The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T.

The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T, credited to director Roy Rowland though producer Stanley Kramer reportedly directed many scenes uncredited, is a fantasy film based on the only live action screenplay Dr. Seuss (Theodor Seuss Geisel) ever wrote outside of documentaries. The film follows a dream world where a tyrannical piano teacher enslaves 500 children to play a giant piano forever; Hans Conried plays the villain, Dr. Terwilliker. The film opened on July 1, 1953, and was a severe box office failure, which Geisel himself called a "debaculous fiasco"; Frederick Hollander's score was nonetheless nominated for Best Scoring of a Musical Picture at the Academy Awards. The film has since gained cult status, reaching an 83 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. Who it's for: anyone curious about the only live action screenplay Dr. Seuss ever wrote, a strange fantasy film that flopped hard on release before gaining cult classic status. Who it's not for: viewers looking for a realistic, simple children's film, since this leans into a surreal, nightmarish visual world.