Hans Christian Andersen

The film tells of a cobbler in Odense who is run out of town for telling children stories and goes to Copenhagen, where he falls in love with a ballerina, and the tales he writes take shape around that love. It says something at the outset: this is not a life story but a fairy tale about a teller of fairy tales. The Samuel Goldwyn production issues that warning in its opening titles. It was still received badly in Denmark, because its relation to the real Andersen is very slight. Danny Kaye carries the whole thing, and Frank Loesser's songs, particularly the ones sung to children, became known independently of the film. The Little Mermaid appears as a long ballet sequence. Its flaws: two hours is long for children, the romance runs entirely on unrequited feeling, and nothing difficult from the real Andersen's life is anywhere on screen. Who it is for: fans of classic musicals and of Danny Kaye. Who it is not for: anyone expecting biography.