Mary Poppins (Disney) (1964)

Page 8 Mat POP 2G se ©1964 Walt Disney Productions FUN IS MULTIPLIED by combining live-action with animation in Walt Disney's musical fantasy, “Mary Poppins.” In this “Jolly Holiday’’ sequence, stars Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke make friends with some charming creatures of pure imagination. Oscar-Winning Musical Director Tunes Up Walt Disney’s ‘Mary Poppins Irwin Kostal, who won an Oscar for the scoring of his first motion picture, ‘West Side Story,” recently completed another momentous movie assignment, the supervision, arranging and conducting of the music for Walt Disney’s sparkling musical-fantasy, “Mary Poppins.” He was musical director of the hit tune-show, “Fiorello,” and is currently represented on Broadway with the musical-comedy smash, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” Kostal, who until recently was wielding the baton over a 75-piece orchestra in post-scoring sessions on Disney’s “Mary Poppins,” digs Walt’s movie music ideas. “So many producers are content with a good visual picture,” Kostal says. “They don’t care about the sound track. To me, this is equally important, which is why it has been an extreme pleasure to work for Mr. Disney, the man who developed a multitrack sound system for his famous ‘Fantasia’ way back in 1940.” The talented song-writing team of Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman composed fourteen delightful new songs for Disney’s exciting feature, which Kostal has incorporated into the over-all musical score. With the completion of “Mary Poppins,” Hollywood persuaded Kostal to delay his return to Broadway and television just a little longer. The talented composer-conductor was engaged as musical director on the movie version of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s stage success, “The Sound of Music,” also starring the incomparable Julie Andrews. Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke Prove Perfect Team in Bright Disney Film Two of Hollywood’s brightest personalities, Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke, are teamed for the first time in Walt Disney’s new musicalfantasy, ““Mary Poppins,” and prove a perfect combination of youth, vitality and talent. Star of the Broadway hit shows, “My Fair Lady” and “Camelot,” the lovely and versatile Miss Andrews makes an auspicious motion picture debut in the title role as a whimsical English governess in the Technicolor production. ©1964 Wait Disney Productions Mat POP 2H Van Dyke, who starred in the Broadway and movie version of “Bye Bye Birdie,” and is seen weekly in his own top-rated television show over CBS-TV, plays to perfection the happy-go-lucky Bert, friend and confidant of the resourceful Mary Poppins. The sparkling Disney tune-film also stars David Tomlinson and Glynis Johns, and co-stars Ed Wynn, Hermione Baddeley and Elsa Lanchester. Based on the Mary Poppins books by P. L. Travers, the Disney production was directed by Robert Stevenson from a screenplay by Bill Walsh and Don DaGradi. Walsh was also co-producer on the Buena Vista release. ADMIRAL BOOM, played by Reginald Owen, keeps his house ship shape in true nautical fashion in Walt Disney's musical-fantasy, ‘‘Mary Poppins.” Don Barclay plays the mate who cheerfully carries out his hilarious chores. 7 Moppet Actor’s Method Wins Him 2nd Disney Role in “Mary Poppins’ Matthew Garber is a pintsized actor with a great deal of talent and a complete lack of inhibition, a trait which has won him the reputation of being the youngest method actor in movies. Method actor or not, this seven-year-old Britisher’s complete naturalness in front of the camera has resulted in leading roles in two of Walt Disney’s feature productions, “The Three Lives of Thomasina,” and the dazzling new musical feature, “Mary Poppins.” Matthew’s natural flair for acting was discovered during the filming of his first screen test. He interrupted the scene by saying, “Excuse me, I think one of my front teeth is falling out.” Trying to stifle a laugh, the director replied: “Well, go ahead and pull it out.” Before the eager cast and crew, Matthew did just that, while the camera continued to roll. Needless to say, the appealing youngster clinched the role once the test had been screened. His cheeky face lit up the screen and his mobile features, gentle nose twitching and general restlessness on camera, sent the audience into gales of laughter. Mat POP 1J MATTHEW GARBER During the filming of “Mary Poppins,” whenever Matthew sensed it was nearing lunch time, he would drop a subtle hint to director Robert Stevenson by walking over and taking a look at his wristwatch. It nearly always resulted in a lunch break. Young Walt Disney Discovery Brings Tradition to ‘Mary Poppins’ Role Like her teen-age British counterpart, Hayley Mills, petite and talented eight-yearold Karen Dotrice comes from yet another of the United Kingdom’s acting families. Walt Disney’s newest discovery, the blue-eyed, blondehaired Karen inherited her dramatic ability from both parents. Her father, Roy, is a well-known member of Peter Hall’s Royal Shakespearian Company. Her mother, Kay, has appeared in a number of London’s West End _ productions. Her sixteen-year-old sister, Michele, has already made a mark for herself with the Royal Shakespearian Company and in leading roles on television. Three-year-old Yvette, the youngest member of the Dotrice family, has yet to make her acting debut, but her precociousness seems to leave little doubt that she, too, will follow in her elders’ footsteps. Currently making her second screen appearance in Disney’s exciting new musical feature. “Mary Poppins,” following a widely acclaimed film bow in the producer’s recent heartwarming drama, “The Three Lives of Thomasina,” Karen is remarkably serious and adult for one of her tender years. She lives and breathes the theatre, which she claims is both a hobby and a pastime. 