Pinocchio (1957 TV-musical)
Encyclopedia
The 1957 television production of Pinocchio
was a live (and live-action) musical version starring Mickey Rooney
in the title role of the puppet who wishes to become a real boy. Based on the novel by Carlo Collodi
which also inspired the classic Walt Disney animated film
, this version featured a now-forgotten new score by Alec Wilder
and William Engvick
. It was telecast once on NBC
as a television special
, and, as far as is known, never repeated again, or even restaged with a different cast as was Rodgers and Hammerstein
's Cinderella. Nor has it ever been issued on VHS
or DVD
. Other notable actors who appeared in the special included Walter Slezak
(as Geppetto), Fran Allison
(as the Blue Fairy), Martyn Green
(as the Fox), Jerry Colonna (as a Ringmaster), and Stubby Kaye
as a Town Crier, a role he repeated in Wilder and Engvick's 1958 television musical, Hansel and Gretel
. Pinocchio was directed by noted Broadway choreographer Hanya Holm
.
This was the second of many versions of Pinocchio that have been written especially for television, the most recent being in 2008. The first television Pinocchio was a satirical version featured as an episode of The Spike Jones Show in 1954. Jones himself played the title role.
The 1957 special was one of many children's fantasy musical specials to be shown on television between 1955 and 1959 in the wake of the enormously successful first two telecasts of the Mary Martin
musical Peter Pan
.
One novel touch about the 1957 Pinocchio was that when the puppet finally became a real boy, pieces of wood began falling off of his body onto the floor.
Although it has been erroneously claimed that the program no longer exists, it has apparently survived on kinescope
. And after languishing in obscurity for years, a cast album of the show has been issued on CD
. According to sources, however, Gordon B. Clarke substitutes for Walter Slezak on the album.
Pinocchio
The Adventures of Pinocchio is a novel for children by Italian author Carlo Collodi, written in Florence. The first half was originally a serial between 1881 and 1883, and then later completed as a book for children in February 1883. It is about the mischievous adventures of Pinocchio , an...
was a live (and live-action) musical version starring Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney
Mickey Rooney is an American film actor and entertainer whose film, television, and stage appearances span nearly his entire lifetime. He has won multiple awards, including an Honorary Academy Award, a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award...
in the title role of the puppet who wishes to become a real boy. Based on the novel by Carlo Collodi
Carlo Collodi
Carlo Lorenzini , better known by the pen name Carlo Collodi, was an Italian children's writer known for the world-renowned fairy tale novel, The Adventures of Pinocchio.-Biography:...
which also inspired the classic Walt Disney animated film
Pinocchio (1940 film)
Pinocchio is a 1940 American animated film produced by Walt Disney and based on the story The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi. It is the second film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics, and it was made after the success of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and was released to theaters by...
, this version featured a now-forgotten new score by Alec Wilder
Alec Wilder
Alec Wilder was an American composer.-Biography:...
and William Engvick
William Engvick
William Engvick is an American lyricist, many of whose compositions appear in films.Engvick graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 1937. He is best known for his collaborations with composer Alec Wilder; they produced songs for the Broadway musical Once Over Lightly , and for...
. It was telecast once on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
as a television special
Television special
A television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...
, and, as far as is known, never repeated again, or even restaged with a different cast as was Rodgers and Hammerstein
Rodgers and Hammerstein
Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II were a well-known American songwriting duo, usually referred to as Rodgers and Hammerstein. They created a string of popular Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s during what is considered the golden age of the medium...
's Cinderella. Nor has it ever been issued on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
or DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
. Other notable actors who appeared in the special included Walter Slezak
Walter Slezak
Walter Slezak was a portly Austrian character actor who appeared in numerous Hollywood films. Slezak often portrayed villains or thugs, most notably the German U-boat captain in Alfred Hitchcock's film Lifeboat , but occasionally he got to play lighter roles, as in The Wonderful World of the...
(as Geppetto), Fran Allison
Fran Allison
Fran Allison was an American television and radio comedian, personality and singer. She is best known for her starring role on the weekday NBC-TV puppet show Kukla, Fran and Ollie, which ran from 1947 to 1957, occasionally returning to the air until the mid 1980s...
(as the Blue Fairy), Martyn Green
Martyn Green
William Martyn-Green , better known as Martyn Green, was an English actor and singer. He is best known for his work as principal comedian in the Gilbert & Sullivan comic operas, which he performed and recorded with the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company and other troupes.After army service in World War I,...
(as the Fox), Jerry Colonna (as a Ringmaster), and Stubby Kaye
Stubby Kaye
Stubby Kaye was an American comic actor. He was born Bernard Kotzin in New York City on the last day of the First World War, at West 114th Street in the Morningside Heights section of Manhattan to first generation Jewish-Americans originally from Russia and Austria...
as a Town Crier, a role he repeated in Wilder and Engvick's 1958 television musical, Hansel and Gretel
Hansel and Gretel (1958 TV special)
Hansel and Gretel was a live musical adaptation of the Brothers Grimm story telecast as a special in 1958 by NBC. It was one of a long series of fantasies presented on television as musical specials after the enormously successful first two telecasts of the Mary Martin Peter Pan. But Hansel and...
. Pinocchio was directed by noted Broadway choreographer Hanya Holm
Hanya Holm
Hanya Holm is known as one of the “Big Four” founders of American modern dance...
.
This was the second of many versions of Pinocchio that have been written especially for television, the most recent being in 2008. The first television Pinocchio was a satirical version featured as an episode of The Spike Jones Show in 1954. Jones himself played the title role.
The 1957 special was one of many children's fantasy musical specials to be shown on television between 1955 and 1959 in the wake of the enormously successful first two telecasts of the Mary Martin
Mary Martin
Mary Virginia Martin was an American actress and singer. She originated many roles over her career including Nellie Forbush in South Pacific and Maria in The Sound of Music. She was named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1989...
musical Peter Pan
Peter Pan (1954 musical)
Peter Pan is a musical adaptation of J. M. Barrie's 1904 play Peter Pan and Barrie's own novelization of it, Peter and Wendy. The music is mostly by Mark "Moose" Charlap, with additional music by Jule Styne, and most of the lyrics were written by Carolyn Leigh, with additional lyrics by Betty...
.
One novel touch about the 1957 Pinocchio was that when the puppet finally became a real boy, pieces of wood began falling off of his body onto the floor.
Although it has been erroneously claimed that the program no longer exists, it has apparently survived on kinescope
Kinescope
Kinescope , shortened to kine , also known as telerecording in Britain, is a recording of a television program made by filming the picture from a video monitor...
. And after languishing in obscurity for years, a cast album of the show has been issued on CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
. According to sources, however, Gordon B. Clarke substitutes for Walter Slezak on the album.