Hans Christian Andersen

Plot

In the 1830s in the small Danish town of Odense, cobbler Hans Christian Andersen spends his day spinning fairy tales for the village children. One day, the stern schoolmaster implores the burgomaster and councilmen to curtail Hans' habit of distracting the students with his storytelling. Hans finally returns to his shop, where his teenage assistant, the orphan Peter, begs him to stop causing trouble.

When the children do not arrive at school the next day, the schoolmaster deduces that Hans is again distracting them and Hans is banished from the town. Peter tries to save Hans by suggesting that they travel to Copenhagen.

After a sea voyage, Hans and Peter arrive in Copenhagen. When Hans stands on a statue of the king, police arrest him for defaming the image of their leader. Peter, who has sought refuge from the police by hiding by the back entrance of the Royal Theatre, overhears choreographer Niels demand that a company producer summon a cobbler and asks them to free Hans from jail.

Hans sees a lonely young girl outside his jail cell window and offers to introduce her to his companion. By drawing on his thumb, Hans creates a puppet called Thumbelina and delights the girl. Hans is freed from jail when the theater company posts his bail and he is taken to the theater, where he becomes entranced by the beauty and talent of a Royal Danish Ballet rehearsal. Lead ballerina Doro, whose slippers need adjustment, gives them to Hans, who is immediately smitten with her. Peter learns that Niels and Doro are happily married despite their theatrical quarrels. Hans writes a love letter to Doro in the form of a fable called The Little Mermaid, telling her that she has chosen the wrong man. That night, while Peter surreptitiously reads the letter, a gust of wind whisks it from his hands and carries it into the theater, where a stage doorman delivers it to Doro.

The next day, the entire ballet company embarks on their annual tour, leaving Hans bereft, but he soon finds comfort entertaining a new group of children with his stories. Lars, a sad boy with a shaved head, remains behind after the other children tease him. Hans tells him the story of an ugly duckling who is ostracized by his peers until he becomes a handsome swan. Hans counts the days by making numerous pairs of brightly colored satin slippers for Doro.

Lars' father, a newspaper publisher, thanks Hans for helping his son and offers to publish The Ugly Duckling in the newspaper. Hans is overjoyed and asks to be credited as Hans Christian Andersen, running in the street singing his full name with pride.

When the ballet company returns, Doro tells Hans that they have created a ballet based on his story The Little Mermaid, which Hans believes is a sign of her love for him. Peter warns Hans that Doro will humiliate him.

At the opening of the new ballet, Hans tries to deliver Doro's slippers backstage, but Niels locks him in a closet to prevent him from disrupting the performers. While Hans listens to the music and dreams of his story, the performance opens on the stage.

The next morning, Doro summons Hans and discovers that he is in love with her and has misunderstood her relationship with Niels. When Niels interrupts their conversation and insults Hans by offering to pay him for The Little Mermaid, Hans refuses the offer and claims that his writing was a fluke. Doro accepts the slippers and allows Hans to leave, upset that she has unwittingly broken the heart of such a kind and gifted man. On the road to Odense, Hans meets Peter and renews their friendship. Upon reaching town, Hans is greeted as a celebrity and regales the citizens, including the schoolmaster, with his moral tales.

Cast

Danny Kaye as Hans Christian Andersen

Farley Granger as Niels

Zizi Jeanmaire as Doro

Beverly Washburn as Girl

Joseph Walsh as Peter

Philip Tonge as Otto

Erik Bruhn as the Hussar

Roland Petit as the Prince

John Brown as Schoolmaster

John Qualen as Burgomaster

Jeanne Lafayette as Celine

Robert Malcolm as Stage Doorman

George Chandler as Gerta's Father

Fred Kelsey as First Gendarme

Gil Perkins as Second Gendarme

Peter Votrian as Lars

Barrie Chase and Sylvia Lewis as Ballerinas

Production

Producer Samuel Goldwyn conceived the idea for the film in 1936 and employed numerous writers to work on early drafts of the screenplay over the years. In 1941, he was reportedly in discussions with Walt Disney Studios to produce the film, but the deal did not materialize.

The film was eventually produced in the spring of 1952. As Danish authorities were not consulted on the film, there were complaints from Denmark that the film was a fairy tale rather than the true story of Andersen's life, and the Danish Foreign Office considered issuing a formal protest against the film.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack features eight songs, all with words and music by Frank Loesser.

"The King's New Clothes"

"The Inch Worm"

"I'm Hans Christian Andersen"

"Wonderful Copenhagen"

"Thumbelina"

"The Ugly Duckling"

"Anywhere I Wander"

"No Two People"

A studio cast recording of was released by Decca Records and includes two Sylvia Fine originals written specifically for the album, "Uncle Pockets" and "There's a Hole at the Bottom of the Sea", as well as Danny Kaye's narration of two "Tubby the Tuba" stories by Paul Tripp. The songs were originally released as a series of four 78-rpm singles, with two songs per disc, a 45-rpm album and a 10" LP.

The music for The Little Mermaid ballet incorporates passages from various pieces by Franz Liszt, including "Gnomenreigen" and the Mephisto Waltzes.

Release

The film premiered in New York on November 25, 1952 at the Paris Theatre and Criterion Theatre, and received a general release in both the United States and United Kingdom on December 19. The film opened in Copenhagen on September 6, 1953.

Reception

In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic Bosley Crowther called the film "as pretty and graceful a picture as has come down the rocky pike this year" and wrote: "Mr. Hart has not created a character for Mr. Kaye to play, let alone a credible reflection of the famous Danish teller of tales. His Hans Christian Andersen is lumpish, humorless and wan. No wonder Mr. Kaye is unable to stoke up magnetism in the role. However, he does bravely manage to make merry with Mr. Loesser's songs and convey something of the jovial spirit of a musical fairy tale. ... Withal, the staging is handsome, in a story-book cut-out style, and even though the motif isn't Danish, exactly, it has a cheerful air."

In its first six days at two theaters in Copenhagen, the film grossed $80,000. It ultimately grossed $6 million in North America, making it one of the top-ten grossing films of the year.

Awards

In 2004, "Thumbelina" was nominated for inclusion in the American Film Institute's AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs list. In 2006, the film was nominated for inclusion in the AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals list.

Legacy

The film was first telecast by ABC in 1966. Because the film is too long for a two-hour time slot, ABC presented it as a family special with Dane Victor Borge as host, padding the telecast to 150 minutes.

"Inchworm" was featured in a Season 3 episode of The Muppet Show in which Danny Kaye appeared as the guest star.