The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.

Synopsis of Movie

"We should always believe children. We should even believe their lies."

Beloved children’s author Dr. Seuss made his first and only foray into feature films with The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T., which he conceived, co-wrote and helped design. Not surprisingly, the look and story were unlike anything audiences had seen before.

Young Bart Collins doesn’t like his piano lessons any more than most kids, but in his dream world, he has a good reason. His piano teacher, the maniacal Dr. Terwilliker, secretly runs a sort of death camp for young boys, forcing 500 of them to practice twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week at his giant piano, all part of his “Happy Fingers” method.

With the help of sympathetic plumber August Zabladowski, Bart plans an underground rebellion. Literally underground, in fact, as the boy tries to spring the miserable prisoners held captive in Dr. T.’s dungeon (imprisoned because they chose other instruments over the piano).

The film was a surreal fantasy, perhaps most memorable for an elaborate production number with all the non-piano-playing prisoners in the dungeon. Dr. Seuss wrote the lyrics for this sequence, as well as the movie’s many other songs.

Dr. Seuss’ unique style was imprinted all over the film, from the zany concept to smaller details like the blue beanies with yellow “Happy Fingers” hands and the tall red ladder to nowhere. The astonishing design of the film is, in itself, an achievement worthy of praise without consideration for the story. Though The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. was a disappointment in its initial release, it became an underground classic, surfacing in midnight revivals, on television and later on video.

Movie Release History

1953 - The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.

Movie Sub Categories

live-action
sci-fi/fantasy

Movie Studio

Columbia, The Stanley Kramer Co.

Cast

August Zabladowski Peter Lind Hayes
Mrs. Collins Mary Healy
Dr. Terwilliker (Dr. T) Hans Conried
Bart Collins Tommy Rettig
Uncle Whitney John Heasley
Uncle Judson Robert Heasley
Sergeant Lunk Noel Cravat
Dancer George Chakiris

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