This week’s pick has the distinction of being the one and only film ever written by Theodore Geisel. “Who the heck is Theodore Geisel,” you may ask. Well, dear reader, Theodore Geisel is none other than the beloved author, Dr. Seuss.

Yes. Long before Ron Howard ever made How The Grinch Stole Christmas, Dr. Seuss wrote The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. It’s a very strange film about a little boy who dreams that his piano teacher is kidnapping children and forcing them to play a huge piano. All of this takes place in a Seuss-like nightmare world. Did I mention that this movie is weird?

When it opened in 1953, The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T was a huge failure. So much so, that Geisel doesn’t even mention the whole fiasco (as he later called it) in his autobiography. At the Hollywood premier, people started walking out after 15 minutes. Since then, it’s gained a bit of a cult following. It’s a trippy movie, well worth checking out. It kind of reminds me of The Peanut Butter Solution, another weird movie about kidnapping kids that scared the crap out of me when I was young.

5,000 Fingers Of Dr. T., The (1953)
A young boy dreams that his piano teacher is a super-villain out to rule the world.
Cast: Peter Lind Hayes, Mary Healy, Hans Conried, Tommy Rettig Dir: Roy Rowland C-89 mins, TV-PG