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Well, I'll certainly be getting this release...
DR.T. came out in 1953, as I recall, and was a tremendous flop. I don't think post-War America really knew what to make of it. It has a sardonic, Brechtian take on fantasy, as well as an, albeit Technicolor, Expressionist design. All from the fun mind of Dr. Seuss, who was very well known at the time. But, interestingly, what looks like fun as a pen-and-ink drawing on the printed page, comes off darker in 3 dimensions on the big screen. The whole film has a very dark, Fascist edge to it, that I doubt would have appealed to people just getting over what could only be described as a titanic struggle to stave off such ideologies.
I was able to see this film quite a few times then, because my mother rented a 16 mm copy, to take around to the local public schools, and show them. I was quite young at the time, pre-school; so I don't recall what their reaction was. As a children's film, I think there might be difficulties with maintaining their interest, even though the titular adult stars were Peter Lind Hayes and Mary Healy, a husband-and-wife team who had some success in early television at the time, and were still well-known when my mother was showing the film. (She had done the same thing a year or so earlier, around 1952, when she showed PINOCCHIO to the schools. They loved that, especially since it was out of release at the time.)
It will be interesting to see all the unused material. Years ago, I got a b**t lp of the score, with rotten sound, taken from scratchy acetates. There was even a CD release of it years later, from what I later understood was questionable provenance.
(Sometimes, however, I wonder if our soundtrack producer friends are running out of material. The projects they seem to be releasing of late seem to be more vanity projects, with lots of cues, or additional recordings, that only afficianados would want, or huge boxes with multiple CD's which will probably only be listened to, at the most, a few times. Am I mistaken here? I wonder...)
Anyway, I'll be happy to get this.
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I think it's safe to say that "odd project" is a positive reaction to any Dr. Seuss-related release, so that's how I choose to interpret these odd "odd" comments.
To me, the most exciting aspect of this new release is the involvement of none other than Michael Feinstein as a producer. Did everybody catch that? "Running out of material"? Just visit Feinstein's archives! What a potentially powerful collaboration that could be, if there are any other FSM/Feinstein projects down the road . . .
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It may be a very odd project, but it's also a dream come true for very odd people like myself. This for me is one of the best parts of the big holy grails getting cleared away: there's finally room for the weird and quirky nostalgia projects that would otherwise have never seen the light of day. Dr. T. is one of my very favorite films, I've long wanted to hear the songs and breathtaking ballet sequences on their own. I knew that the film had been heavily edited in post-production, but I had no idea so many songs were scrapped. So I'm salivating at the prospect of hearing Geisel lyrics and Conried performances that I never realized existed. Also salivating at, well, everything about this release. And while I'm not holding my breath, I almost dare to hope that Dr. T will open the door to my biggest film music pipe dream, a release of the music from the Dean Elliot and Joe Raposo scores for the Dr. Seuss animated specials.
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Well, I'll certainly be getting this release...
DR.T. came out in 1953, as I recall, and was a tremendous flop. I don't think post-War America really knew what to make of it. It has a sardonic, Brechtian take on fantasy, as well as an, albeit Technicolor, Expressionist design. All from the fun mind of Dr. Seuss, who was very well known at the time. But, interestingly, what looks like fun as a pen-and-ink drawing on the printed page, comes off darker in 3 dimensions on the big screen. The whole film has a very dark, Fascist edge to it, that I doubt would have appealed to people just getting over what could only be described as a titanic struggle to stave off such ideologies.
I was able to see this film quite a few times then, because my mother rented a 16 mm copy, to take around to the local public schools, and show them. I was quite young at the time, pre-school; so I don't recall what their reaction was. As a children's film, I think there might be difficulties with maintaining their interest, even though the titular adult stars were Peter Lind Hayes and Mary Healy, a husband-and-wife team who had some success in early television at the time, and were still well-known when my mother was showing the film. (She had done the same thing a year or so earlier, around 1952, when she showed PINOCCHIO to the schools. They loved that, especially since it was out of release at the time.)
It will be interesting to see all the unused material. Years ago, I got a b**t lp of the score, with rotten sound, taken from scratchy acetates. There was even a CD release of it years later, from what I later understood was questionable provenance.
(Sometimes, however, I wonder if our soundtrack producer friends are running out of material. The projects they seem to be releasing of late seem to be more vanity projects, with lots of cues, or additional recordings, that only afficianados would want, or huge boxes with multiple CD's which will probably only be listened to, at the most, a few times. Am I mistaken here? I wonder...)
Anyway, I'll be happy to get this.
John,
Many thanks for the info. I knew absolutely nothing about this film or it's music. I can't remember this being shown in Ireland, either in cinemas when I was growing up, or on TV at any stage, it most certainly wasn't on my radar if it was aired! I'd have to agree with some of the other posters here about this being an "odd" release, it won't be on my "to get" list at any stage I have to admit, and that's the first time I've ever said that about an FSM release.
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This is just an amazing project -- on so many levels an astounding release. Thank you. This will be ordered just as soon as I can safely budget it. Thank you Lukas and all involved.
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A chance to get Friedrich Hollaender playing his own stuff at the piano? Who could pass that up? What's "odd" about it? All hail FSM for going to the next phase of sophistication in film and TV score CD's.
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A chance to get Friedrich Hollaender playing his own stuff at the piano? Who could pass that up? What's "odd" about it? All hail FSM for going to the next phase of sophistication in film and TV score CD's.
As one of the "all" I have to say that my level of "sophistication" rests quite comfortably with the outstanding collection of composers whose music has been released by FSM in the past, a "next phase" is a redundant term as far as I am concerned. I can quite easily pass this up.
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I've seen it a few times on the telly. It's a mad crazy camp movie, with that lovely rich Technicolor. I have to say I'm not interested in a CD of the music (let alone three CD's at $35), & when I read the word acetate I run for the hills (I'm so shallow!). But you have to hand it to LK, he's quite mad in the best possible way. I can't think of anyone else who would release this.
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At 3,000 copies, Lukas must have hopes for purchases by Dr. Seuss fans and musical theater fans (Friedrich Hollaender fans?) as well as soundtrack fans.
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Didn't I hear that Hans J. Salter and Paul Sawtell contributed some scoring as well, or was it tracked from other films?
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It's a bizarre, imaginative movie that's always a delight. I love the songs. Hans Conreid was perfect in it. I watched it again recently with friends. Top shelf release.
Don't open that bottle- it's- ATOMIC! 
I love Seuss's anecdote about filming the boys on the mile long piano. One of them threw up, starting a chain of mass vomiting.
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At 3,000 copies, Lukas must have hopes for purchases by Dr. Seuss fans and musical theater fans (Friedrich Hollaender fans?) as well as soundtrack fans.
Well, that's probably a reasonable expectation.
The musical theatre fans will probably be interested. Hollander was a noted composer of any number of songs from the 30's.
And musical theatre fans went wild over the GOODBYE MR. CHIPS 3-CD set, or the ones I talked to seemed to want it.
If Lukas & Co. can create any "cross-over" successes, more power to them. I've always wondered if they were working on any of the well-known MGM musicals. I know there have been rumors of a release for HIGH SOCIETY.
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