Tom Thumb (1958)

A boy, no bigger than a thumb, manages to outwit two thieves determined to make a fortune from him.

Director:

George Pal

Writers:

Ladislas Fodor (screenplay), Jacob Grimm (based on a story from the pen of) (as the Brothers Grimm)

Stars:

Russ Tamblyn, June Thorburn, Peter Sellers

Won 1 Oscar. Another 5 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Russ Tamblyn	...	Tom Thumb
Alan Young	...	The Lover: Woody
June Thorburn	...	The Lover: Forest Queen
Terry-Thomas	...	The Villain: Ivan
Peter Sellers	...	The Villain: Antony
Bernard Miles	...	The Parent: Jonathan
Jessie Matthews	...	The Parent: Anne
Ian Wallace	...	The Cobbler
Peter Butterworth	...	Kapellmeister
Peter Bull	...	Town Crier
Stan Freberg	...	Yawning Man (voice)
Dal McKennon	...	Con-Fu-Shon (voice)

Storyline

In a mythical land, woodcutter Jonathan agrees not to chop down the oldest tree in the forest in return for three wishes granted by the Forest Queen. After he wastes two wishes bickering with his wife, the third brings them Tom, a thumb-sized child. The couple dote upon him, but are unable to protect him when, on his way to the village, the innocent Tom falls in with villainous Ivan and Tony.

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Plot Keywords:

disappearing woman | tied to a post | false accusation of theft | bag of gold | gold coin | 

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Taglines:

It's Colorsome!

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Genres:

Family | Fantasy | Musical

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 5 critic reviews.

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Goofs

When Ivan and Antony abandon Tom Thumb to the Black Swamp, the characters, seen from the rear, are clearly played by different, much younger men.

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Quotes

Ivan: There are two crooks here - and both of them are you!

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Crazy Credits

Opening credits are shown on the pages of a book, which a male hand is turning. The first couple we see are shown through a magnifying glass, a reference to Tom Thumb's size.

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Connections

Referenced in The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962)

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Soundtracks

Are You a Dream
(uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Peggy Lee

User Reviews

Wonderful Fantasy - Great Dancing!

Rich, colorful musical fantasy based on a Grimms fairy tale that is delightfully fun to watch. Telling the tale of a woodsman who is granted three wishes by a very beautiful blonde fairy, the Forest Queen, after he agrees to not cut down a giant oak. But he blows it on the wishes (gee, who could have guessed that would happen?!), much to the chagrin of his patient wife, by blurting out a wish for a sausage, which ends up on his nose via another wish, forcing him to use the last wish to get it off his nose - okey dokey. Luckily, the Forest Queen is very patient, apparently, for they are given a fourth wish - they would like to have a young one to play with their room full of toys, someone they can love even if he is no bigger than their thumb. Well, next thing you know, Tom Thumb (played by Russ Tamblyn) has come knocking on their door - he's tiny, but he sure can dance! He's bedded down for the night by his new "parents" and wakes up to have a magical dance party with his toys, now come to life via some really wonderful special effects. Another fun musical number features a village dance where all the dancers have purchased "talented shoes" from the cobbler that keep dancing as long as there is music. Later poor Tom gets mixed up with two villains who force him to steal bags full of gold (this part of the film was the one segment that I thought dragged the story down a bit). There is also a subplot involving a local music man (Alan Young) who is in love with the Forest Queen and doesn't realize that he can turn her into a mortal via a kiss.

As a whole, this film is really a lot of fun - with great dancing, brightly colored period costumes, and trick photography which really succeeds in making Tom look small. All the actors are great in this - but Russ Tamblyn really steals this film with his marvelous, amazing, athletic skill at combining dance with gymnastics - really a fantastic talent. The music in this is fairly good, although nothing spectacular - though I must say that I saw this screened at Cinecon 43 in Hollywood four days ago (it looked great on the big screen, by the way) and I still keep finding myself humming one of the tunes from this all day long, it's really stuck in my head. Alan Young appeared in person for this screening and proved to be highly funny and entertaining during an interview after the film was shown. This would be a terrific movie for children to see, for adults I also find this film to be quite entertaining - I am partial to fantasies, this was a treat to see.

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 March 1959 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Tom Thumb

Filming Locations:

MGM British Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Galaxy Pictures Limited

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min 92 min (TCM print)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor) (uncredited)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1