The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm
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The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962) is a film directed by Henry Levin, who had a long career throughout his life with movies such as Journey to the Center of the Earth (1959) and the television series Knots Landing in the late 1970s and early 1990s. The film was one of the highest grossing movies of 1962, though it remains virtually unknown today and is quite rare in terms of available copies. It won three Oscars and had five additional nominations in its day. Several famous actors, including Jim Backus, are in the movie and it uses a rarely found feature in filming where an overlay of two separate screens were utilized to produce various effects, for example making the scene with the dragon more real since it appears to be directly over the characters instead of in the background on a giant screen as was typically done. Though interesting, the plot and acting is somewhat dated, possibly the main reasons why it has sunk into obscurity.
The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm is over two hours long, and features a plot that focuses on the Grimm brothers, Wilhelm and Jacob, somewhat autobiographical and fantastical at the same time predating The Brothers Grimm (film). Both are working to fininsh a history for a local Duke, though Wilhelm is more interested in collecting fairy tales and often spends their money to hear them from locals. As the story progesses it occasionally goes into tales from the Brothers Grimm such as The Dancing Princess and The Cobbler and the Elves in such a way that they appear to be part of the plot. One of the tales is told as an experiment to three children in a book store to see if publishing a collection of fairytales has any merit. Another is told by an old woman in the forest that tells stories to children but is regarded as a witch by outsiders. The culmination of the tales involves a jeweled dragon and features the most involved usage of the film's special effects. Eventually, Wilhelm loses the manuscript of the Duke's family history while collecting more stories, and they cannot meet their deadline, so they are required to pay their rent, which was withheld while they worked. Unable to come up with the money and with the threat of death looming over them, Wilhelm tries to save them by locating the manuscripts but instead ends up in a fever. At night various fairytale characters come to him and he continues his work as his brother publishes regular books such as a history of German grammar and a book on law. Eventually, Wilhelm's works become loved by children, the idea flourishes and everyone is happy at the end.
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