The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962)

The story of Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm, and three of their stories...

Directors:

Henry Levin, George Pal

Writers:

David P. Harmon (screenplay), Charles Beaumont (screenplay)

Stars:

Laurence Harvey, Claire Bloom, Karlheinz Böhm

Won 1 Oscar. Another 1 win & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Laurence Harvey	...	Wilhelm Grimm / The Cobbler ('The Cobbler and the Elves')
Karlheinz Böhm	...	Jacob Grimm (as Karl Boehm)
Claire Bloom	...	Dorothea Grimm
Walter Slezak	...	Stossel
Barbara Eden	...	Greta Heinrich
Oskar Homolka	...	The Duke (as Oscar Homolka)
Arnold Stang	...	Rumpelstiltskin
Martita Hunt	...	Anna Richter (Story Teller)
Betty Garde	...	Miss Bettenhausen
Bryan Russell	...	Freidrich Grimm
Ian Wolfe	...	Gruber
Tammy Marihugh	...	Pauline Grimm
Cheerio Meredith	...	Mrs. Von Dittersdorf
Walter Rilla	...	Priest
Yvette Mimieux	...	The Princess ('The Dancing Princess')

Storyline

The fictionalized lives of the story-telling Grimm brothers are brought to life in this all-star fantasy film. In the early nineteenth century, the brothers Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm are commissioned to write a family history for a local Duke. Reenactments of three of their stories including "The Dancing Princess", "The Cobbler and the Elves" and "The Singing Bone".

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Plot Keywords:

family character name in title | wilhelm grimm character | jacob grimm character | the brothers grimm characters | cinderella character | 

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Taglines:

WONDERFUL Romance, Thrills, Adventure and YOU share every moment! WONDERFUL Music! Songs! Dances! and YOU are part of them!

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Biography | Comedy | Drama | Family | Fantasy | Musical | Romance

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Certificate:

G

Did You Know?

Trivia

The second major motion picture filmed in 3-camera Cinerama, although it was released before the first, How the West Was Won (1962).

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Goofs

During The Dancing Princess, on the return trip to the castle the carriage crosses a dilapidated wooden bridge that is not only too narrow for the two-horse drawn carriage but also has many missing boards. The horses hooves would have come down on large empty holes, causing the horses to either break their legs or smash and fall through the boards. At the very least, they simply couldn't have crossed that bridge.

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Quotes

Wilhelm Grimm: [final line] Once upon a time
[pause]
Wilhelm Grimm: there were two brothers!

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Crazy Credits

At the end, the credits simply say: "And they lived happily ever after". There is no "The End" credit or "Cast of Characters".

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Alternate Versions

When shown in regular theatres rather than ones equipped for Cinerama, the film was shown as a regular anamorphic widescreen film. However, it had not been shot that way, so the "lines" at which the three strips of film used in Cinerama were joined were visible onscreen. Films such as the 1955 "Oklahoma!", which was first shown in Todd-AO, were actually filmed in two versions, one for a Todd-AO screen and one for a Cinemascope screen.

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Connections

Referenced in I've Got a Secret: Episode dated 28 May 1962 (1962)

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Soundtracks

Dee-Are-A-Gee-O-En
(Dragon)
Words and Music by Bob Merrill

User Reviews

Long overdue for DVD release

While it's been encouraging to see a number of George Pal's sci-fi and fantasy classics finally come to DVD, THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF THE BROTHERS GRIMM is one of many still waiting to debut in the digital format (along with HOUDINI, ATLANTIS: THE LOST CONTINENT, a complete PUPPETOONS collection, etc..) With Terry Gilliam's new THE BROTHERS GRIMM film in theaters, it would seem like the timing would be perfect for such a release.

Although available on VHS for some time, the tape doesn't do the film justice. GRIMM was shot using the three camera/three projector Cinarama process. With cast and crew members such as Russ Tamblyn (who provided commentary for Pal's TOM THUMB DVD) and stop-motion animator Jim Danforth still around, it would be nice to see Pal's fairy tale film get the deluxe DVD treatment, with the insight of surviving participants giving us a behind the scenes look at the making of the movie.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 July 1963 (UK)

Also Known As:

El maravilloso mundo de los hermanos Grimm

Filming Locations:

Bavaria Studios, Bavariafilmplatz 7, Geiselgasteig, Grünwald, Bavaria, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$6,250,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinerama Productions Corp., Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Bavaria Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

135 min

Sound Mix:

Cinerama 7-Track Mono (Westrex Recording System) (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.59 : 1