Danny Kaye - Hans Christian Andersen

[taoipu1]

ahhh... memories.... Thank you for sharing(:

[Avatar230594]

All I'm gonna say is this, he was fully straight and very talented.

[showhostpurple12]

I just blew my father's mind with the magic of YouTube.

We were talking about Hans Christian Anderson, and he was saying how he rememered this song. So I got on my iPod, looked it up, and in two minutes we were watching Hans sing again.

Ah, memories.

[jayvorla]

The man is a legend, that's all there is too it :) He always makes me smile, never been matched in today's cinematic climate, and don't think he ever will be.

[belindaw]

@crazycutz I'm not sure what you mean - I didn't mention the reality of the time period. I only said that they don't make charming children's movies like this any more.....

[baref1959]

i am me first and gay second

[baref1959]

how about if we dont say people are gay or not, but they are happy. I dont care what people label me, but i would like to have them think i was happy.

[plantmanbarry]

Met him when i was a teenager. The man was a genius, a natural actor, singer and comedian....in his DNA. Dont care about anything else.

[jackhamm65]

@plantmanbarry best movies from my childhood were his movies!! Purple Pimpernel, Walter Mitty etc... he is hilarious!!! Without being crude. Odd concept these days!!!

[belindaw]

They don't make charming children's movie's like this any more. And they certainly don't find stars like Danny Kaye, Gene Kelly and Doris Day any more either :(. I was clearly born into the wrong generation! Too much focus on special effects and not on acting or storyline these days :(

[crazycutz]

@belindaw the magical world of movies are not the reality - look at what year that movie was made and look at the newspapers form same period. :)

but i love those movies too.

p.s people are less servile and brainwashed today then at that time.. or so i tihink..

[MRwagnerism]

I like old movies.hollywood has lost the spirit.

[steve16304]

@sislau, Danny Kaye never was a Homosexual. In future do you homework before opening mouth or posting your comments

[Saartje05]

@steve16304 And? What does it matter what he was. What the hell has that got to do with his work or talent?

[railgun]

Danny Kaye was married and was not Gay He has 1 daughter also: this is taken from his website :Danny and Sylvia's only child was born

[mobydoug]

Beautiful the way he interacts with the children. I know they're acting, but they're genuinely delighting in Kaye and in his story. He was the most verbally nimble of all actors (tied by Betty Hutton?), but he makes a tiny error at 2:02, and they left it in. Surprising, in an important movie, that they didn't dub in a correction or do a retake. I saw this movie when I was 7, and was wonderstruck. It prompted me to read and love Andersen's tales with the brilliant Szyk illustrations.

[PirateWolf18]

@mobydoug what's the error he makes? I can't seem to catch it!

[mobydoug]

@PirateWolf18 It's actually at about 2:17: "the queen came, and she was VER....told very quickly....." He stuck "very" in a couple words too soon! They didn't bother to overdub it.....

[InformedTexasVoter]

watch?v=Wozi20KhhVo

[maeveveam]

I put this on to show my young daughter because she had just done the story at school. Do people really have to put such age inappropriate comments underneath what is obviously a childrens video.

[MrsIce100]

This is an awesome movie! i haven't seen it in years :( might go buy it on DVD, my video doesn't work anymore since I watched it so many times.

[countrygirl2397]

Honestly! He was NOT gay, but really now, who's business is it anyway? He was a fantastically talented man and that is all that should matter!

[bexbeckyxx]

oh my god !!! stop with the whole was he gay or not debate! This man was insanely talented and it doesn't matter who he slept with whether it was kings or queens or ugly fucking ducklings

[RScotSanders]

Why does it matter about one's sexuality.... Who cares..........I just remember watching this movie on the Family Film Festival.. channel 5 KTLA Los Angeles!

[sportygirl869]

An all time classic movie star, classic movie and classic song! Thanks for the post.

[leciaBreen45]

Danny was not gay. IN the eighties I had a room mate that was several years older than me. She had been a fairly famous model in the 40's. I know for a fact that she and Danny Kaye had a fling. He was a bit of a womanizer. What a talent, but had his way with a lot of ladies and broke a lot of hearts... my roommate was one of those hearts! I saw lot's of pics and whew, the stories were as amazing as Hans Christian Anderson's! Not as clean.

