Mary Poppins (1964)

In turn of the century London, a magical nanny employs music and adventure to help two neglected children become closer to their father.

Director:

Robert Stevenson

Writers:

Bill Walsh (screenplay), Don DaGradi (screenplay) (as Don Da Gradi)

Stars:

Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson

Won 5 Oscars. Another 15 wins & 17 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Julie Andrews	...	Mary Poppins
Dick Van Dyke	...	Bert / Mr. Dawes Senior (as Navckid Keyd)
David Tomlinson	...	Mr. George W. Banks
Glynis Johns	...	Mrs. Winnifred Banks
Hermione Baddeley	...	Ellen - Maid
Reta Shaw	...	Mrs. Brill - Cook
Karen Dotrice	...	Jane Banks
Matthew Garber	...	Michael Banks
Elsa Lanchester	...	Katie Nanna
Arthur Treacher	...	The Constable
Reginald Owen	...	Admiral Boom
Ed Wynn	...	Uncle Albert
Jane Darwell	...	The Bird Woman
Arthur Malet	...	Mr. Dawes Junior
James Logan	...	Bank Doorman

Storyline

When Jane and Michael, the children of the wealthy and uptight Banks family, are faced with the prospect of a new nanny, they are pleasantly surprised by the arrival of the magical Mary Poppins. Embarking on a series of fantastical adventures with Mary and her Cockney performer friend, Bert, the siblings try to pass on some of their nanny's sunny attitude to their preoccupied parents.

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Plot Keywords:

nanny | female protagonist | live action and animation | family relationships | magic | 

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Taglines:

See It Again and Again with that Supercalifragilistic Music! [re-release Australia 1976]

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Genres:

Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Musical

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 December 1964 (Argentina)

Also Known As:

Mary Poppins

Filming Locations:

Walt Disney Studios, 500 South Buena Vista Street, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$102,272,727

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$115,272,727

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

139 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The first adaptation of Mary Poppins was Studio One in Hollywood (1948) in 1949. Mary Wickes played Mary Poppins, E.G. Marshall played George Banks and David Opatoshu played Bert.

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Goofs

The two robin parents building their nest outside the children's bedroom window are both male.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Bert: All right, ladies an' gents! Comical poem! Suitable for the occasion, extemporized and thought up before your very eyes! All right, 'ere we go!
[sings]
Bert: Room 'ere for everyone. Gather around.
[speaks]
Bert: The constable - responstable! Now 'ow does that sound?
[no response]
Bert: Hm.
[dashes over to Miss Lark, sings]
Bert: 'Ello, Miss Lark, I've got one for you.
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The opening credits stop for a brief moment to show Mary Poppins seated on a cloud and applying makeup to her face, then the camera pans away and the credits resume.

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Alternate Versions

An airing on ABC in 2002 played it completely intact with the exception of a scene in which Admiral Boom refers to the nannies waiting to be interviewed as a "ghastly looking crew".

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Connections

Referenced in That's Showbusiness: Episode #2.7 (1990)

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Soundtracks

Step in Time
(uncredited)
Music and Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
Sung and Danced by Dick Van Dyke and Chimney Sweeps

User Reviews

re: one of those magic things

It's hard for me to explain the connection I feel with this film ... I was 7 when it came out, saw it twice in the theaters at the time, and of course have seen it over and over since then. I'm going to get the 40th anniversary DVD soon. You can argue about Dick Van Dyke playing an Englishman, about Julie Andrews being too sweet and young compared to the character in literature, about the fact that the whole thing was obviously shot on a soundstage. But just imagine being 7 or 8 or 9 or 10 or anywhere near there, and not getting out of your small town in the rust belt of the U.S. except maybe a few times a year on holidays, and you can imagine what seeing this magical, albeit Disneyfied, look at another world must have been like. Every time I see it, I think back to the beautiful old movie theater in which I saw it (a block away from the Catholic school I then attended, no less), to getting my mother to buy a certain box of cereal so I could get the Mary Poppins prize inside, to gathering on weekends with cousins to listen to the soundtrack and try to dance like Bert. I've been to London many times since then, but funny enough, as much as the great city has to offer, I've never been able to find that magical place I saw 40 years ago.