Mary Poppins (Disney) (1964)

Page 6 alt Disney Production: Mat POP 2B SISTER SUFFRAGETTE Glynis Johns sings her loyalty to the cause of women’s rights in Walt Disney's “Mary Poppins,” while her less progressive household staff registers shock (Hermione Baddeley) and disdain (Elsa Lanchester). The Technicolor musicalfantasy stars Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. Dick Van Dyke Proves to Be Refreshing Jack-of-all-Trades in ‘Mary Poppins’ Dick Van Dyke, one of the entertainment world’s most popular young stars, is a jack-ofall-trades and master of most. He is an actor, comedian, singer, dancer, impersonator, magician, painter, sculptor, interior decorator, sportscar enthusiast and camera bug. His professional credits include a television series, “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” on CBS, a daily radio show, “Flair,” on ABC, a recording contract with Command Records and a hit night club act. He made his motion picture debut in “Bye Bye Birdie,” recreating his original role of the Broadway production, and is currently starring with Julie Andrews in Walt Disney’s musical-fantasy, ‘““Mary Poppins.” Van Dyke has been termed a human dynamo by his business associates, who find it difficult to keep up the pace of this easy-going, but fast-moving, young man. None of his family had any Live-Action, Animation Combine in High Spot of Disney’s ‘Mary Poppins’ The technique of combining live-action photography with the animated cartoon on the same screen has long been considered one of Walt Disney’s major contributions to the motion picture medium, but never has it been used more expertly or effectively than in his exciting new musical-fantasy, “Mary Poppins.” To bring the delightful P. L. Travers stories to the screen, every magical Disney trick has been employed to strengthen the believability of the fantasy and to enhance the enchant ment of the fabulous feature. “We have used the combination of live-action and animated-cartoon technique in several of our films but only when the story needed it,” Disney recalls. “In the ‘Jolly Holiday’ sequence of ‘Mary Poppins’ it’s a natural.” When Dick Van Dyke as Bert, a sidewalk artist, invites Mary Poppins, played by Julie Andrews, and her two young charges, played by Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber, to come for an outing in one of his chalk-drawing pictures, they step into a fantasy world of painted backgrounds inhabited by a wide assortment of appealing Disney cartoon characters. This colorful, fun-filled adventure is one of the many highlights of the Disney production and features a musical number, in which Van Dyke is joined by four rollicking cartoon penquins in a rousing dance, that’s a real show stopper. The technique was pioneered by Disney some forty years ago in a series called “Alice in Cartoonland.” These short subjects, involving a little girl’s adventures in a fantasy world of animated-cartoon creations, featured a child actress in the title role. The series was eventually abandoned for technical and acute financial reasons, but Walt held on to the technique until 1945 when it was used again in his carbe feature, “The Three Cabaleros.” In this colorful musical, Donald Duck, Jose Carioca and Panchito, the rooster, danced and frolicked with some of Latin America’s top entertainers to the pulsating rhythms of the samba and la bomba. The following year Disney produced “Song of the South,” based on the “Uncle Remus” stories of Joel Chandler Harris. He again combined animation with live-action to incorporate actor James Baskett and child stars Bobby Driscoll and Luana Patten into the cartoon adventures of Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox and Brer Bear. The technique continued to amaze the movie-going public. It clamored for more. For an encore, “Melody Time,” released in 1948, featured organist Ethel Smith cavorting with cartooncharacters Donald Duck, Jose Carioca and the Aracuan bird through a musical sequence called “Blame It on the Samba.” Now, sixteen years later, Disney’s most ambitious use of the combination technique is soon to be seen in his most ambitious of all motion picture -productions, “Mary Poppins.” Filmed in brilliant Technicolor and based on the Mary Poppins books by P. L. Travers, “Mary Poppins” stars Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson and Glynis Johns. Robert Stevenson directed from _a screenplay by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi. Walsh was also co-producer on the Buena Vista release. theatrical inclinations and except for some clowning around in high school, Dick had never given any thought to. becoming an entertainer. His first encouragement came while serving a hitch in the Air Force. A fellow airman, Byron Paul, now his personal manager, was impressed by Van Dyke’s performance in a local service show and persuaded him to try out as an announcer on “Flight Time,” an Air Force radio program. Dick got the job, but upon his discharge he forgot about show business and returned to Danville to open an advertising agency. A year later Danville’s answer to Madison Avenue declared bankruptcy, and formed a night club act with Phil Erickson of Danville. At the time “lip syncing,” or mouthing records, was popular in clubs and the Danville boys became “The Merry Mutes.” Before the sudden collapse of the night club business Good Humor, Good Luck Attend Ed Wynn Walt Disney Society Good humor and good luck always attend both of them when Ed Wynn joins Walt Disney in some of the latter’s many motion picture and television ventures, like the musically marvelous feature, “Mary Poppins.” As the laugh-happy Uncle Albert in Disney’s sparkling new musical-fantasy, Wynn hits a high note in hilarity in this, his seventh assignment under the Disney banner. Ed has loved every minute of it. “Walt is one of the most creative men in our profession” he says, “and I never dispute his judgment when he offers me a part.” And Walt offers Ed a part whenever there is one within the wide range of his vast capabilities, which makes it often. This mutual admiration society began back in 1951 when Walt called on Ed to create the voice characterization for the Mad Hatter in the animated-cartoon feature, “Alice