[mannekin]

I just LOVE the line of "You wouldn't believe how many Kings are just a Queen with a mustache!" I wonder how many people picked up on this back when this came out!

[bootylishbabe]

Oh what a fantastic film this is. I adored this as a young child, the ballerina was my idol and she was so beautiful. Pure genius, am searching for it so I can show my 2 kids what a great film it is :)

[crazycakes9943]

If danny kaye was gay then that just adds more points to his awesomeness score. That brings the total to....*does math in head* 954.

[BaulerRicardo]

Andersen was not handsome as this guy, Andersen was too slim, with a very big nose, black curly hair, and Andersen was gay and you could see it just looking to him and hearing his voice.

[Saartje05]

@BaulerRicardo Geez, any problems at home? 

[Saartje05]

@BaulerRicardo Oh and btw. He wasn't gay, he 'might' have been bisexual. Not that it matters though.

[R01F07]

AgEnT moLdER said - up this Homo-genius contact m2m- w2w Ritual to fallow of anyone who QUESTION DENILE! so if your a women defending Defamationwhat come as natural as with a women attracted as well to SAME- men to have cSee Sigmoid Fraud's Study's on men & SEX = opposites do not always attract Same do- HOLLYWOOD was VERY good #covering ontact with each other- REMEMBER- We are ONLY Human- social control by SEX as a WEPOND- Men Love women-reproduce, yet NOT same attrition as to fellow bud's

[CaramelJamaicanGyal]

could you post when he sings "Anywhere I Wander"?

I'd appreciate it SOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!

<3

[rorrt]

One thing that is a travesty is that i had to scroll down through Sinead O'Connor, and Elton John to get to this fabulous piece of music.

Truly Hans Christian Anderson is a genius, as is Danny Kaye.

[hitlerinspace]

@sisiau -

Are you a child ? Just like Kaye says at 0:52 in the video - "you'd be surprised at how many Kings are only a Queen with a mustache" (That's the writers & Danny having their inside joke).(oral - u get it ?)

Hollywood arranged marriages & controlled the press of all it's stars. Being gay or bi is just nature at work, but in '50's Hollywood it killed box office and careers.

Grow up, fantasy time is over. Dude was a fruit.

@freewheelinphrank is just wising you sleepers up.

[nellie2581]

It's a biographical movie or story but Idon't care because, it's a musical and it's fun. I love the songs

[nellie2581]

I love this movie. I need to own the movie. I love Hans Christian Andersen's stories.

[anniefay1]

A real Andersen was not as good-looking as the actor is, and he might not speak in a such a pleasing way like that either. For being an art form of movie, it might be great; but it ignored the fact, which definitely WEAKENED THE HARDSHIP Andersen once beared for his beautiful fary tales, which, once became popular in publich, might then be UNFAIR to Andersen! I'm not disjudgeing the film, but I feel there should always be a good balance to present rigorous facts in an artistic way.

[swampdog597]

Who could dislike this video. great acting,great directing,great poetry, and a wonderful story!

[FreewheelinPhrank]

Straight up quote from Wikipedia .. " In recent times some literary studies have speculated about the homoerotic camouflage in Andersen's works".

Yup - buy it and teach your kids to accept pedophiles advances.

[cripplious]

@FreewheelinPhrank Im sure you believe everything you read in wikipedia. Even the entry that said there is a small lark in Austrailia is blood thirsty and says kill whitey as it flies through the bush?

[chaoscleaner]

@FreewheelinPhrank : I don't know HOW you missed the paragraph before the one you quote, which is: "After Kaye and his wife became estranged, he was allegedly involved with a succession of women," Yer homophobic. Period.

BTW, being "gay" does not equate being a pedophile. Get off YouTube and go get some education on the matter.

[FreewheelinPhrank]

Man this dude sure liked dolls & to hang with children allot ... wonder how many kids went missing in that town.

Michael Jackson's favorite move.

