Movies - The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T

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	Movies - The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T

The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. is a 1953 musical fantasy film. It is best known for being the only feature film ever written by Theodor Seuss Geisel ("Dr. Seuss"), who wrote the story, screenplay, and lyrics.

Plot

The plot revolves around young Bart Collins (Tommy Rettig), who is living with his widowed mother Eloise (Mary Healy). She is being courted by Bart's piano teacher Dr. Terwilliker (Hans Conried), whom Bart dislikes intensely because of his autocratic style. Bart is trying to get his mother together with another smitten, but less acceptable suitor, local repairman August Zabladowski (Peter Lind Hayes). Eloise also prefers August, but knows that Dr. Terwilliker can provide her and her son with a better living.

As in The Wizard of Oz, the plot descends into fantasy where the real life anxieties of Bart are duplicated within the fantasy plot. Bart and August step into a world where Dr. Terwilliker becomes the evil Dr. T., a madman with a piano so large that it requires Bart and 499 other enslaved boys (the aforementioned 5,000 fingers) in order to play it. Eloise becomes the damsel in distress to be saved from Dr. T. (preferably by August) at all costs, while Bart works to free the enslaved boys.

Trivia

It is possible that the character of Sideshow Bob from The Simpsons is based in part on the character of Dr. Terwilliker. Not only are their surnames similar (Terwilliger), but Sideshow Bob's accent and countenance bear a superficial resemblance to Hans Conried
's performance, and both characters have a nemesis named Bart.
The fantasy is almost entirely musical, with either background music or actual musical numbers (9 in all in just 89 minutes).
The prefered drink in the Terwilliker Institute is pickle juice.
Other minor characters include: Siamese twins joined by the beard on rollerskates and a man inside a drum.
Hypnotism is done to cha-cha music

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