in Wonderland.” He next re-created his famous Fire Chief character in the Disney live-action comedy hit, “The Absent Minded Professor.” Ed’s portrayal of the zany toymaker in “Babes in Toyland” was a standout. As a wacky agricultural agent in “Son of Flubber,” he convulsed movie audiences everywhere. Ed’s activities for Disney have not been confined to motion pictures. He was also co-starred last season in “The Golden Horseshoe Revue” on Disney’s television show, “Wonderful World of Color,” in which he performed several of his memorable musical-comedy routines from vaudeville days. This season, he repeated on the top-rated TV show as a warm-hearted recluse with a sense of humor in the hourlong comedy drama, “Treasure in the Haunted House.” In Walt’s exciting new tunefilm, based on the famed “Mary Poppins” books by P. L. Travers, Ed plays the whimsical nursemaid’s jovial uncle who suffers from a mirthful malady — excessive laughter that makes him weightless and sends him floating upwards to the ceiling, defying every law of gravity. For this role, not only Ed’s comedy talents were drawn on, but also his athletic prowess was put to the test. It proved to be his most strenuous performance of recent years. “At 76 you aren’t as agile as you are at 16,” Ed happily confides, “but I feel 16 so I had no problem.” Filmed in brilliant Technicolor, “Mary Poppins” stars Julie An ~ Mat POP 1F ED WYNN continues his long association with Walt Disney with an uproarious portrayal of Uncle Albert in the Burbank producer's musical-fantasy, ‘‘Mary Poppins."’ The Technicolor production stars Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke. drews, Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson and Glynis Johns, Robert Stevenson directed from a screenplay by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi. Walsh was also co-producer on the Buena Vista release. Mat POP 1D aS r isney Productions Mat POP 1E DICK VAN DYKE of modern times appears amused at the antics of Dick Van Dyke as a turn-of-the-century gay blade, one of the many facets of his brilliant role in Walt Disney’s ‘“‘Mary Poppins.”’ production. in the late forties, they enjoyed successful engagements at the “Last Frontier” in Las Vegas, “Slapsy Maxie’s” in Hollywood and the “Chi Chi” in Palm Springs. With little work available in California, the team travelled across country and landed in Atlanta, Georgia, where Dick broke into television with a variety-type morning show, while his partner bought a night club. Dick’s TV show was extremely popular and after a few years he received an attractive offer to do a similar program in New Orleans. He had been in New Orleans for six months when a former Air Force buddy, Byron Paul, paged him for an audition at CBS in New York, where Paul was a director. Impressed by his versatility and personality, CBS put Dick under contract. Van Dyke eventually replaced Jack Paar on his morning show and filled in occasionally for Garry Moore. Although he has Van Dyke stars with Julie Andrews in the Technicolor worked extensively in daytime TV, Dick has guested on almost every top variety show, including Ed Sullivan, Dinah Shore, Perry Como and Jack Paar. After establishing himself in television, Van Dyke decided to give the theatre a whirl. Despite the fact he had never taken a singing or dancing lesson, he was well received by critics in his first Broadway show, a revue called “The Boys Against the Girls,” which also starred Bert Lahr, Nancy Walker and Shelly Berman. His rave notices from this show led to two TV specials. One of these, “The Fabulous Fifties,” attracted the attention of the producers of “Bye Bye Birdie,” who were preparing the musical for Broadway. Dick was signed for the top role and under the guidance of the director, Gower Champion, received his first professional dance training and emerged a major musical comedy star. SUPER TUNES BY SUPER TUNESMITHS ENHANCE DISNEY’S ‘MARY POPPINS’ Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious rolls off Walt Disney’s tongue these days with regularity and it has become the mode around the studio to get one’s own tongue around it, difficult as this may seem on paper. All of which is plain music to the ears of the talented brothers, wrote it, along with thirteen other songs, for Julie Andrews to sing in Disney’s supermagnificentiladocious movie, “Mary Poppins.” Good song writers, like good prose writers, never throw anything away. When they were kids Bob and _ Dick dreamed up the tongue-twister as a gag during a summer camp doldrums and had forgotten it until Walt requested a superior effort for his superior picture. If musical talent is heriditary, the Sherman boys surely can credit part of their success to their dad, Al Sherman, whose hits include novelty tunes like “You Gotta Be A Football Hero,” “Potatoes Are Cheaper,” “No, No a Thousand Times No.” “On a DewDew-Dewy Day,” ‘“Ho-ho, Haha Me Too,” “Save Your Sorrow” and “Comes A-long Alove.” Realizing his sons’ musical prowess, Al advised them to pool their talents. They did, and together Bob and Dick Sherman, who wrote their first hit “Things I Might Have Been,” which was made a standard by Kitty Wells. The partnership was temporarily suspended when Dick entered the Army. Then, in 1958, the boys teamed up again to compose “Tall Paul,” a smash hit for Walt’s young singing star, Annette. The record sold 700,000 singles. A succession of hits for recording artists like Johnny Burnett, Doris Day, Fabian and Annette followed. The Shermans’ first film assignment came when Walt asked them to write a song for Annette to sing in “The Horsemasters.” He liked the results and subsequently engaged them to compose a song for Hayley Mills in “The Parent Trap.” The tune, “Let’s Get Together,” became an instant hit. Hayley’s record alone sold over 800,000 singles to reach Number Five spot in the nationwide music polls. Sherman tunes for the new musical-fantasy include “Feed the Birds” (Tuppence a Bag), “Spoonful of Sugar,” “Step in Time,” “Love to Laugh,” “Jolly Holiday,” “Stay Awake” and ‘Chim-Chim Cheree.” Filmed in brilliant Technicolor and based on the Mary Poppins books by P. L. Travers, “Mary Poppins” also stars Dick Van Dyke, David Tomlinson and Glynis Johns.