[HaloLvl43Legit]

4:15 and his response would be something like: "A slave child such as yourself could never comprehend the beauty of this dress which is why it appear invisible to you, Guards have the boy executed!"

"NO WAIT PLEASE!"

*Gun fires*

"Anyone else not see any clothes and want to point it out?"

*utter silence*

"Yeah that's what I thought"

[damone77]

Who cares, in 2010, what someone's predelections were? Haven't we out grown this sillness silly silly silly!

[zigzag909]

A great lesson which everyone seems to have ignored.

[andinovidela]

Certainly you're right. His tales and Oscar Wilde's ones I think...

[Xilluci]

Neither I don't think that he'd be gay...he could not look at women with that eyes (I mean glare). I know ppl who are gay,absolutely, and the can't look at anybody female then Danny looks at his partners. Ok, he's an actor,you say, but everybody has inner feeling which comes out when you're in act.

He's talented, handsome, birlliant singer, pretty comedian, a Renaissance man. This is the point of view, isn't it? ;) Love ya, Dannyyyyyyyy! :)

[Xilluci]

@Xilluci Maybe he just try once live the way like that, but who cares? Everybody is curious, do we?

[beckie0]

Oh my goodness, I have not heard this song in years?! - Then as soon as he started singing... I joined in.... Blimey I love this film! :)

[andinovidela]

Comments about his sexual condition don't make any sense. The opinion must be about the video and not on his private life.

[steinwaygrande1]

@andinovidela I totally agree. There is NO factual evidence of any sort that he was gay. People are too quick to jump to conclusions and make assumptions. What he did with his private life is nobodies concern, and, until someone can provide factual evidence then they should keep their opionions to themselves and not post derogatory comments about a deceased actor who isnt here to defend himself.

[andinovidela]

@steinwaygrande1 : Thank you so much. It's a pleassure finding people wherever they were, without such old fashioned and derogatory ideas. I hope you'll enjoy family as well as life. Best regards.

[grendeljack]

Best entertainer ever.

[willyhassertt]

all i know about this story is a nude king and some town boys,,, wait, wheres the problem?

[birdonet]

¿ Tiene mucha importancia si era gay o no era gay ?..... ¿ que más te da ya ?

[Mandrea2555]

I love Danny Kaye! He's hilarious

[brewsmack]

Joan Plowright, Olivier's widow, has dealt with the matter in different ways on different occasions: she deflected the question (but alluded to Olivier's "demons") in a BBC interview & was reported saying on another occasion that "I have always resented the comments that it was I who was the homewrecker of Larry's marriage to Vivien Leigh. Danny Kaye was attached to Larry far earlier than I."

[MickyMouse2277]

I hardly think dat u will belive me, but Hans is my gr8 gr8 gr8 gr8 gr8 uncle!!

[IHateGym]

Yes. H.C. Andersen was from Denmark. And i am from Denmark :)

[MsBedwell]

Actually - to add a comment, Danny Kaye admitted to his wife he had homosexual opportunities but never took them up. Also he had too many sexual affairs with women and if you studied him as closely as I have ( not only in movies but also in news items, tv interviews etc. there is absolutely no way this man was gay ! His wife wrote a lot of his material and so it suited a camp style which blended wellwith his elegance BUT just check his subtle nuances and gestures - all male.

[nbarry45]

The casting of Danny Kaye as Andersen was perfect and led him to become UNICEF's chief goodwill ambassador. Andersen's genius was that his stories have meaning for adults as well as children.

[ninskimig123]

H. C. Andersen was from DENMARK!!! WUUHUUU LOVE DENMARK♥

[RachelHC]

I used to love this movie in my childhood...

[VikingInvaders]

only the bible has been translated into more languages than his fairytales!

[LoisLane98]

LOL, your probably right!

[ozboy39]

I am going to go buy this dvd now - great movie

[AshaJCJ]

lol my children always loved to run around naked, and they are beautiful:)

I love this movie. THANKYOU for posting it

[TheHonestTheist]

/watch?v=fFH0khjgA0U

[TheHonestTheist]

/watch?v=fFH0khjgA0U

[GrimRisWatchingU2X]

he was such a cutie, i had the biggest crush on him! still do! What a nice voice.

