Mary Poppins (UK, 1964, Robert Stevenson)
Dan Jardine:
Mary Poppins was one of the most successful of a long line of Disney
musicals, enjoying enduring and widespread popular acclaim.
The film introduced
Julie Andrews to the silver screen and offered Dick Van Dyke an opportunity to
stretch his television-honed talents in a more demanding medium. Andrews'
performance has become iconic, as her prissy and tight-lipped title character
ironically liberates the children trapped in a stultifying Edwardian England
home. She can sing like a bird, and uses that talent to great advantage in the
film's delightful and award-winning tunes. Despite a ridiculous Cockney accent,
Van Dyke is full of playfulness and creative spontaneity.
The story's attack on
the materialistic values and staid lives of turn-of-the-century England is
undercut by the Disney-like romanticizing of the lives of the working class,
particularly the chimney sweeps. The children give predictably too-cute
performances, but the direction by Robert Stevenson keeps things moving briskly
enough that we don't get stuck in sticky sweetness. The entire set was
constructed indoors and it shows: the "outdoor" scenes are bathed in
a dull gray light. Still, there are a number of unforgettable song-and-dance
sequences that stand the test of time, and the tale's overall subversiveness is
distinctly appealing.
Nominated for 13 Academy Awards, including Best Picture
and Best Director, Mary Poppins took home five statuettes, including Best
Actress for Andrews, an award widely interpreted as a consolation prize for
being passed over when Audrey Hepburn was cast in the movie version that same
year of My Fair Lady, the role that made Andrews a star on-stage. These days, with seemingly instant access to the cheapest broadband deals, movie lovers will be able to indulge their Poppins fix at a moment's notice.
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