User Reviews

This movie was great, through the eyes of a child. Child of all ages will love it. The cast is actually very good at acting. The role of Peter Pan is casted by a girl actually, but don't let it fool you, she is an amazing actor and singer. You will be able to tell right from the start that she was meant for this role. It is a great movie to grow up with. Now of course not much beats the original animated version that Disney made, but for a movie with real people, it is the best one out there. There is so much imagination and creativity that went into this movie. The acting is set up on a stage and you can clearly tell you are in the audience watching from a far. It looks to me like it should have been made into a Broadway play. It follows the same story as Disney does with their version.

If you have an active imagination or children you will love this movie! It is a great version of Peter Pan. Has some good songs in it as well!

I agree that the lead character of "Peter Pan" was masterfully played by the late Mary Martin. The dance routines with the "Indians" were very humorous, but may be considered racist today, especially since the chief was played by a blond (Sondra Lee). My children particularly liked the music and singing. Also they were thrilled with the movie magic of flight, which was pretty good, considering this was a televised stage play from over 40 years ago. I would say the biggest drawback to this movie is also its greatest attribute, which is Peter Pan himself (or herself). My 2 year old kept saying he is a girl. I know it has become a tradition for Peter to be played by a female, but it is rather confusing to young children.

This movie is a delightful Broadway play with Mary Martin as Peter Pan. It features cute little songs and dances, not to mention the humorous lines of Cyril Ritchard. I grew up watching the video and I always enjoyed it, even if Peter Pan was a woman and Tiger Lily was a blonde, blue-eyed girl. I give this movie an 8 out of 10.

This thread has some confusing information in it. I think I can add some information.

The 1955 version of Peter Pan was done live from NY and then redone the following year. That version was preserved on Kinescope, but not videotape.

In 1960, NBC re-staged the production and videotaped it in their wonderful old Brooklyn studios - by the way, I believe that The Cosby Show in the '80s was produced at the same NBC Brooklyn Studios.

The 1960 production was videotaped and rebroadcast a number of times, and may be available on VHS now.

As the 4-year old son of an NBC publicity flack, I had the wonderful privilege of attending the taping of the show and I have a magnificent b&w photograph of me, in a gray flannel suit - in gray shorts no less - with Mary Martin in full costume.

It is one of the treasures of my childhood and Peter Pan has always been a favorite of mine.

By the way, there is/was a cast recording of Peter Pan - I want to say that it was on RCA Victor records, since of course, RCA owned NBC. But I have always been under the impression that is was of the Broadway play. This thread implies that the show never made it to Broadway, so I am not sure. However, I am certain that there was a record - vinyl, 33 1/3, long play, etc.

"I know a place where dreams are born...."

Eric

As I was growing up, this film always had a special place in my heart next to The Wizard of Oz; it was shown live in 1955 and 1960. The 1960 production was preserved on kinescope and then shown once or twice in 1961 or 1962 and never again until 1991 or so. During those years that it was forgotten by the networks, there wasn't a baby-boomer out there that had truly forgotten it. It was one of those magical shows that we all talked about and wished they'd run again. Now, it's finally available on tape and on DVD; the DVD version is very well done and the picture is colorful, bright and clear, even though it's from the only kinescope copy of the live show. It's very much a filmed stage play, and the sets reflect this. It was preserved in color, which is a miracle considering there were virtually no color sets in existence then.

Mary Martin is great as Peter (she was 47 years old when she did this very acrobatic role!), but Cyril Ritchard pretty much steals the production from her with his Hook. He and his pirates are so over the top that the other actors are hard put to keep up. Watch his face and his body during the singing and dancing scenes; he's just a delight. The songs are all wonderful, too. This is a film that probably won't be very popular with the children of the 90's, but my guess is that it was really meant for those of us who loved it when we were kids, because I purchased the DVD the minute it came out. Buy it while it's still available, and enjoy the memories.

This movie is one of the best versions of the Peter Pan story that I have ever seen I've been watching it for years and now at the age of 20 I still find myself singing the songs and tapping my toe to the beat.

It was done in the traditional theater way, with a woman playing Peter Pan, but Mary Martin did such a wonderful job you never think of her as a 'girl'. Tinkerbell is a light that whizzes across the stage, and the audience is drawn into the movie when asked to clap for the little fairy after drinking poison meant for Peter.

This is a wonderful movie and I recommend it for adults and children alike, its full of the wholesome kind of magic that you hardly see nowadays in film.

