The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. (1953)

Cast

George Chakiris
as Dancer
Hans Conried
as Dr. Terwilliker

Get more information about The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. (1953) on IMDb

Genres & Description

Family Fantasy Music Romance

6.9 / 10

The bane of adolescent Bart Collins' existence is the piano lessons he is forced to take under the tutelage of Dr. Terwilliker, the only person he admits he detests because of his dictatorial nature. Bart feels Dr. Terwilliker has undue influence for these lessons on his widowed mother, Heloise Collins. The one person who sympathizes with Bart, although quietly on the sidelines, is the Collins' plumber, August Zabladowski. Bart hates his life associated with the piano so much he often daydreams when he practices and even during his lessons. His latest dream has him imprisoned in the fantastical Terwilliker Institute in the day before its grand opening. Terwilliker's second in command at the Institute is his mother, although she has been hypnotized into her position, which will also soon be as Mrs. Dr. Terwilliker. Bart tries to convince Mr. Zabladowski, who is there to install the Institute's plumbing, to save his mother and himself from Terwilliker. Bart also hopes that Zabladowski ...

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Comments on this trailer
Comments may include spoiler!

Diamond King

The worst film I even saw. - @Monday, March 12, 2018 2:17 PM

j Mak

March 10, 2018 on Svengoolie / MeTV !! - @Sunday, March 4, 2018 3:40 PM

Mercury King

I don't think Dr. T was a "possible pedophile", more of just a lunatic artist who wanted to make his dream happen of having a giant piano orchestra playing his awful music, and the only way to do that was to have a summer camp of kids playing his crappy music. You know full well adults wouldn't volunteer to do that, and the best way to succeed would be to have a camp advertising the kids would learn piano when in reality they'd just be "cogs in the machine" or however the quote goes in the movie. I've seen this movie dozens of times as a child and as an adult and I've never once viewed Dr. T as a pedo. It was the 50s and a kids movie or family movie and I think he's just made to be one of those cartoonishly evil villains. - @Friday, May 26, 2017 4:56 AM

KRhetor

I sought this out after hearing Harlan Ellison rave about it. Hans Conreid was in one of my very favorite science fiction films of the Fifties, The Monster That Challenged the World. - @Saturday, April 8, 2017 3:07 AM

Ricardo Cantoral

I read Hans Conried's biography and found out some interesting tidbits contained in the film's first draft. * Mrs. Collins' cage originally was suspended above Dr.T's bed and she was to recite some rather strange dialogue in which she stated her loyalty to T. * Dr. T had a saber which he would use to cut the heads off incompetent henchmen. They would rise again as zombies. * There was going to be a grand musically finale which motivated the twins to strangle Dr.T to death. - @Saturday, December 24, 2016 7:45 PM

Robert Skotak

Years ago I published a magazine. It's primary purpose was "making of..." retrospective articles. This was to be one of our key retrospects. We'd interviewed Stanley Kramer, Tommy Rettig, Hans Conried, and "Dr. Seuss" himself (not his real name, of course..and, btw, he had some problems with the film but actually liked it for the most part)...and others. However, the person who co-interviewed all these folks died and, unfortunately was in possession of all the taped interviews at his house. His room mate wound up grabbing up much of this person's film material, including all the unpublished 5,000 FINGERS interview tapes, and disappeared. No one was able to track him down. And, thus....this planned, big, very detailed retrospective article came to nothing. By the time of the theft of the tapes, the principal players mentioned above had either passed on or weren't able to re-do the interviews. All that remains are great memories and some interesting behind-scenes photos. What a friggin' loss! - @Thursday, December 1, 2016 11:37 AM

Samuel Oldham

I am so happy to see this here. To the dungeon everyone! - @Sunday, September 6, 2015 6:29 AM

Theomite

"This is not a film we'll ever see restored in our lifetime." WE'LL SEE ABOUT *THAT!!!!* COME EVERYBODY! TO THE CRITERION COLLECTION REQUEST PAGE!!! - @Saturday, July 18, 2015 1:17 PM

mute333tard

This movie scared me as a kid!!! - @Sunday, February 8, 2015 9:04 AM

Tom Yaz

this film should of incorporated animation and it would of worked much better. - @Monday, February 2, 2015 3:46 AM

MrCrispian

Better without the pompous over dub - @Sunday, December 14, 2014 12:56 AM

Jack Grattan

If nothing else, the production designer on this film should have won an Oscar. There is just something vaguely disquieting about seeing Seussian architecture in three dimensions. Maybe they should have got Frank Tashlin to direct it. And who better to play Dr. T than Snidely Whiplash himself, Hans Conried. - @Saturday, September 6, 2014 10:55 AM

BESTV OFICIAL

One of my favorites movies ever... - @Thursday, August 28, 2014 3:02 PM

richard murphy

Genuinely peculiar - @Monday, April 7, 2014 9:20 PM

only257

Impressive set designs, good movie - @Wednesday, September 4, 2013 7:40 PM

weirdproq1

I wonder if there ever was a trailer for The Terror of Tiny Town. - @Monday, July 1, 2013 11:41 PM