[lustre5]

Grumpy blonde child is Mouseketeer, Lonnie Burr, and Bachelor Father's Noreen Corcoron is sitting in front of Kaye (I think). Rin Tin Tin's Lee Acker is somewhere in the movie.

[1oo672]

Hans Christian will never outdate,I could watch this over and over again ,thank for the video

[WeAreBullets]

hehe, my favorite part starts at 4:00. lol, great song. Danny Kaye is great, i love him in White Christmas too. my hero (regardless of what people say about him), hes still a good role model.

[sislau]

What has anyone said about him? My grandmother actually grew up with him and would tell me stories of growing up in Brooklyn, NY with this crazy boy who'd do stuff like jumping from rooftop to rooftop, or even running down the street naked, waving his arms and screaming. She always maintained he was a 'nut', but nothing ever 'bad' ...

[pp308]

really !!! cool!!

thts a well good inside scoop :)

[LavianaDawn]

Did u mom grew up in Denmark? Cause H.C. are danish! You can also hear it on the name. Hans Christian Andersen. THAT IS SO DANISH, THAT NAME! xD

[sislau]

Hans was born in 1805 in Denmark. Danny Kaye (the actor who played Hans' character) was born in 1913 in Brooklyn, NY. My grandmother was born in 1924 in Brooklyn also. The two Brooklynites grew up in the same neighborhood. The real Hans died in 1875 in Denmark. Does that make better sense?

[midnightatutopia]

And Danny Kaye was Jewish.

[sislau]

Absolutely! ... "Such a nice Jewish boy." ;)

[midnightatutopia]

LOL... gotta love America!

[InsertName125]

"And Danny Kaye was Jewish."

"LOL... gotta love America!"

midnightatutopia, what are you implying?

Also, as sislau asked several times, what is your source? As you said, it's not a big deal anymore, so why bring it up? - especially without a source.

[Holyspiritguide]

My father and my aunt were in this movie and in this scene. My dad is the kid on the left right next to Danny Kaye. He is the biggest kid in the group. He told me that they attended school in the school building they had on the set in the film. He recalled one day when Danny Kaye flipped out because the kids were being too loud. My dad said it was the first time he had heard the "f" word and never forgot it after that. Ahhh, memories.

[Cherstars]

My mum was in this movie too and she said he was a perfect gentleman and couldn't believe how very patient he was with all those kids they drove him nuts poor Dannyboy.

[quizzlefits]

The f word?? Really, Kaye yelling at kids, using profanity?

Even if it's true, I refuse to believe it and sully the image I have of this talented comedian.

Think I'll go with the 'perfect gentleman' description instead.

[katchanga]

His dad never said Kaye swore AT the children, just that Kaye used the f word complaining that the children were being too loud. It is hardly going to sully my image of him and if you believe it could then clearly your view is too easily sullied. If anything the fact that he was human enough to be able to be annoyed by lots of noisy children makes him even more of a star.

[midnightatutopia]

Interesting that he (Danny Kaye) was gay, and the boy who played the lead in the film also turned out gay...

[sislau]

Now that I will dispute wholeheartedly ... Danny was married for 47 years to the same woman. He was straight through and through (and that's not just wishful thinking). Please check your sources.

[midnightatutopia]

And...being married to a woman means you're straight? Obviously you don't know much about Hollywood ;-)

[sislau]

Again, your source? Having family that grew up with the family is a pretty close source on my end ... Got lots of inside info on a few of Hollywood's greats, including Judy Garland, Buddy Hackett, Danny Kaye, and others.

[midnightatutopia]

OK so your Mom grew up with him in Brooklyn, big deal...lots happens when people leave their hometowns behind and head for Hollywood!

[sislau]

Again, where is YOUR proof? Just cuz you hear about stuff like this going on in Hollywood TODAY, does not mean this is how things were in Danny's time. Besides, I can say whatever I like too, like Robert Redford and Paul Newman were lovers, and that's why they made movies together. See? I can do it too. Doesn't make it true. I have enough ties with Hollywood today (relatives and friends in the biz) that I am too aware of how things are, but that doesn't mean Danny ever was, so please retract.