Awesome! Clearly, the commenter above didn't know one thing from another. The characters were masterfully played. Peter Pan was delightfully mischievous and willful while Captain Hook was devious and intriguing. The children sometimes got a little on the annoying side, but they are little to be dealt with, though Wendy could be accused of being whiny. Tinker Bell was classically played. Though Tiger Lily couldn't be played by today's standards, her song is fun as well are the animals which chase around Neverland. This makes a great play for children with active imaginations to watch and which parents can sit through without hitting themselves over the head with an empty video box. Fun, light hearted music and a hint of a moral.

This is truly a magical movie. The singing, the colors, the flying. Mary Martin embodies Peter Pan so gracefully and whimsically that I cannot imagine this character as played by anyone else. I view this Peter Pan as the best and most classic depiction of the boy who never grew up.

This version of Peter Pan was, in my opinion, better than the Disney animation. Peter Pan is played by Mary Martin, and the film is made like a theatre production. It was much more enjoyable to watch than the animation, although I never really enjoyed the story of Peter Pan and the lost boys. This film has its charm because of the techniques used in production. It's interactive more than anything else, and the flying scenes are amazing. It is amazing what they could do to create the story, and I guess that is why it is better (in my opinion) than the animation. I would recommend this to children as I think it is enjoyable and I think Mary Martin did a good job.

It should be clarified that the wonderful Mary Martin actually did "Peter Pan" on television three different times, and I'm relatively sure that only the last version is available on home video. The 1955 broadcast was done on bona-fide live television, as a chapter in the PRODUCER'S SHOWCASE anthology a few years before videotape- and I imagine must've been a sight to see. It was re-staged all over again, live, the following year, and I suspect that this version is on kinescope- but is probably only viewable at the MT&R in New York or L.A. (There are production stills of all the performances, and Martin's costume and hair color are slightly different each time.) It was finally videotaped, in 'living color,' in 1960, and if you are as old as I am, you may remember the network re-broadcasts always being preceded by the blooming NBC peacock. The tape is now a DVD, and still includes the original network cards, but sadly, not the peacock. It holds up quite nicely, although the heavy stage makeup and flying wires are now painfully obvious. But it is a marvelous time capsule of an earlier, gentler, period of TV entertainment.

Somehow or other, although I was around for all of them, I had never seen one of the Broadway productions, nor any of the three Mary Martin TV productions, of PETER PAN until two nights back. Younger readers may not recall that Mary Martin was considered a titan of the musical theater from the late 1930s to at least the mid-1960s, fully on an equal footing with the great Ethel Merman. In a day when almost nobody knows the names of most Broadway stars who are not also movie and TV luminaries, it is astounding to think of just how famous the Broadway stars of those days were all over the world - think not only of Martin and Merman, but of Alfred Drake, Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne, Katherine Cornell, Dennis King, and so many others who rarely or never appeared in films. Whenever I have seen Mary Martin on TV, even just on kinescopes (this one is not a kinescope), she exudes a kind of all-encompassing professionalism and joy, along with a charisma, that nobody today can match. Maybe that comes from going out onto a real stage and performing for real theater audiences 7 or 8 times a week, I don't know, but whatever it was, nobody else had it in this superabundance. This PETER PAN is the epitome, I think, of her style, and I do wish I had seen her 'live' on stage. As I say, I was around to have done so, but never did. And that's all I'll say about her or about this production, but there is still more to say.

