Mary Poppins

Mary Poppins
August 27, 1964
Disney
Musical, Historical, Fantasy, Children's
DVD
B-

Forgive me, but the magic has faded.  This used to be one of my favorite Disney movies, but watching it now (on the 50th anniversary special edition DVD), I notice things like that the animation isn't as amazing as I remembered, and the bird woman is covered in pigeons (and probably their poo).  Although some people seem to appreciate the "father" plot more now that they're adults, seeing Saving Mr. Banks a few months ago only confirmed that I never cared for Mr. Banks even after he reforms.  (And why is the mother a suffragette on the streets but a "yes, dear" sort of wife at home?)  The "laughing" scenes aren't exactly infectious, and I kept thinking that I'd hate to have a neighbor shoot off a cannon a couple times a day.

That all said, I still like the chemistry between Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke (his bad accent aside), the kids are cute but not cutesy, and most of the songs are good to great.  The special effects are impressive for their time.  Bill Walsh also cowrote the screenplay for Merlin Jones, which was directed by Stevenson, and obviously this is more ambitious and imaginative.  It's been a very long while since I've read the books, but I think it's fair to say that the best parts of the movie-- like the very catchy "Step in Time" song & dance by the chimneysweeps, have little to do with the actual story.

Arthur Treacher, who's the constable, does not look 70, but it had been almost 30 years since he played Jeeves.  Sam Harris was in several of my movies, going back to the '30s, but this is the last of his I own.  (He would die in 1969, at 92.)  Marjorie Bennett, who plays Miss Lark, was the corset saleslady in Ma and Pa Kettle at Home.  Marjorie Eaton, who's Miss Persimmon, would appear in Harold and Maude.  Hal Taggart was in There's No Business Like Show Business.  Dal McKennon, who does several voices, was one of the detectives in Merlin Jones.

Elsa Lanchester, who appears early in the film as Katie Nannna, would shortly have a more substantial role, as Aunt Wendy in Pajama Party.  Bert Stevens was in a few of my earlier movies, most recently Some Like It Hot, and he would be in I'll Take Sweden.  Ed Wynn, who plays Uncle Albert, would be in Dear Brigitte.  (And, yes, he's the father of Keenan and the grandfather of Ned, so '64 was a year you could see three generations of Wynns at the movies.)  Thurl Ravenscroft, who does the voice of the hog, would be in The Love God?  Bill Lee, who voices the ram, would be a singer in Charlotte's Web.  Reta Shaw, who plays Cook, would be the manager of the orphanage in Escape to Witch Mountain.  Marc Breaux, who voices the cow and was the choreographer for the movie, would more dubiously be the choreographer for Sextette.

The Misadventures of Merlin Jones

The Misadventures of Merlin Jones
March 25, 1964
Disney
Comedy, Sci-Fi
VHS
C+

By this point in their careers, the two young leads were such Disney veterans that she's known in the credits as simply "Annette," and both are recognizably caricatured in the opening cartoon, which is set to Annette singing the title tune.  They'd done some earlier movies together and have a nice, easy-going chemistry.  Unfortunately, they're not given much to work with.  To begin with, Merlin (played by Kirk) is supposed to be a science nerd, but the two main things he experiments with-- mind-reading and hypnosis-- are more in the nature of pseudoscience.  Yes, misadventures ensue, including some questionable ethics.  Not only does a judge nag Merlin into hypnotizing him to commit a misdemeanor (chimp-napping), but the Science professor not only tricks Merlin into harmless activities like eating a raw potato (telling him it's an apple) and drinking water (telling him it's whiskey), but he has Merlin kiss "the first pretty girl he sees."  Jennifer (Annette) is jealous it's not her, but no one in the class seems to have a problem with the girl being kissed against her will!

Still, there are some mildly amusing moments, like when Kirk eavesdrops on the thoughts of other students in the library, including a beatnik poet.  It's never explained how he doesn't hear everyone in the vicinity, or for that matter how when the Science teacher says Merlin will hear only his voice, Merlin misses all the professor's asides to the class.  My favorite bit, as someone who much prefers cats to dogs, is when Merlin hypnotizes his cat to stand up to the bully neighbor dog.

This was originally made to possibly air as two hour-long (including commercials) Disney TV programs, but reedited for theatrical release it proved popular enough to merit a sequel, The Monkey's Uncle (although as Merlin insists, Stanley is a chimp, not a monkey).  Uncle would have some of the cast besides Tommy and Annette reprising their roles:  Norman Grabowski as the jock Norman, Leon Ames as Judge Holmsby, and Connie Gilchrist as the judge's housekeeper.  (He was the father in Meet Me in St. Louis, while she was Norah Muldoon in Auntie Mame.)  The Augusts would also co-write Uncle's screenplay, while Bill Walsh would co-write Mary Poppins, which would feature the voice of Dal McKennon, who's Detective Hutchins here.  Robert Stevenson would direct both Poppins and Uncle.  Burt Mustin, the elderly bailiff, then 80, would do a lot of television and appear in Mame a decade after this.