1964 Walt Disney Productions “Mat POP 1K KAREN DOTRICE When Disney launched a talent search for a little English girl to play one of the leads in “The Three Lives of Thomasina,” his London casting director remembered Karen’s remarkable performance in her recent stage debut in Bertold Brecht’s “The Caucasion Chalk Circle.” A screen, test was arranged during which Karen was called on to register every kind of emotion. She came through with flying colors and was signed for the Disney production. ‘Mary Poppins’ Is Ninth Walt Disney Film for Director Robert Stevenson Not many motion picture directors on either side of the big pond can list the kind of success Robert Stevenson has achieved, particularly since coming to work for Walt Disney nine big, happy pictures ago. The ninth and happiest and biggest — its production embraced all four Disney sound stages — is Walt’s “Mary Poppins,” a swinging live-action fantasy about a magical nanny played by the hottest gal in showbiz right now, Julie Andrews. Stevenson began his movie career writing, and at the same time coping with wiseacres who were bound to com~ pare him with Robert Louis Stevenson as his relative and thus chief benefactor in the talent department. “T am not now nor have I ever been even remotely related to Robert Louis Stevenson, the author,” says director Stevenson, who likes to be called just “Bob.’”’ Stevenson’s fourth job with Walt, directing Robert Louis Stevenson’s “Kidnapped,” from a Robert Stevenson script, did not of course help quell the rumor. Bob’s first screenplay, ‘Tudor Rose,” was a big hit in both Britain and the United States. He soon tried directing and quickly proved himself with hits like “King Solomon’s Mines,” “Back Street,” “Jane Eyre” and “My Forbidden Past,” plus something like a hundred television shows, fifteen of them from his own scripts. His Disney pictures include such hits like “Old Yeller,” “The Absent Minded Professor” and “Son of Flubber.” (Not for publication) | SYNOPSIS | A street entertainer named Bert (DICK VAN DYKE) introduces us to the residents of Cherry Tree Lane, a curving bit of road in a charming section of London, circa 1910. Among them are the Banks family, whose household is in an uproar over the abrupt departure of their nanny. Katie Nanna (ELSA LANCHESTER). This leaves the children, Jane (KAREN DOTRICE) and Michael (MATTHEW GARBER) solely in the hands of their parents, Mr. (DAVID TOMLINSON) and Mrs. (GLYNIS JOHNS) Banks. However, the mother is a suffragette who has little time for her children, and the father is a bank executive with even less time for his family. Ellen, the maid (HERMIONE BADDELEY), refuses to take on the added responsibility. Mr. Banks must place an advertisement in The Times for another nanny, but the children write their own ad, requesting “must be kind, must be witty, very sweet and very pretty .3.7 Next morning the Banks’ next door neighbor, Admiral Boom (REGINALD OWEN), notices a change in the wind. The West Wind has faltered and a breeze comes strongly from the east. And swept in on the East Wind is Mary Poppins JULIE ANDREWS). A line of stern-looking women waits in front of the Banks house. At the hour of eight, they will be interviewed. The hour is announced by Admiral Boom and his assistant, Binnacle (DON BARCLAY), as they fire the large cannon atop his house. When Mr. Banks orders the door opened to begin the interviews, he finds that all the applicants have vanished, save one. She is Mary Poppins and in her hand _ she clutches the children’s ad, supposedly destroyed. The time has arrived for the daily walk in the park, so Mary Poppins leads the children down the sidewalk to the park entrance. They meet up with the street entertainer, Bert, who is now drawing pictures on the sidewalk. Bert suggests that they go for a stroll through one of his chalk drawings. In a flash, Bert, Mary, Jane and Michael have passed through the picture and are frolicking across the chalk-drawn English countryside. They go for a ride on a carousel, but the horses break loose from their merry-go-round and race gaily over hill and dale. The next morning — its advent announced by Admiral Boom’s cannon salute — finds a disarming change in the Banks household. The sourfaced cook, Mrs. Brill (RETA SHAW), is singing to herself and the children are happily chanting the song they learned from Bert and the pearlies. Mary, who presumably is taking the children with her to the fish mongers, instead changes her plan and visits her Uncle Albert (ED WYNN). Bert joins them on the way and leads them to Uncle Albert’s room where the old man is happily floating near the ceiling. It seems he loves to laugh, and whenever he does, he rises off the floor, often banging his head on the ceiling. When Mr. Banks explains he wants the place run like his bank, Mary suggests that he demonstrate this to Jane and Michael by taking them to his office the next day. Preparing the children for the bank outing, Mary Poppins tells about the pigeons near St. Paul’s and the Bird Woman (JANE DARWELL), who sells birdseed for tuppence a bag. Next day, the children see the Bird Woman on their way to the bank. In an effort to teach them thrift, Mr. Banks has given each of the children tuppence to deposit in a savings account. However, once inside the hallowed halls of the executive offices, the children regret having deposited their money. Now they want to buy birdseed for the pigeons. Their demands to get back the tuppence creates a stir in the bank and depositors rush to remove their savings, causing a run on the bank. Mr. Banks is a broken man. Rushing from the bank, Jane and Michael run into Bert, who is now in the guise of a chimney sweep. He invites them to zip up a chimney for a birds’ eye view of London. When Mary Poppins happens along, they all dance merrily over the rooftops. Several more Sweeps join the happy group and the dance continues on to the Banks’ house, where the maid, the cook, Mrs. Banks and even Mr. Banks are temporarily caught up in the spirit of the occasion. The next day, Mr. Banks finds a battered old kite he once flew as a child and offers to fly it with his children. Mary Poppins sees them go and realizes she is no longer needed here. As she sails up over London, she sees Bert selling kites. With him are not only the Banks family, but also the executives of the bank,