More than one reviewer has complained that Peter Pan is being played by a woman here, and they are obviously sorely deficient in knowledge of the history of musical theater in the 20th century. Peter Pan, in the approximate 115 years it has now been on the stage, has ALWAYS been played by a woman, usually one as petite as possible in order to appear credible as a boy of ten (well, let's say, ten; I'm not sure his age is stipulated). There probably isn't a child, boy or girl, of that age who could possibly encompass the acting range and other abilities needed for the role. Perhaps the 14- or 15-year old Mickey Rooney (thinking of Puck, in his MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM of 1935) might have been able to pull it off, but that just about ends the possibilities. The first Peter Pan (and the author's choice) was Maude Adams, who when she died in 1952 at the age of 80, was still remembered by people like my mother, because she had been the Peter Pan for a whole generation of kids from 1905 up to about 1930. That was in the straight play version, of course, not in a musical. She was succeeded in it by one of America's greatest actresses, Eva La Galliene, and by America's reigning female Broadway star of the 1920s and early 1930s, Marilyn Miller. Came 1950, and the great Jean Arthur (52 at the time) did it on Broadway, to the Captain Hook of Boris Karloff. Now, THAT must have been something to see! I'm writing only of Broadway here, but the role was played by myriad actresses all over the English-speaking world. When the musical came into being in 1954, it was, of course, Mary Martin who did it on Broadway, and then three separate times on TV. Thank God she did, for this is one of the very few famous Broadway performances pre-1965 or so to have been preserved in any form for posterity. Since Mary Martin, the musical has also been done on Broadway by Sandy Duncan and, of course, by Cathy Rigby. First essaying it in 1981, the last time Rigby appeared on Broadway in the role was in 2013, when she was 61 years of age! Being less than five feet tall, a famous gymnast, and, of course, appearing on stage at a good distance from the audience, she could still pull it off. But Mary Martin is well over five feet tall and is appearing here in close-up, yet she still exudes both youth and boyhood, a considerable achievement when you think that her previous great success on Broadway was as leading lady to Ezio Pinza in SOUTH PACIFIC, and that at the same time this TV show was in production, she was playing Maria (how old? 18? 19?) in THE SOUND OF MUSIC 8 times a week. For anyone to complain that a boy isn't playing Peter Pan betrays some ignorance of show business history and a total unwillingness to suspend disbelief for a mere 90 minutes. I'm amazed that people who find fault with this aren't also upset that the Darlings' dog isn't really a canine, and that the alligator who ate up Captain Hook's arm isn't real, either. (By the way, lest we forget, the tape also preserves the wonderful Captain Hook of Cyril Ritchard, a great stage star and director of his time, but pretty much forgotten today, although he starred in and/or directed some two dozen plays on Broadway, and played stage roles there that were then taken in films by talents as diverse as Fred Astaire and Jerry Lewis! And during the time his various Hook performances were taking place, he also directed 4 productions for the Metropolitan Opera, in one of which, Offenbach's LA PERICHOLE, he appeared as co-star some 4 dozen times. THAT is what a Man of the Theater is supposed to be, and he was! His obscurity today doesn't quite rise to the level of tragedy, but it should!)

The teaming of Mary Martin and Cyril Ritchard as Pan and Hook, along with the wonderful songs in this musical version, make this production a fondly

remembered treat -- one which ought to be available on video and DVD for

modern viewers. This production was aired on TV around Christmas for several

years in the 1960s as I recall, but has onlr rarely been shown since. It's

interesting that the most current version of Peter Pan (2003) and this 1960

version (a TV production of the 1955 Broadway musical in which Ritchard won a best supporting actor Tony for his role as Hook/Darling) are similar in plot and tone, both being based on Barrie's play, and each standing well above both the lightweight 1953 Disney animated film and the other more recent treatments

such as "Hook". Watch this version once and you'll always remember Miss

Martin's grand voice crooning "It's not on any chart, you must find it in your heart: Never, Neverland..."

For a 1950's live production originally telecast in black and white (or was that because we did not own an expensive color TV back in the 60's?) my baby boomer childhood has wonderful memories of this simpler time when the family would gather around our black and white 24 inch television and be entertained by Peter Pan somehow magically flying out of the Darling families bedroom window with the children in tow. It is a time in my imagination that left me as a six year old just breathless.

I have subsequently viewed Peter Pan many more times and in the decades that have followed I have passed the original Peter Pan dream VHS film on to my own children. The musical score with Mary Martin playing Peter Pan and Cyril Ritchard playing the dual role as the mean spirited (and for its time) quite scary Captain Hook as well as the Darling families father was just priceless and with so many exciting musical numbers to wow children of all ages.

Quite simply television should bring back the luster that has seemed to have been forgotten by television programs such as this fine live musical telecast. If you ever get a chance to view this telecast which is rarely seen on television anymore I suggest that you gather up the family regardless of their age shut off your cell phones, computers, IPads, PlayStations and XBoxes and watch this original 1950's musical version of Peter Pan in its purest black and white form. Your family will enjoy the musical score and dance sequences, Tinkerbell's luminous glow, the tick-tocking clock that resides in the crocodiles stomach and constantly scares the nasty Captain Hook, and the children of Neverland wishing to find adoptive parents that will love them as much as our parents loved us.

Exposing your children to a magical performance such as this Peter Pan version is worthy of a five ***** star perfect 10 out of 10 rating.

Ever since the original Peter Pan story was put to paper, the adventures of Peter and Neverland have been chronicled in various different formats (books, movies, TV shows, etc.). This re-telling of the Pan story, set on stage with Mary Martin portraying the rambunctious youngster, has a certain charm that is all its own.

