Hans Christian Andersen and the dancer

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Movie
German title Hans Christian Andersen and the dancer
heart of my dreams
Original title Hans Christian Andersen
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1952
length 105, 112 minutes
Age rating FSK 6
Rod
Director Charles Vidor
script Moss Hart
production Samuel Goldwyn
music Frank Loesser
camera Harry Stradling Sr.
cut Daniel Mandell
occupation

Hans Christian Andersen and the Dancer , also known as the Heart of My Dreams , is an American, pseudobiographical love story from 1952 by Charles Vidor with Danny Kaye in the title role of the Danish fairy tale poet . The story was based on the idea of Miles Connolly . The film focuses on purely fictional, romantic aspects in the poet's life; the love story between him and the ballet dancer described here never existed, as the opening credits indicate. The French Zizi Jeanmaire can be seen at Kaye's side as a dancer .

The young Hans Christian Andersen in a painting by CA Jensen (1836)

action

In the Danish provincial town of Odense in the 1830s. The young Hans Christian Andersen took over his father's profession and became a shoemaker . His real love, however, is the literary imagination, the invention of magical stories for the little ones. The dreamy Dane only feels right at home when he can immerse himself in the world of enchanted beings and fairytale castles, princes and princesses and tell his young audience, who listens to him with wide eyes and open ears. Not everyone is as enthusiastic about Andersen's daydreams as the children to whom his heart belongs: the stubborn teacher at the local elementary school doesn't believe in fairy tales and believes that all of this is a pure waste of time and corrupts morality. He implores the city leaders such as the mayor and the city council to influence Andersen accordingly. But since adults also love Andersen's stories and like to listen to them, the intervention of the school teacher has no consequences. Rather, the merciless teaching material pounding into the little heads of his students inspires him to imagine how an insatiable caterpillar pounds over the beauty of blooming flowers. When a little later the students did not sit on their school desks in time for the bell to strike, the teacher deduced from this that only this unworldly poet could be held responsible for their absence. Angry, the drummer gives the city leaders a choice: either he or Andersen. And the men decide that Hans Christian Andersen has to leave Odense.

Central part of the film: The ballet performance of The Little Mermaid (here in an illustration by Bertall from 1856)

Little Peter, an orphan boy around 14 years old, to whom Andersen is very fond, will witness this conversation. He then returns to Andersen's shoemaking business. Peter wants to save the sensitive storyteller from the shame of being driven out and suggests that his friend and protector go to Copenhagen together. He is successful with it. Peter packs up Andersen's shoemaker's tools, and together the two of them go to the Danish capital. Here you soon find yourself in the central Copenhagen city square, where Andersen instantly commits a faux pas by going up to the royal statue. A policeman immediately arrested him for lese majesty and took him away. Little Peter can find shelter in the rear entrance area of ​​the Royal Theater. The orphan boy happened to overhear a conversation in which the theater choreographer Niels asked for a shoemaker to have ballet shoes repaired. Peter immediately leaves his cover and suggests that the theater people get his friend Andersen out of prison, because he is an excellent shoemaker. In the meantime, the amateur poet sees a young girl from his cell window whom he likes. She immediately became an inspiration for him, and he traced the petite little girl on his thumb: Andersen's Thumbelina was born. When Hans Christian shows her his creation, he puts a smile on the girl's face.

The theater people manage to get Hans Christian Andersen out of prison. He is hired as a shoemaker and is fascinated by the world of theater and above all by the grace and beauty of the Royal Danish Ballet, which is currently in rehearsal. Choreographer Niels, on the other hand, is anything but enthusiastic about the performance of his prima ballerina Doro and cleans this down coram publico. She, in turn, complains that her shoes don't fit perfectly. Doro hands this over to the shoemaker Hans Christian, who is instantly in love with the sight of it. Only after Andersen has left does Peter find out that Niels and Doro are actually married to each other and that their quarrels shouldn't be taken too seriously. When Andersen returns to the theater with the repaired ballerina shoes, he has to listen again to how Niels makes fun of Doro and compares her motor skills with those of an elephant in a snowdrift. The girl then bursts into tears. Andersen is outraged how this obviously rough dance master can treat this angel of ballerina so badly, and develops plans in his imagination how he can save Doro from the hands of this "berserker". When Peter later tells the poet that the two ballet artists are actually married to each other, Andersen sits down at a table and writes a love letter to Doro, who he believes deserves better. He chooses the outer one in the form of a fable he calls " The Little Mermaid ".

