '' Hallmark Hall of Fame'' presented a live telecast of the 1932 stage adaptation of '' Alice in Wonderland''. This was followed in 1956 by the first telecast of

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

's 1939 film '' The Wizard of Oz'' (starring

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

), and the first, live version of

Rodgers and Hammerstein Rodgers and Hammerstein was a theater-writing team of composer Richard Rodgers (1902–1979) and lyricist-dramatist Oscar Hammerstein II (1895–1960), who together created a series of innovative and influential American musicals. Their popular ...

's only musical for television, ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

'' (1957), starring Julie Andrews. Both ''The Wizard of Oz'' and ''Cinderella'' also drew large audiences on television. Only a month before the telecast of ''The Pied Piper of Hamelin'', NBC presented a live live-action musical adaptation of ''

Pinocchio Pinocchio ( , ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the children's novel '' The Adventures of Pinocchio'' (1883) by Italian writer Carlo Collodi of Florence, Tuscany. Pinocchio was carved by a woodcarver named Geppetto in a Tuscan ...

'' starring Mickey Rooney. In 1958, a live musical version of ''

Hansel and Gretel "Hansel and Gretel" (; german: Hänsel und Gretel ) is a German fairy tale collected by the German Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in ''Grimm's Fairy Tales'' (KHM 15). It is also known as Little Step Brother and Little Step Sister. Hansel ...

'', with

Barbara Cook Barbara Cook (October 25, 1927 – August 8, 2017) was an American actress and singer who first came to prominence in the 1950s as the lead in the original Broadway musicals '' Plain and Fancy'' (1955), ''Candide'' (1956) and ''The Music Man'' ( ...

and

Red Buttons Red Buttons (born Aaron Chwatt; February 5, 1919 – July 13, 2006) was an American actor and comedian. He won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his supporting role in the 1957 film '' Sayonara''. He was nominated for awards for his acting work ...

, was televised. Both ''Pinocchio'' and ''Hansel and Gretel'' boasted scores by Alec Wilder. Cole Porter would follow in 1958 with '' Aladdin'', starring

Sal Mineo Salvatore Mineo Jr. (January 10, 1939 – February 12, 1976) was an American actor, singer, and director. He is best known for his role as John "Plato" Crawford in the drama film '' Rebel Without a Cause'' (1955), which earned him a nomination ...

and Basil Rathbone, and that same year, ABC, with the help of Serge Prokofiev and

Ogden Nash Frederic Ogden Nash (August 19, 1902 – May 19, 1971) was an American poet well known for his light verse, of which he wrote over 500 pieces. With his unconventional rhyming schemes, he was declared by ''The New York Times'' the country's bes ...

,Time (magazine)
/ref> combined the elements of musical comedy, marionettes and classical music in a successful special entitled ''Art Carney Meets Peter and the Wolf.''

Home media

Rarely telecast now, ''The Pied Piper of Hamelin'' is available on DVD and through online streaming services, but there has never been a restored version of the film. The DVD was reissued in 2004 by Digiview Productions. The film is now in the public domain.

References

External links

* * (small bits are missing) *The Pied PIper of Hamelin on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bW6P2es34NY&feature=share {{DEFAULTSORT:Pied Piper Of Hamelin 1957 television films 1957 films 1950s musical fantasy films American musical fantasy films American television films Films based on Pied Piper of Hamelin Films set in the Middle Ages Films set in the Holy Roman Empire 1950s English-language films 1950s American films