Unlike some Pan stories that may take themselves a bit too seriously, this edition is made for children and it shows in nearly every scene. Both Captain Hook and his merry band of pirates and the Tiger Lilly-led Indians are played for slapstick/silly humor, while Martin's Pan and Wendy are quite whimsical themselves.

Yet, despite the child-oriented humor and content, adults can also enjoy the film for the exact same reasons. Instead of playing like, say, a typical Disney film (where little tidbits are thrown in every once in awhile to keep parents moderately entertained) this production will charm adults on the sole premise of its youthful exuberance.

Perhaps the highlight of the entire Pan experience, though, are the musical numbers (especially those featuring Cyril Ritchard's Hook). The Indian numbers are particularly fun, while "Hook's Tango" is probably the highlight of the entire film.

So, though older children may roll their eyes at the hokey plot/acting/humor, young kiddies will still revel in it again and again!

My earliest recollection of seeing PETER PAN (which, like Marta's, was second only to THE WIZARD OF OZ as the "movie" of my childhood) must have been sometime around 63 or 64 (when I was only 6 or 7)--I'm not even sure of the year, maybe earlier, maybe later, but I remember watching it on my aunt and uncle's TV in their basement family room and clapping for Tinker Bell. Then, many years later, I read that NBC was going to offer us another showing (1988?) and I had my VCR ready. Despite the primitive video tape recording of the picture and sound, this version of PETER PAN still enchants me at age 43 (well, in two weeks, anyway). And how wonderful it is to have Mary Martin's performance recorded for posterity. What is more interesting to me is that when I finally had the opportunity to direct the music for a stage production (in 1994, and with a wonderful actor named Kathy St. George as Peter) it was that the adults in the audience were the ones most caught up in the spell--but the children, too, "believed." I'm watching the video now and Tink's about to die, so I better get ready to show my belief in her.

I can't believe the positive reviews. And people say it's great for small children? When I was a child I was subjected to this bizarre mess. I couldn't figure it out. Was Peter Pan a middle aged lady? Was I to believe that she was a boy. Huh? This totally ruined the Peter Pan story for me. I thought the point was that the middle aged lady was pulling a fast one by pretending to be a boy. Was that what it was about? I totally missed the point of the story. It might have worked on Broadway, but on TV it just left me confused.

This version of Peter Pan is etched forever in my memory. A great score, a great cast -- what more is there to say.

Yes, Miss Mary Virginia Martin was 40-something when she played the title part, all the while introducing the world to The Sound of Music on Broadway, and she played THAT splendidly as well.

As this great story marks its centennial in 2004, it would be a coup to offer the 1960 version on DVD.

Just think lovely thoughts.

This and the Cathy Rigby versions are fantastic in their own way, they are both such fun to watch and have a real sense of magic. With personal preference, I'm leaning towards Rigby's for the better flying sequences, being a little more polished, the continuous energy and being a little closer to the book. That is not to knock off Martin's in any way, it has great nostalgic value, the accents are more natural-sounding(pretty much the only real criticism with the Rigby version was how overdone some of the accents were) and does a marginally better job of bringing out the inner child within you. The ending is a little better done here too, it's genuinely heart-rending. The costumes and sets here are beautiful and colourful. The music is lively, charming and hugely memorable, Never Never Land and the poignant Distant Melody being the one that stood out the most(Mysterious Lady was a little pointless but so much fun to watch), and the scoring is lush in orchestration and rich in sound. The script is filled with snappy lines, it's often hilarious especially with Hook and Smee- and with Tiger Lily's priceless "Famous Indian proverb, when in doubt RUUNNNNNNN!"- and it seemed like everybody in the cast thought so, while the choreography is full of energy(like the Rigby version especially with the Pirates and the Indians) and the whole storytelling has a light-hearted charm.