The love letter that Hans Christian has not yet sent ends up in the theater in an almost magical way when a gust of wind blows it out of Andersen's chamber and into the open air through a theater window. The theater bouncer finds the letter, sees that it is addressed to Doro and gives it to her. The following morning Peter reports to Hans about this mishap that happened to him, but he finds nothing in it; after all, the letter was meant for the pretty dancer, and that she read his words of love in this way was certainly a good omen. Another day later, the ballet ensemble leaves for a tour. Hans Christian Andersen then turns back to his favorite pastime: telling children fairy tales. In the group of children, Andersen discovers a largely isolated boy named Lars. He has a bald head, looks infinitely sad and is constantly teased and teased by other children because of his hairless head. The storyteller immediately thinks of a beautiful story about the ugly duckling who is laughed at by everyone and who one day becomes a beautiful, proud swan. In his spare time, Andersen creates a series of beautifully designed ballet shoes that he would like to present to "his" Doro when she returns. Andersen is surprised when one day he receives an invitation from a newspaper publisher. The publisher is Lars' father, who proposes to publish Andersen's story of the ugly duckling, thereby thanking him for instilling confidence in his son Lars. Andersen is overjoyed.

On the same evening, Doro's ballet troupe returned from their guest performance at the Royal Theater in Copenhagen. Doro explains to Andersen that in the meantime they have rehearsed a ballet based on his "little mermaid". Again the daydreamer Andersen considers this a sign that his love for Doro will bear fruit. Young Peter, much more down to earth than his fatherly friend, warns Hans Christian not to take off and reminds him of how the Odense City Council once chased him out of town with disgrace and shame. The same thing could happen to Andersen with Doro. The poet cannot understand Peter's objection, assuming this resentment and believing that it would be better if both paths now parted here. Then Hans Christian Andersen goes to the theater to finally present his beloved ballet shoes that were created especially for her. Niels is annoyed by Andersen's intrusiveness and therefore locks him in a closet so that the ballet rehearsals are not disturbed. But Andersen can also listen to the music from there, and in his imagination he works out his own course of action. His ballet shows mermaids jumping about in the ocean, while a handsome young prince crosses the waves with a ship and sinks to the bottom of the sea to meet the mermaids in their own sea garden. The smallest of them ultimately saves the drowning man's life. But when the prince returns to his life on land and she secretly follows him, the little mermaid realizes that his attention is on someone else. With a broken heart, the mermaid returns to her wet element.

Andersen still has no idea that all of this is the true omen for his unhappy and unattainable love for Doro. The next morning Doro sends for Hans Christian. Only now does the dancer realize that all the attention Andersen had shown her is only an expression of his love for her. The squabbles between her and Niels were never serious, because the couple love each other in spite of everything. Niels bursts into the discussion between Hans Christian Andersen and the dancer and humiliates Andersen by offering the poet money for “The Little Mermaid”, which Andersen had only written out of love for Doro. Hans rejects Niels' offer and pretends that this small, poetic masterpiece is nothing more than a chance hit composed on a whim. Doro gratefully accepts the ballet shoes specially designed for her and then graciously "allows" him to go away. Devastated, Hans Christian Andersen decides to return to Odense. On the way there he meets Peter, who is also returning home, and they both speak out. On arrival at home, the Odensians celebrate him as the great hero of their city, because Hans Christian Andersen's fame as a fairy tale author has long since reached here. Even the teacher reveals himself to be a great friend of his “moral” stories.

Production notes

Film debutante Zizi Jeanmaire, here in a recording from 1963

Hans Christian Andersen and the Dancer was shot between January 21 and May 26, 1952 and premiered in New York City on November 25, 1952. US mass start was on December 19 of the same year. The German premiere took place on September 11, 1953. The film opened in Austria in April 1955. Later, Hans Christian Andersen and the dancer were also sold under the secondary title Heart of My Dreams .

The French ballerina from the Ballet de l'Opéra de Paris , Renée Marcelle “Zizi” Jeanmaire (photo, left), made her film debut here.

The Filmbauten submitted by Richard Day and the normally non-film active Spanish artist Antoni Clavé , Howard Bristol was responsible for the equipment responsible. Clavé was also responsible for the ballet costumes; the rest of the film costumes were made by Mary Wills .

Jerome Moross took over the orchestration of the music from Frank Loesser , Walter Scharf took over the musical direction.

Roland Petit , the prince in the "Little Mermaid", also did the choreography.

useful information

This film marked the end of the long and highly successful collaboration between producer Samuel Goldwyn and lead actor Danny Kaye, who owed his film career to Hollywood's most powerful studio-independent producer at the time. Goldwyn had Kaye got his first role, at the same time the leading role, in a full-length film ( Up in Arms ) in 1943 . This cooperation was continued in four other films up to the Hans Christian Andersen film: The Wonder Man , The Hero of the Day , The Double Life of Mr Mitty and The Daredevil Rescue of the Gangster Bride Honey Swanson , a remake of Goldwyn's big hit The Strange Taming of the Gangster Bride Sugarpuss (1941).

