Leland Benham plays Jack in this Thanhouser Company production of JACK AND THE BEANSTALK.
As something of a connoisseur of fairy tales, I found this to be a peculiar mix of elements from British panto and movie techniques. There's no mention of the beans being magic when Jack sells the cow to the clearly-defined butcher. There's no "fee-fie-foe-fum". At a point where Jack is looking at the giant -- a most grisly looking fellow, I agree -- the Thanhouser technique would seem to call for a shot of the giant, with Jack looking at him in the background; instead, we get a couple of pure reaction shots of Jack in close-up. Finally, we see the Giant's Wife and His Dog looking down in sorrow at the crushed body, and then the final title "And They Lived Happily Ever After".
I cannot explain the reasons for these infelicities. Arguing that ten minutes is a rather short time to portray the story has a point, but I am dissatisfied.
As something of a connoisseur of fairy tales, I found this to be a peculiar mix of elements from British panto and movie techniques. There's no mention of the beans being magic when Jack sells the cow to the clearly-defined butcher. There's no "fee-fie-foe-fum". At a point where Jack is looking at the giant -- a most grisly looking fellow, I agree -- the Thanhouser technique would seem to call for a shot of the giant, with Jack looking at him in the background; instead, we get a couple of pure reaction shots of Jack in close-up. Finally, we see the Giant's Wife and His Dog looking down in sorrow at the crushed body, and then the final title "And They Lived Happily Ever After".
I cannot explain the reasons for these infelicities. Arguing that ten minutes is a rather short time to portray the story has a point, but I am dissatisfied.