[midnightatutopia]

Guess what- we live in an age where being gay is not a big deal, and I don't like your implication that it is something scandalous or something to be ashamed of. You don't know what goes on behind closed doors, out of your view- perhaps there are those that DO know what the real story is. You challenging it to the extent that you are indicates that you have a problem that someone might be gay or might have led a double life, whether it's Danny Kaye or anyone else.

[midnightatutopia]

Guess what, it was (and still is) very, very common in Hollywood and Show Biz. It's because of people like you that gay actors stay in the closet! No, I will not retract. It is my belief that he was gay. Get your head out of your ass!

[sislau]

I have not attacked homosexuality in any way and do not intend to. All I have asked (please count how many times) is for YOU to STATE YOUR SOURCE on why you'd think Danny Kaye was gay. Whatever else for anyone else. I do not care. It is their business and that's fine. But HE was not gay. You have never stated a source, only some random hope in your mind (from some far fetched fantasy, no doubt). My head is just fine, thank you. I KNOW the truth. Good luck to you in your insecurities.

[brewsmack]

@sislau There are persistent rumors that Kaye was either homosexual or bisexual & some sources claim that Kaye & Laurence Olivier had a 10-yr relationship in the '50s while Olivier was still married to Vivien Leigh. A biography of Leigh states that the alleged relationship caused her to have a breakdown.

[brewsmack]

@brewsmack The alleged relationship has been denied by Olivier's official biographer, Terry Coleman.

[brewsmack]

@brewsmack However, in her memoirs Plowright denies that there had been an affair between the two men. Producer Perry Lafferty reported: People would ask me, Is he gay? Is he gay? I never saw anything to substantiate that in all the time I was with him. Kayes final girlfriend, Marlene Sorosky, reported that he told her, Ive never had a homosexual experience in my life. Ive never had any kind of gay relationship. Ive had opportunities, but I never did anything about them.

[sislau]

Thank you for that, brewsmack. I really appreciate your comments and sources.

See, midnightatutopia, was that so hard?

[ainhoator]

@sislau I read somewhere (I think it was "Hollywood Babylonia") that he had had an affair with Sir Lawrence Olivier, while the latter was the spouse of Vivien Leigh.

[pegcage]

@sislau It is just a pity that beautiful things have to be destroyed by people's low-life minds. These comments should be limited to how beautiful this movie was, how lovely the music, how great the acting and singing, Danny Kaye's talent, and Hans Christian Andersen's genius. Why does anything else have to be brought in at all? I agree with you, but I don't think Danny needs to be defended. The gay statements just don't belong. Period!!!!

[sislau]

@pegcage I SO totally agree. It's actually embarrassing that my comment trying to defend Danny's sexuality is one of the 'top' rated ones on this page. If you see my other comments, they're about how awesome of a person Danny was, how great the movie was, etc. It sickens me that all this [untrue] bother is being thrown around, tarnishing Kaye's name and hindering positive comments about such a wonderful classic movie :(

[sislau]

PS - Everyone rate DOWN this 'top' comment and pick a different one! :P

[Demithegoddess]

@sislau Who the devil said he was gay? I'm sure his wife (who was his wife for quite some years all the way up to his death) AND his daughter would be interested to hear that.

Seriously. Just because the man is kind, energetic, optimistic and talented beyond all reason . . . how dare you!

I'm glad you didn't say that to my face, I would have punched you in the nose on his behalf!.

[sislau]

@Demithegoddess I've been trying to DEFEND Danny's sexuality, Demithegoddess. Please note that in all my comments. This has gotten WAY out of control, and it's just sad. This movie was awesome, Danny Kaye was awesome, and to belittle all his efforts in film and in life with this whole line of conversation is disgusting to me! :(

[ARP7777777]

@sislau We do not know, one way or the other, if Kaye had such inclinations.

[leglas69]

the best fairy tales ever bought to life by rhe excellent danny kaye

[124angel124]

Heyyahh..x everyone this song is good aswell

[krabilivic]

i like this story it's fact.

