Jack and the Beanstalk (1967) (TV)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Gene Kelly

Writers:

Larry Markes (writer)
Michael Morris (writer)

Genre:

Animation | Fantasy | Musical

Plot:

A retelling of the popular fairy tale that mixes live action and animation.

Plot Keywords:

Treasure | Tap Dance | Spell | Song And Dance | Princess

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy.

Cast

Gene Kelly	...	Jeremy Keen, Proprietor (Peddler)
Bobby Riha	...	Jack
Ted Cassidy	...	The Giant
Marian McKnight	...	Jack's Mother
Marni Nixon	...	Princess Serena (singing voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chris Allen	...	Mouse (voice)
Dick Beals	...	Jack (singing voice)
Leo DeLyon	...	Woggle-Bird (voice)
Cliff Norton	...	Woggle-Bird (voice)
Janet Waldo	...	Princess Serena (voice)

Directed by
Gene Kelly

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Larry Markes		writer
Michael Morris		writer

Produced by
Joseph Barbera	....	executive producer
William Hanna	....	executive producer
Gene Kelly	....	producer
Bill Perez	....	associate producer
Arthur Pierson	....	associate producer: live action sequences

Original Music by
Lennie Hayton

Cinematography by
Hal Mohr		(live action sequences)

Film Editing by
Warner E. Leighton		(as Warner Leighton)

Production Design by
Theobold Holsopple

Set Decoration by
Dorcy Howard		(as Dorsey Howard)

Costume Design by
Alex Toth

Production Management
Howard Hanson	....	production supervisor
Raoul Pagel	....	production manager: live action sequences

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
George Batcheller	....	assistant director: live action sequences

Sound Department
Bill Getty	....	sound recordist
Richard Olson	....	sound recordist
Edward Warschilka	....	sound effects editor (as Ed Warschilka)

Camera and Electrical Department
Charles Flekal	....	animation photography
Bill Kotler	....	animation photography

Animation Department
Edwin Aardal	....	animator (as Ed Aardal)
Ray Aragon	....	layout artist
Ed Barge	....	animator
Richard Bickenbach	....	layout artist (as Dick Bickenbach)
James Davis	....	animator
Ron Dias	....	background artist
George Goepper	....	animator
Roberta Greutert	....	ink and paint supervisor
Jerry Hathcock	....	animator
Homer Jonas	....	layout artist
Paul Julian	....	background artist
George Kreisl	....	animator
Ed Love	....	animator
George Nicholas	....	animator
Harvard Pennington	....	xerox supervisor
George Rowley	....	animator
Bob Singer	....	background artist
Irven Spence	....	animator (as Irv Spence)
Howard Swift	....	animator
Iwao Takamoto	....	layout artist
Alex Toth	....	layout artist
Marvin Woodward	....	animator

Music Department
Larry C. Cowan	....	music editor (as Larry Cowan)
Lennie Hayton	....	conductor

Other crew
Marceil Ferguson	....	continuity
Jan Gusdavison	....	continuity (as Janet Gusdavidson)
Annie Lee Holm	....	continuity
Alex Lovy	....	story director
Betty MacGowen	....	continuity
Grace McCurdy	....	continuity
Frank Paiker	....	technical supervisor
Robert Schaefer	....	titles
Midge Sterges	....	scene coordinator

Production Companies

• Hanna-Barbera Productions

Distributors

• Hipervídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1967) (USA) (TV)

Runtime:

51 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Company:

Hanna-Barbera Productions

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: As the giant picks Jeremy up, the harness holding Jeremy up is visible above him. This happens again when Jeremy is trying to open the door in order to free the goose.

Quotes:

Jack's Mother: Jack, where have you been?
Jack: Out. And up.

Movie Connections:

Version of Jack and the Beanstalk (1917)

Soundtrack:

A Tiny Bit of Faith

Gene's beans, legume legwork

This is a very enjoyable TV special that kids and adults will enjoy together. It takes the well-known story of Jack and the Beanstalk but adds new elements that are enjoyable in their own right, and which keep viewers from knowing what will happen next.

The most notable addition is that Jack has an adult companion on his trip up the beanstalk and in the Giant's kingdom. Jack's friend is played by Gene Kelly, who is definitely the star of this production. The obscure child actor who plays Jack is actually quite good, in a refreshingly natural way, and he sings pleasantly ... without exhibiting a trained voice that would remind us he's a child actor. Jack sings a song called "A Tiny Bit of Faith and a Large Amount of Hope", which I enjoyed. None of the other songs impressed me. Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen are far below their usual standard here.

Inside the Giant's kingdom, Jack and Gene are mouse-sized in proportion to the Giant, so they take refuge in a mousehole. Inside the mousehole, they meet a colony of talking cartoon mice (all of them male, apparently) who are to scale with the Giant ... so all the mice are as tall as Gene Kelly. The mice would like to rebel against the Giant, but ... well, they're afraid. So Gene spurs them into action in a spirited song-and-dance number in which he drills the mice in military manoeuvres. This number was very obviously inspired by Gene Kelly's famous dance with Jerry the Mouse in "Anchors Aweigh" ... but it's extremely enjoyable in its own right, and different enough from the earlier number to make the copying acceptable. I wish that Gene had done more dancing in this show.

Ted Cassidy, so memorable as Lurch and in a few other roles, seems to be zombified in his portrayal of the Giant.

The grossly overrated Hanna-Barbera animation studio had previously worked with Gene Kelly in "Invitation to the Dance". Their animation here (more than a decade later) is slightly more competent than in the earlier film, but not much. The joins between the live action and the animation are far too obvious. I especially disliked one bit which occurred whilst Jack and Gene are climbing up the beanstalk. A gust of wind blows Gene's live-action hat off his live-action head. He looks down ... and we cut to a crudely animated shot of a cartoon hat falling towards a distant animated landscape.

If there is any justice, some day Hanna and Barbera will find themselves in a cartoon version of Hell ... in which they are pursued by monsters who chase them past the same tree, over and over, through all eternity.

I'll rate this TV special 5 points out of 10, and I hope that modern kids won't be too jaded to appreciate the downmarket animation.