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The Magic Land of Mother Goose
USA 1967
produced by
Herschell Gordon Lewis, J. Edwin Baker
directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis
starring Roy Huston, David Hammond, Judith Snow, Denny Ray, Valerie Lynne, Linda Appleby, David Williamson, Linda Lee, Ebenezer Lifting
story by Roy Flubrer, screenplay by Eve Weiher, music by John Aman, Terry Smith
Old King Cole, Merlin, Mother Goose, Sleeping Geauty, Little Bo Peep
review by
Mike Haberfelner
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Old King Cole (David Hammond) somehow manages to escape his storybook -
only to find out his palace in the real world is really boring, and his
rag doll (Valerie Lynne) doesn't offer much entertainment either. But lo
and behold, here comes Merlin the Magician (Roy Huston), who promises to
help all of the King's friends from the storybook to provide
entertainment, and he also takes care of the rag doll with a sword trick.
From here on, Merlin helps the King with many of his problems, which
usually involves some common magic tricks. And somehow the rag doll always
gets into trouble. The King's problems involve getting Sleeping Beauty
(Linda Appleby) to sleep, even if her Prince Charming (Denny Ray) is just
round the corner. The Wicked Witch (Judith Snow) of course tries to put an
end to all the fun because she hates fun, and she puts everyone into
suspended animation - anyone but Merlin that is, who hypnotizes her,
commands her to get inside a box, then sets the bos on fire, a fire that
leaves nothing but her skeleton. It's up to Mother Goose (Judith Snow
again) to make them move again and lure all of them back into the
storybook they have escaped from. Now most of the characters are easily to
convince to return to the book, but Little Bo Peep (Linda Lee) won't go
without a sheep. Merlin helps out of course. Rag doll needs to be taught
another lesson before she agrees to return - again Merlin. And finally Old
King Cole himself proves reluctant - until Mother Goose appeals to his
reason ... Magic Land of Mother Goose doesn't really
feel like a movie, rather like a magician's act, and one with a theme to
appeal to little children, as the whole film is filmed all on one set with
very basic decoration, consists of many tried and true tricks you'd expect
from any stage magician, and is filmed from pretty much one perspective
(the auditorium) - and knowing that director Herschell Gordon Lewis was
never one avert to go the easy way when it came to make a movie, that
might exactly be the case. Now, quite a few times, Lewis' penny-pinching
methods proved to be a blessing in disguise ... but not here, this movie
just looks cheap. Furthermore, the standard magic stage tricks only look
half as amazing on film than they do on stage, and the fact that a few too
many edits and camera tricks are used during the tricks only makes them
less exciting. Now add to all of this stage-like overacting in combination
with less than well-drawn characters and a narrative that's episodic in
nature, and you're left with ... well, very little.
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