[krabilivic]

i love storys it make me flay ... even it's lie

[lkijju]

I was about 4 when my mum took me to see this great film and apparently she told me in later years, I insisted on seeing it several more times.

I'm 60 next year and still love it. lol

[hellokittypurple]

"that's not a king! It's only a queen with a mustache!"

[Chishannicon]

"You'd be surprised how many kings are only a queen with a mustache." -_^

[143AC]

Although the story that Mr.Kaye's Hans Christian

Anderson is telling to the kids is titled "The Emporer's

New Clothes".

The story is told here as"The King's New Clothes".

[aksa8c]

Great stuff. I'd only heard it on Short Wave a couple of times in the 60s. It was altogether great to be able to view it.

[nookiboi]

They must be wonderful memories to reflect back on.

[fourthgirl]

I know this movie forward and backward! It is one of my favorite of vintage filmwork!

[xsachyx]

amazing i love this film, i remember watching it when i was tiny. im only 17 but love the old films. it always makes me giggle.

[GeorgeVreelandHill]

My father (George Vreeland Hill) loved this movie.

George Vreeland Hill (SR.) 1931-2007

[dannyboybailey]

leave off so theres a goff it was 1952

[diiiiiiiinamite]

Thank you so much for posting. I have strong and happy memories of my late father taking my sister and I to see this wonderful film when we were very young children, the songs hold a special place in my heart. What a fantastic introduction we had to the magical world of the musicals. Thanks dad, we miss you. x

[fireicefalcon2]

Theres a goof in it. At 3:30, his hat was at the side but after 3:30 his hat returns to the front

[TOMLINSONS12]

amazing i tell my children about this fim it is so warm,and full of love.

[karenscott3]

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!!!...:) Karen

[SHTRICE]

He will forever be the greatest storyteller. Thank you for bring back wonderful memories!

[creaturebotman]

Great memories!! I wish we made more movies like this for children.

[klickenpod]

There isn't a question of his talent.. it's unfortunately also true that he was very full of himself, I don't know where you get this kindness bit, he was an entertainer- supposed to make others happy.. granted, his nastiness came out when he was older doing noah's ark the musical.. he would run out onstage screaming if something was going wrong, and insist on creative control on nearly all of his projects.

[lscje]

Does it matter? He's been dead for years. Can't he just be remembered as a good entertainer?

[klickenpod]

Sigh. It's too bad that most people won't accept things about their fantasy heroes. I'm as sad as most people are here when I read that in his biography. Someone here was making him out to be some sort of a sweetheart. Which he really wasn't.

[lscje]

Its not that I think he's a hero he was an actor not a saint! Its just that he never did anything terrible he was a good entertainer. Also none of us know what he was like and people will say all sorts to sell a book. Danny Kaye might have not been perfect though no one is but he did do a lot for charity.

[owlet1963]

and I guess none of us is a sweetheart, right. He may habe been a jerk, but he brought joy to so many, which not EVERY jerk can say about himself! right? of course right! Even actors are humans, believe it or not! ;)

[klickenpod]

I concur.

And the rowdy nastiness came when he was much older.

[CreatingPulsars]

I also read a Bio on him and it was written by someone who knew him and they said he was a great guy, goofy, a bit random and could be rude here and there but in the form of interrupting at worst. A lot of actors who worked with him came out saying he was a great guy as well. So I guess it's all what you read and what sides you chose to believe.

Seeing as he's dead and there's no way I'll ever meet him and he just seems warm hearted, I'll choose to give him the benefit of the doubt.

[danishpride1]

Denmark! Denmark! Denmark!

[catfishred]

Danny Kaye is sorely missed. Such a fine example of a self-taught progeny: multi-talented performer and linguistical wit. The man's love of others was truly astounding as well. He brought so much to theatre and enriched all who watched him perform.

[prncsscalifornia]

I love this! Thank you for posting it.

[MonikaLovesDannyKaye]

Great! This and "Wonderful Copenhagen" are my favorites from this movie.

:-)

[beachy322]

This video clip expresses the warmth and true kindness of Danny Kaye. What a joy to see him interact with children. He was a Philanthropist and involved in UNICEF.