Mary Poppins (1964)
- Starring:
- Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, (more)
- Director(s):
- Robert Stevenson
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- G
- Category:
- Music & Performing Arts, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Family & Kids
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Long resistant to film adaptations of her Mary Poppins books, P.L. Travers finally succumbed to the entreaties of Walt Disney, and the result is often considered the finest of Disney's personally supervised films. The Travers stories are bundled together to tell the story of the Edwardian-era British Banks family: the banker father (David Tomlinson), suffragette mother (Glynis Johns), and the two "impossible" children (Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber). The kids get the attention of their all-business father by bedevilling every new nanny in the Banks household. Whem Mr. Banks advertises conventionally for another nanny, the kids compose their own ad, asking for someone with a little kindness and imagination. Mary Poppins (Julie Andrews in her screen debut) answers the children's ad by arriving at the Banks home from the skies, parachuting downward with her umbrella. She immediately endears herself to the children. The next day they meet Mary's old chum Bert (Dick Van Dyke), currently employed as a sidewalk artist. Mary, Bert, and the children hop into one of Bert's chalk drawings and learn the nonsense song "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" in a cartoon countryside. Later, they pay a visit to Bert's Uncle Albert (Ed Wynn), who laughs so hard that he floats to the ceiling. Mr. Banks is pleased that his children are behaving better, but he's not happy with their fantastic stories. To show the children what the real world is like, he takes them to his bank. A series of disasters follow which result in his being fired from his job. Mary Poppins' role in all this leads to some moments when it is possible to fear that all her good work will be undone, but like the magical being she is, all her "mistakes" lead to a happy result by the end of the film. In 2001, Mary Poppins was rereleased in a special "sing-along" edition with subtitles added to the musical numbers so audiences could join in with the onscreen vocalists. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 139 mins
Complete Cast:
- Julie Andrews - Mary Poppins
- David Tomlinson - Mr. Banks
- Hermione Baddeley - Ellen
- Karen Dotrice - Jane Banks
- Elsa Lanchester - Katie Nanna
- Reginald Owen - Admiral Boom
- Jane Darwell - Bird Woman
- Lester Matthews - Mr. Tomes
- Marjorie Bennett - Miss Lark
- Marjorie Eaton - Miss Persimmon
- Arthur Malet - Mr. Dawes, Jr.
- Dal McKennon - Fox
- Dick Van Dyke - Bert/Mr. Dawes, Sr.
- Glynis Johns - Mrs. Banks
- Ed Wynn - Uncle Albert
- Matthew Garber - Michael Banks
- Arthur Treacher - Constable Jones
- Reta Shaw - Mrs. Brill
- Cyril Delevanti - Mr. Grubbs
- Clive L. Halliday - Mr. Mousely
- Alma Lawton - Mrs. Corry
- Sam Harris - Citizen
- Don Barclay - Mr. Binnacle
- Doris Lloyd - Depositor
- Director(s):
- Robert Stevenson
- Writer(s):
- Bill Walsh, Don DaGradi
- Producer(s):
- Walt Disney, Bill Walsh
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- G(Excellent For Children, Child Classic)
- Categories:
- Music & Performing Arts, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Family & Kids
- Closed Captioning:
- Check All Versions
- Subtitles:
- Check All Versions
- 1964 - Mary Poppins - British Academy of Film and Television Arts - Most Promising Newcomer
- 1964 - Mary Poppins - Hollywood Foreign Press Association - Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy
