Tom Thumb (1958)

A childless woodcutter (Bernard Miles) and his wife (Jessie Matthews) live in the forest when the husband encounters the Queen (June Thorburn) of the forest. As a favor for not cutting down a tree that is special to her, she grants him three wishes which he and his wife foolishly fritter away. But feeling sorry for them, she grants them one more wish. A child that they will love no matter how small he is. Based on the fairy tale THUMBLING by the Brothers Grimm and directed by George Pal (THE TIME MACHINE). A rather charmless and cloying musical saved by the marvelous athletic dancing of Russ Tamblyn in the title role. Musically, the highlight of the film is a ten minute number with Tamblyn bouncing, flipping, spinning and showing off his acrobatic skills. Filmed in both England and Hollywood, the movie feels more British than American. By today's standards, the Oscar winning special effects look very primitive. Audiences liked it enough to make it a hit and a sequel was talked about but never materialized. With Peter Sellers, Alan Young, Terry Thomas and Ian Wallace.