Tom Thumb

Overview

Producer/animator/special-effect maven George Pal made his feature-film directorial bow with the colorful MGM musical fantasy Tom Thumb (the title of the film was spelled in lower case in the opening credits, and in all studio publicity material). Russ Tamblyn stars as the teeny-tiny titular protagonist, while veteran musicomedy favorite Jessie Mathews and stellar character actor Bernard Miles portray Tom's normal-sized parents. Journeying to the Village, Tom is pounced upon by villains Ivan (Terry-Thomas) and Tony (a corpulent Peter Sellers), who intend to exploit our 5 1/2-inch-tall hero. In-between his misadventures with the villains, Tom helps to expedite the romance between young forester Woody (Alan Young) and the magical Forest Queen (June Thorburn). Throughout, the special effects and oversized sets are first-rate, as are the "puppetoons" sequences featuring such delightful characters as The Yawning Man (voice by Stan Freberg). Written by several hands, the film's songs are hummable, if not particularly memorable. It is said that some children in the audience in 1958 were genuinely frightened by the more horrific aspects of the story (including the threatened execution of Tom's parents); it may be, however, that the adults were more scared than the kids. Incidentally, while most of Tom Thumb was filmed in MGM's London facilities, the special effects were produced in Hollywood, requiring Russ Tamblyn to do a lot of travelling.

Product Details

Release Date:	11/11/2011
UPC:	0883316398203
Original Release:	1958
Rating:	G
Source:	Warner Archives
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:32:00
Sales rank:	30,273

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Russ Tamblyn	Tom Thumb
Terry-Thomas	Ivan
Peter Sellers	Antony
Alan Young	Woody
Jessie Matthews	Anna
June Thorburn	The Forest Queen
Bernard Miles	Jonathan
Ian Wallace	The Cobbler
Peter Butterworth	Kapellmeister
Peter Bull	The Town Crier
Barbara Ferris	Thumbelina
Norma Zimmer	Singing Anna
Dal McKennon	Con-fu-shon
Stan Freberg	Yawning Man

Technical Credits

Ladislas Fodor

George Pal	Director,Producer
Ladislas Fodor	Screenwriter
Tom Howard	Special Effects

Editorial Reviews

In 1958, filming the Grimm fairy tale about a thumb-sized boy was no easy task. There were no computers to help with the miniaturization. But MGM assembled a team that produced a remarkable blend of live action, animation, and puppets -- innovative for its time, though likely to seem crude to children of later, more sophisticated eras. The special effects won an Oscar. The director was the veteran George Pal and the crew of acting talents included comics Peter Sellers, Terry-Thomas, and Alan Young. Russ Tamblyn had the starring role, which had reportedly been coveted by Donald O'Connor. Lively musical numbers help carry the film past several slow spots.