Music
Family
Comedy
A small-town shoemaker with a knack for spinning yarns, Hans encounters happiness and heartbreak on his road to becoming a full-fledged writer.
Directors
Danny Kaye
Hans Christian Andersen
Farley Granger
Niels
Zizi Jeanmaire
Doro
Joseph Walsh
Peter
Philip Tonge
Otto
John Qualen
Burgomaster
Erik Bruhn
The Hussar - Danced by
Roland Petit
The Prince in 'The Little Mermaid' Ballet
John Brown
Schoolmaster
Jeanne Lafayette
Celine
Robert Malcolm
Stage Doorman
George Chandler
Farmer
Fred Kelsey
First Gendarme
Lee Aaker
Little Boy (uncredited)
Billy Bevan
Town Councilman (uncredited)
Barrie Chase
Ballerina (uncredited)
Sylvia Lewis
Danseuse …
Noreen Corcoran
Little Girl (uncredited)
Directors
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User reviews2
Review
Featured review
It's quite easy to be harsh with this rather fanciful depiction of the life of the eponymous Danish writer. It doesn't bear much resemblance to the life of the real man, and it's rather episodic construction really doesn't help the film flow particularly well at all. That said, however, Danny Kaye and Charles Vidor have clearly had a powerful vision of what they were trying to achieve - and that isn't a biopic. It's a colourful and large scale series of fantasies that tug at the heart strings, make you smile, wince and tap your toes - just as the vivid imagination of the author would have had them do. Kaye plays the role in a characterful and engaging manner, depicting well the poverty, optimism and, yes, the chocolate box Denmark too, as the film takes us through synopses of some of the most politically subtle and potent "fairy tales" ever written. More than that, it's a visual feast with beautifully crafted costumes and scenery - though, the production looks at times, a little stage bound. Of course, to ice this cake, we have a beautiful soundtrack from Frank Loesser with a little help from Messrs. Schubert and Liszt delivering us timelsss standards that are maybe not the most lyrically challenging, but are songs of so many of our childhood's that show Kaye for the multi talented star that he was. I was not a massive fan of the choreography - I found it too precise and a little sterile at times, but the individual dancers are world class and when the story drifts into his fantasy world and leaves the fables to do the work, this is a thoroughly enjoyable 2 hours of escapism.
Geronimo196711 Sep, 2022
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