Hans Christian Andersen (1952)

The opening scene of the movie describes it best: "Once upon a time there lived in Denmark a great storyteller named Hans Christian Andersen. This is not the story of his life, but a fairy tale about the great spinner of fairy tales."

Director:

Charles Vidor

Writers:

Moss Hart (screenplay), Myles Connolly (based on a story by),

Stars:

Danny Kaye, Farley Granger, Zizi Jeanmaire

Nominated for 6 Oscars. Another 4 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Danny Kaye	...	Hans Christian Andersen
Farley Granger	...	Niels
Zizi Jeanmaire	...	Doro (as Jeanmaire)
Joseph Walsh	...	Peter (as Joey Walsh)
Philip Tonge	...	Otto
Erik Bruhn	...	The Hussar - Danced by
Roland Petit	...	The Prince in 'The Little Mermaid' Ballet
John Brown	...	Schoolmaster
John Qualen	...	Burgomaster
Jeanne Lafayette	...	Celine
Robert Malcolm	...	Stage Doorman
George Chandler	...	Farmer
Fred Kelsey	...	First Gendarme
Gil Perkins	...	Second Gendarme
Peter J. Votrian	...	Lars (as Peter Votrian)

Storyline

A completely fabricated biography of the famous Danish fairytale writer Hans Christian Andersen featuring several of his stories and a ballet performance of "The Little Mermaid".

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Plot Keywords:

fairy tale | ballet | storyteller | running | newspaper office | 

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Taglines:

The glorious story of the greatest storyteller of them all!

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Genres:

Biography | Family | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Official Sites:

MGM

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 August 1953 (France)

Also Known As:

Hans Christian Andersen et la danseuse

Filming Locations:

The Lot - 1041 N. Formosa Avenue, West Hollywood, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$4,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Samuel Goldwyn Company, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

112 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Moira Shearer was to have played Doro, the prima ballerina, but had to withdraw when she discovered she was pregnant

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Goofs

In the song 'The King is in the Altogether" Hans twists his cap to one side and this is shown in close-up. In the next long-shot the cap is immediately straight again.

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Quotes

Hans: No one's ever really alone.

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Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Human Duplicators (1992)

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Soundtracks

"I'm Hans Christian Andersen"
(1952) (uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Frank Loesser
(reprise)
Sung by Danny Kaye

User Reviews

My children and I absolutely LOVED this movie!

I grew up watching old Danny Kaye movies. When I found this one, I couldn't resist.

In the age of violence on TV, etc. I would sit with my girls and watch Hans and Peter leave their home and travel to Copenhagen and have wonderful adventures.

Despite the other comment, both of my daughters sat riveted to the screen during the ballet sequences. They loved the beauty and elegance.

But most of all, we all loved Danny. Hans was a character we quoted to each other on a regular basis. He said a few things that we still say. "That's what's nice about the world - people!" He reminds us that sex and violence don't need to be in entertainment in order to be enjoyable.