The Lost Boys are immensely likable, no sense of nerves at all, the Indians and Tiger Lily are characterful and magnetic dancers and the Pirates are a genuinely rollicking lot. Maureen Bailey is charming and spunky as Wendy, her voice is pleasant and strong if a little too mature-sounding at times. Nana is adorable and this version has one of the cutest Michaels, John is spirited and the narration is wonderfully sincere. Cyril Ritchard and particularly Mary Martin are what you'll remember most about this Peter Pan. Ritchard is both funny and menacing, the funniest parts at their best are hilarious though it's not a performance that is played-for-laughs, there are times like in the capture of the children where Hook is quite dangerous. He also plays Mr Darling, a tradition is for Captain Hook and Mr Darling to be played by the same actor, and he is very convincing at being uptight As Peter, Martin is just wonderful, Cathy Rigby may be more boyish and more athletic but the energy and likability levels between the two actresses are equal. But Martin just edges out Rigby in the singing department(though I still adore Rigby's voice), Martin's voice is just beautiful to listen to but she also brings lilt and emotion to her singing that Rigby doesn't quite do as effectively. Never Never Land is moving, gorgeously sung and not just one of the highlights of the production but also a standout of any individual rendition from any musical seen recently. All in all, a wonderful classic that is more than a nostalgic childhood favourite. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Without any doubt, I can say emphatically that this 1960 show is NOT a kinescope (film copy off a TV tube) but a videotape made from a television switcher. It was shot on 1st generation RCA TK 40/41 color television cameras in NBC's Brooklyn, NY studios. Mostly it was done in full segments live to 2" quad tape but I could detect at least a couple pick-up edits. The cameras were huge and incredibly heavy and the unevenness of the studio floor shows up in some of the shots as the cameras are dollied in and out for close ups.

We recently showed the VHS version of this show to our 4 year old. He liked it but he likes the Disney animated show better.

The technical quality of this VHS version from GoodTimes Home Video is only fair. Oddly enough, it is recorded in LP mode - the 4 hour speed. The audio track does not even use the VHS hi-fi tracks so the fidelity is really lacking. If it had been done in the best SP mode (2 hour speed) using the hi-fi tracks - the picture and sound would both have been better. The box reads SP mode but the tape is not.

I have seen other color videotape of this era and it can actually be quite good - this tape is not. Perhaps the DVD transfer (about 1999) was better but I have never seen it. DVD is inherently sharper than VHS. The VHS version was produced in 1990. VHS quality has also improved substantially in the last 17 years.

The show is what it is - and for me - the weak technical quality really gets in the way of the presentation. Although I loved it as a kid, it disappoints me now.

Mary Martin is good but Cyril Ritchard as Captain Hook is fantastic!

Even as a kid, I never did understand why they had a woman play Peter. Lord knows there have always been plenty of very talented boys who could play the role. Disney Studios and MGM were never at a loss to find the right kid to fill any part - no matter how challenging.

Hey Kids!?!...

... Even at 60 now, I find this classic TV musical a MUST see!?! It's "TIMELESS," as Barbra would say. If you've NEVER seen it, rent or buy it for the inner child of vous!!! - You KNOW, as a print journalist of 35+ yrs. in la mainstream & gay media (on both coasts), ESPECIALLY 17 with "Billboard Magazine" in L.A., Vegas & the Bflo./Rochester, N.Y. markets, I'm just SAD there's no trailer-to-watch OR music-to-hear!?! Legendary Broadway composer Jerome Robbins?!? You CAN'T get-ANY-better!!! ... Great songs like: "Neverland," "Lullaby" & "I'll Never Grow Up!" Hope YOU haven't. MOIS-never-WILL. "2nd * to the right & straight on 'til morning!" SEE YA THERE!?!

The version of Peter Pan that we have available to the public today was done in 1960 and done on video. There is a 1955 version, the second one that Martin was in for NBC, that was done on kinescope and still survives but not available to the public. A piece of this version was used on the "TV Guide & TV Land Present: The 100 Most Memorable TV Moments". It should be noted that Mary Martin and her husband had this version of Peter Pan written for them to do on Broadway, according to her autobiography. They also added the classic songs that are now so familiar to many of us, like "I Want to Crow". Mary was also in the original Broadway production of "The Sound of Music", but by the time the movie was made she was considered to old. While she was doing "The Sound of Music" on Broadway, she was in rehearsals for the stage version "Peter Pan". While in the harness made for her to fly there was a problem and she ended up breaking her arm and had to do "The Sound of Music" in a sling. I do wish that NBC would release a special version of Peter Pan that includes both versions (1955 and 1960) and it could include interviews with surviving cast members, and her son Larry Hagman.

This movie made my childhood growing up in the 2000's but born in the 90s this was everything. Anyone who had good taste from the old days showed ya this. As I will show my own kids. Incredible cast. Incredible story. This walked so hook could run. Mary is beautiful talented masculine and amazing. She carries the show like a truly captivating force showing up in the beginning with lights in the kid's bedroom in a way kids around the world have never forgotten or maybe it is the house she builds with the lost boys that has lived rent free for these past 30 years in my mind, either way, Mary other than robin just IS Peter Pan. Something about her rendition just makes the role complete. R. I. P Mary.