Michael's Movie Grade: B+
Year Released:1964
HistoryEmil and the Detectives was another foreign made Disney live action feature. This time the film was shot in Germany, often on location in Berlin and featured mostly a foreign cast. However unlike most of the previous foreign made Disney efforts this one was one of the studio's live action comedies. This was also the only Disney movie directed by Peter Tewksbury. Tewksbury only directed four other theatrically released feature films (Sunday in New York, Doctor You Have Got To Be Kidding, Stay Away Joe and The Trouble With Girls). He had a great career directing for television though. In his TV career he directed a whooping 134 episodes of Father Knows Best and 37 episodes of My Three Sons.
The film was adapted from a 1929 book by Erich Kastner of the same name. This was not the first time this book had been made into a film. In fact three film adaptions existed before hand. There was a 1931 German film version (written by Billy Wilder later director of such classics as Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard and Some Like it Hot), a 1935 UK version and a 1954 German version. After the Disney film version would also come a 2001 movie version made in Germany. All of these were named Emil and the Detectives.
Despite being the Disney studio's big Christmas time release (first played: December 18th, 1964), it failed to gather much if any attention at the box office. Critics however gave the film positive reviews, especially praising the performances by the child actors.
ReviewExcellent movie is just a lot of fun.
There is so much that is very charming about this film, not the least of which is the characters. While not all the characters are fully developed, all of them are likable and fun to watch. Gustav is probably the most developed of these characters and he is a treat. His character is always very relatable and charming but most of all a lot of fun to watch. On top of this you really do feel for him emotionally when things at their worst. Both our tough and vulnerable sides can be seen through this character and both are completely believable as the same character. Adding to this enjoyment is the fact that this film has some really good laughs in it. This movie may not be jam-packed with gags, but there still are definitely some real laugh out loud moments in here. In fact none of the humor in this film misses and even the weakest jokes have a bit of charm to them. Adding the charm even more is how good this film looks amazing. Art directors, Werner and Isabell Schliching and cinematographer, Günther Senftleben are at the top of their game here. More than just looking good this look helps tell the story by making the environment it takes place in so vivid.
There are some faults to this film though. One of these faults is the musical score. It can be a bit overwhelming at times by constantly echoing the characters movements and letting you know a joke is funny. Another fault is that the climax can feel a bit slow and too long compared to the rather fast pace of the rest of the film. Regardless of these, the movie's good points outweigh the bad, making this an excellent film and even if it is not one of Disney's best that is just a testament to how great so many Disney films are instead of anything against this movie.
Film CreditsDirector: Peter Tewksbury
Writer: AJ Carothers
Based on a book by Erich Kästner
Cast: Bryan Russel (Emil Tischbein), Robert Mobley (Gustav), Walter Sezlak (Baron), Heinz Schubert (Grundeis), Peter Ehrlich (Müller), Cindy Cassel (Pony), Elsa Wagner (Nana), Eva-Ingeborg Scholz (Frau Tischbein), Wolfgang Völz (Wachtmeister Stucke), Franz Nicklisch (Desk Sergeant), Brian Richardson (Professor), Robert Swan (Hermann), David Petrychka (Dienstag), Ann Noland (Frieda), Ron Johnson (Rudolf), Rick Johnson (Hans)
Producers: Walt Disney, Peter V. Herald
Music Score: Heinz Schreiter
Cinematographer: Günther Senftleben
Editors: Thomas Stanford, Cotton Warburton
Art Directors: Isabell Schliching, Werner Schliching
Customer Designers: Leo Bei, Josef Wanke
Makeup Artists: Joachim Schmalor, Jupp Paschke
Assistant Director: Brigitte Liphardt
Production Manager: Paul Waldherr
Cameraman: Franz Hofer
Sound Artist: Bernhard Reicherts
Resources UsedThe Disney Films by Leonard Maltin
http://www.thedisneyfilms.com/search/label/Emil%20and%20the%20Detectives
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058056/?ref_=ttfc_fc_tt
-Michael J. Ruhland
No comments:
Post a Comment