In 1349, while the Black Plague threatens Germany, the town of Hamelin hires a wandering pied piper (Donovan) to lure rats away with his magic pipe, but then refuses to pay for his services, causing him to lure the town's children away.
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Title: The Pied Piper (1972)
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Keith Buckley | ... | Mattio | |
 |
Patsy Puttnam | ... | Helga |
| Arthur Hewlett | ... | Otto | |
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Paul Hennen | ... | Karl |
| Peter Eyre | ... | Pilgrim | |
| Donovan | ... | Piper | |
| John Hurt | ... | Franz | |
| David Leland | ... | Officer | |
| Michael Hordern | ... | Melius | |
| Jack Wild | ... | Gavin | |
|
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Michael Goldie | ... | Burger |
| Diana Dors | ... | Frau Poppendick | |
| Cathryn Harrison | ... | Lisa | |
| Peter Vaughan | ... | Bishop | |
|
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Andre Van Gyseghem | ... | Friar |
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Plot Summary
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Storyline
Greed, corruption, ignorance, stupidity, and disease. Midsummer, 1349: the Black Death reaches northern Germany. A family of strolling players travel to Hamelin for the Mayor's daughter's wedding to the Baron's son. He wants her dowry to pay his army, while his father taxes the people to build a cathedral he thinks will save his soul. A local Jewish apothecary tries to find a treatment for the plague. The Priests charge him with heresy and witchcraft. A mysterious minstrel (Donovan), who joined up with the players and who has soothed the Mayor's daughter with his music, promises to rid the town of rats for a fee. The Mayor agrees, then reneges after the rats have been dealt with. In the morning, the plague, the Jew's execution, and the Piper's revenge come at once. Written by <jhailey@hotmail.com>
The Pied Piper is actually one of my favorite childhood stories, but this screen adaptation is, with the exception of the passable "exodus of the rats" sequence, pretty much a disaster. Clumsy direction, cluttered staging, goofy costumes, hammy acting and a ridiculously padded script make it look like a bad school play more than anything else. The title character, instead of the sinister figure I have always identified him as, comes across like an anachronistic hippie! 0.5 out of 4 stars.