The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (C or 2/4 stars)
'The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm' (directed by Henry Levin) is a fanciful biopic of the 19th century German faerie-tale collectors, Jacob & Wilhelm (Laurence Harvey, Karl Bohm), the legendary brothers Grimm. The movie was shot in the short-lived Cinerama process; which used 3 projectors working to create a 3-paneled wide-screen panorama. You could even see where the 3 panels split, at times.
The film is divided into 4 distinct parts. The 1st tells of how the struggling brothers started out their career commissioned to work on the family history for the Duke, with Jacob as the more practical one & Wilhelm as the dreamer. But together, they create some fantastic tales. Wilhelm's long-suffering wife is Dorothea (Claire Bloom), while Greta (Barbara Eden) is Jacob's future bride. From here, the film segues into the remaining 3 parts ... reenactments of the faerie tales themselves ...
1) The Dancing Princess: a rich tale of true love coming to a beautiful princess (Yvette Mimieux) with a charming woodsman (Russ Tamblyn).
2) The Cobbler & the Elves: a workaholic cobbler (Laurence Harvey, again) oversleeps on Christmas Eve & elves suddenly appear to help complete his orders.
3) The Singing Bone: where cowardly knight Sir Ludwig (the always enjoyable Terry-Thomas) must face an enormous, green fire-breathing dragon threatening the local village, who is vanquished by his manservant, Hans (Buddy Hackett). Sir Ludwig then kills Hans & takes full credit for the kill.
There are several issues I have with this movie. Parts of it are heavy-handed. It is overlong at 136 languorous minutes. And because of that, a lot of the scenes feel draggy. But I can't completely damn the film. There are moments of solid entertainment. The toy shop sequence is enjoyable. The special effects are okay. The production design is lovely. Costume designer Mary Wills deservedly won an Oscar for her work. And there's a syrupy charm to the proceedings. But like I said, it just didn't 'sing' for me. Great visuals & a star-studded cast can sometimes only take you so far.
The film is divided into 4 distinct parts. The 1st tells of how the struggling brothers started out their career commissioned to work on the family history for the Duke, with Jacob as the more practical one & Wilhelm as the dreamer. But together, they create some fantastic tales. Wilhelm's long-suffering wife is Dorothea (Claire Bloom), while Greta (Barbara Eden) is Jacob's future bride. From here, the film segues into the remaining 3 parts ... reenactments of the faerie tales themselves ...
1) The Dancing Princess: a rich tale of true love coming to a beautiful princess (Yvette Mimieux) with a charming woodsman (Russ Tamblyn).
2) The Cobbler & the Elves: a workaholic cobbler (Laurence Harvey, again) oversleeps on Christmas Eve & elves suddenly appear to help complete his orders.
3) The Singing Bone: where cowardly knight Sir Ludwig (the always enjoyable Terry-Thomas) must face an enormous, green fire-breathing dragon threatening the local village, who is vanquished by his manservant, Hans (Buddy Hackett). Sir Ludwig then kills Hans & takes full credit for the kill.
There are several issues I have with this movie. Parts of it are heavy-handed. It is overlong at 136 languorous minutes. And because of that, a lot of the scenes feel draggy. But I can't completely damn the film. There are moments of solid entertainment. The toy shop sequence is enjoyable. The special effects are okay. The production design is lovely. Costume designer Mary Wills deservedly won an Oscar for her work. And there's a syrupy charm to the proceedings. But like I said, it just didn't 'sing' for me. Great visuals & a star-studded cast can sometimes only take you so far.