A large part of this film is made up of the music and the accompanying ballet interpretations of Andersen's most famous fairy tales: The Ugly Duckling , Thumbelina , The Emperor's New Clothes and The Little Mermaid .

An unhappy love Andersen to a lady of his heart was also in a further ten years earlier incurred movie in the middle of the action: In the rich German production The Swedish Nightingale played Joachim Gottschalk the Danish fairy tale writer.

Pieces of music

The following pieces of music are played:

  • "The King's New Clothes"
  • "Inchworm"
  • "I'm Hans Christian Andersen"
  • "Wonderful Copenhagen"
  • "Thumbelina"
  • "The Ugly Duckling"
  • "Anywhere I Wander"
  • "No Two People"

The songs were sung by Danny Kaye and his colleague Jane Wyman as a studio record . The album also included two specially made songs performed by Kaye's wife Sylvia Fine : “Uncle Pockets” and “There's a Hole at the Bottom of the Sea”. In addition, Danny Kaye worked there as the narrator of two stories by Paul Tripp from his "Tubby the Tuba".

Awards

The film received Oscar nominations in a total of six categories in 1953 :

  • Best Cinematography (Harry Stradling)
  • Best film construction and equipment (Richard Day, Antoni Clavé, Howard Bristol)
  • Best costumes (Clavé, Mary Wills, Barbara Karinska)
  • Best note (Gordon Sawyer)
  • Best original music and best song (Frank Loesser for "Thumbelina")
  • Best music (Walter Scharf)
  • Danny Kaye also received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy / Musical.
  • Director Charles Vidor received a DGA Award nomination .
  • Screenwriter Moss Hart received a nomination for the WGA Award

Reviews

Bosley Crowther wrote in the New York Times the day after the premiere: "Samuel Goldwyn's familiar reputation as a maker of high-quality films, exquisite productions and meticulous craftsmanship is further enhanced here with the handsome" Hans Christian Andersen ". (...) And when she [ meaning Zizi Jeanmaire ] gives the 'Little Mermaid' in graceful ecstasy in the final ballet of the same name, the latent excitement of the film is temporarily brought to a boil. It is this outstanding ballet production that indeed constitutes the essence of the creative talents that Mr. Goldwyn has gathered in this film. "

In its November 4, 1953 edition, Der Spiegel stated: “The Technicolor 'Musical' spoils the Danish poet and shoemaker's son Hans Christian Andersen into a ceaselessly fantasizing shoemaker. The lyricist and composer Frank Loesser squeezed some of Andersen's fairy tales into sparse chansons and the choreographer Roland Petit made one swell into a more perfect and pompous than poetic ballet. Lots of equipment - like a dear tin soldier Copenhagen - and little plot, despite Andersen's lightning career and despite his hopeless glow for the satisfactorily married ballerina. Danny Kaye, America's top comedian, is content as the pure-hearted fairy tale poet with smiling, melancholy and singing. "

The Movie & Video Guide stated that the story was "glossy and completely fictitious".

The lexicon of the international film says: “A colorful fairy tale about the Danish poet Hans Christian Andersen is told in a gracefully poetic style. (...) Remarkable care in the musical execution, with some excellent ballet scenes. Rather shaped by the typical American show mentality, the film moves away from the inner content of the Andersen fairy tales, but offers pleasant entertainment. "

Halliwell's Film Guide found the film to be “artificial, sugary confection”, “with little humor and far too little magic of any kind”. To Danny Kaye it said: "The star does its job nicely, but it stands on its own, apart from the songs."

Judging by Hal Erickson : "The Moss Hart / Myles Connolly script largely disregards the facts about Denmark's great storytellers and opts for an imaginative mix of comedy, fantasy, romance and music."

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ There it is said that this is "not the story of his life, but a fairy tale about the great storyteller."
  2. ↑ Extensive review in The New York Times of November 26, 1952
  3. ^ Review in: Der Spiegel, edition 45/1953
  4. ^ Leonard Maltin : Movie & Video Guide, 1996 edition, p. 542
  5. ↑ Hans Christian Andersen and the dancer. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed February 10, 2019 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  6. ^ Leslie Halliwell : Halliwell's Film Guide, Seventh Edition, New York 1989, p. 442
  7. ↑ Brief review on allemovie.com

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