Hans Christian Andersen (film)

Hans Christian Andersen (film)

Hans Christian Andersen is a 1952 Hollywood musical film directed by Charles Vidor, with words and music by Frank Loesser. The story was by Myles Connolly, its screenplay was by Moss Hart and Ben Hecht (uncredited), and was produced by Samuel Goldwyn Productions. It is a fictional, romantic story revolving around the life of the famous Danish poet and story-teller Hans Christian Andersen. The title role was played by Danny Kaye.

The film was an international success at the time. It is not a biographical movie, and in the introduction describes itself as "not the story of his life, but a fairytale about this great spinner of fairy tails." A large part of the story is told through song and ballet and includes many of Andersen's most famous stories such as The Ugly Duckling, Thumbelina, The Emperor's New Clothes and The Little Mermaid.

A studio cast recording of the film's songs was released by Decca soon after the film, with Danny Kaye, Jane Wyman, and a backup chorus singing the songs from the film. The album also included two Sylvia Fine originals made specifically for the album, "Uncle Pockets" and "There's a Hole at the Bottom of the Sea", and Danny Kaye's narration of two Tubby the Tuba stories by Paul Tripp.