Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates | |
---|---|
Based on | Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates by Mary Mapes Dodge |
Written by | Sally Benson Frederick Knott (adaptation) |
Directed by | Sidney Lumet George Schaefer |
Starring | Tab Hunter Peggy King Basil Rathbone Jarmila Novotna Dick Button |
Music by | Hugh Martin (songs) Franz Allers (musical director) |
Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Producer | George Schaefer |
Running time | 50 minutes |
Production companies | Milberg Productions Showcase Productions |
Original release | |
Network | NBC |
Release | February 9, 1958 |
Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates is a 1958 American television adaptation of the story of Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates , directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Tab Hunter in the title role. It was broadcast by NBC as part of the Hallmark Hall of Fame . [1]
Lumet and Hunter worked together again on That Kind of Woman later that year. [2]
Hunter was cast in part because he was a competitive ice skater when younger, as well as being a singer. He wrote in his memoirs, "At twenty-seven, I was a little long in the tooth to be playing teenage Hans but then there weren't too many actors around could sing and not embarrass themselves on the ice opposite the Olympic iceskating champion Dick Button, who brought incredible pizzazz to the skating scenes. The pay was good for a one-shot show, but to be honest, I'd have paid for the chance to meet, let alone skate with, Dick Button, who was one of my real heroes." [4]
The production was a huge ratings success, the biggest Hallmark had experienced. It averaged a rating of 25, easily winning its timeslot. [5]
Variety said "It was the Tab Hunter billing that probably piled up the Trendex points" on the show "but it was Dick Button who vested it with whatever elements of a real Dutch treat that remained in this musicallzation of the old children’s classic... The maudlin, goody-goody moralistic overtones weighed heavily... and even the moppets must have found the going getting sticky at times... an uneven production that ran from mediocre and frequently tedious fare to some Spirited and zestful entertainment." [6]
The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games and commonly known as St. Moritz 1948, were a winter multi-sport event held from 30 January to 8 February 1948 in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The Games were the first to be celebrated after World War II; it had been twelve years since the last Winter Games in 1936.
Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates is a novel by American author Mary Mapes Dodge, first published in 1865. The novel takes place in the Netherlands and is a colorful fictional portrait of early 19th-century Dutch life, as well as a tale of youthful honor.
Tab Hunter was an American actor, singer, film producer, and author. Known for his blond hair and clean-cut good looks, Hunter starred in more than forty films. During the 1950s and 1960s, in his twenties and thirties, Hunter was a Hollywood heart-throb, acting in numerous roles and appearing on the covers of hundreds of magazines. His notable screen credits include Battle Cry (1955), The Girl He Left Behind (1956), Gunman's Walk (1958), and Damn Yankees (1958). Hunter also had a music career in the late 1950s; in 1957, he released a no. 1 hit single "Young Love". Hunter's 2005 autobiography, Tab Hunter Confidential: The Making of a Movie Star, was a New York Times bestseller.
Richard Totten Button is an American former figure skater and skating analyst. He was a two-time Olympic champion and five-time consecutive World champion (1948–1952). He was also the only non-European man to have become European champion. Button is credited as having been the first skater to successfully land the double Axel jump in competition in 1948, as well as the first triple jump of any kind – a triple loop – in 1952. He also invented the flying camel spin, which was originally known as the "Button camel". He "brought increased athleticism" to figure skating in the years following World War II.
Sergei Mikhailovich Grinkov was a Soviet and Russian pair skater. Together with his wife Ekaterina Gordeeva, he was the 1988 and 1994 Olympic Champion and a four-time World Champion.
Ludmila Yevgenyevna Belousova was a Soviet and Russian pair skater who represented the Soviet Union. With her partner and husband Oleg Protopopov, she was a two-time Olympic champion and four-time World champion (1965–1968). In 1979, the pair defected to Switzerland and became Swiss citizens in 1995. They continued to skate at ice shows and exhibitions through their seventies.
Oleg Alekseyevich Protopopov was a Russian pair skater who represented the Soviet Union. With his wife Ludmila Belousova he was a two-time Olympic champion and four-time World champion (1965–1968). In 1979, the pair defected to Switzerland and became Swiss citizens in 1995. They continued to skate at ice shows and exhibitions until their seventies.
Marika Kilius is a German former pair skater. With Hans-Jürgen Bäumler, she is a two-time Olympic silver medalist, a two-time World champion, and a six-time European champion. Earlier in her career, she competed with Franz Ningel.
Gustave François Lussi was a figure skating coach. He lived in Lake Placid, New York, and was instrumental in producing popular ice shows in the 1930s and after. Using the rinks from the 1932 Winter Olympics, he trained students during the summer, a practice unusual at the time. Among his students were Dick Button and Dorothy Hamill.
Ronald Frederick "Ronnie" Robertson was an American figure skater who was best known for his spinning ability. He won the silver medal at the 1956 Winter Olympics, became one of the youngest male figure skating Olympic medalists. He twice won the silver at the World Figure Skating Championships. He retired from skating after the 1956 U.S. Championships, where he was nearly disqualified after he was accused by the German Figure Skating Federation for excessive expenses on a European tour. His father, Albert Robertson, a naval architect, accused Hayes Jenkins of trying to disqualify his son. After a huge fight with the U.S. Figure Skating Federation, Robertson was not disqualified after he lost to Jenkins and retired from competitive figure skating and signed a two-year contract with the Ice Capades for $100,000.
Guy Revell was a Canadian pair skater. With skating partner Debbi Wilkes, he became a two-time Canadian national champion, the 1963 North American champion, and the 1964 Olympic silver medallist.
Debbi Wilkes is a Canadian former pair skater. With skating partner Guy Revell, she became a two-time Canadian national champion, the 1963 North American champion, and the 1964 Olympic silver medallist.
The World Professional Figure Skating Championships, often referred to as Landover, was an elite made-for-TV figure skating competition. It was created by Dick Button, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, through his production company Candid Productions. It usually took place in December. For most of its existence, it was an unsanctioned professional event, meaning that skaters who participated lost their eligibility to compete in the Winter Olympic Games and other "amateur" skating events controlled by the International Skating Union.
Hans Gerschwiler was a Swiss figure skater. He was the 1948 Olympic silver medalist
The 1961 U.S. Figure Skating Championships was held at the World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colorado, from January 25 to 29, 1961. Medals were awarded in three colors: gold (first), silver (second), and bronze (third) in four disciplines – men's singles, ladies' singles, pair skating, and ice dancing – across three levels: senior, junior, and novice.
Michael J.R. Kirby was a Canadian figure skater who competed in men's singles, and was also an actor. Later was an ice rink owner and skating coach.
That Kind of Woman is a 1959 American drama film directed by Sidney Lumet, who was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 9th Berlin International Film Festival. It stars Sophia Loren and Tab Hunter. The screenplay by Walter Bernstein, based on a short story by Robert Lowry, is highly reminiscent of the 1938 film The Shopworn Angel.
Jan Spencer Scott was an American production designer and art director. She won 11 Primetime Emmy Awards, more than any woman in the history of television and more than any other production designers. Scott was nominated for Emmy Awards a record total of 29 times. She was also a president of the Society of Motion Picture Art Directors and also served as a vice-president, second vice-president and governor of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.
Figure Skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. Although ice skating began in 3,000 BCE in Scandinavia, American Edward Bushnell's 1855 invention of steel blades and Jackson Haines bringing elements of ballet to figure skating were critical to the development of modern-day figure skating. Since then, figure skating in the United States has grown to have 186,038 members as of the 2020–2021 season.
The Silver Skates Derby, often called the New York Silver Skates, was an amateur speed skating tournament organized by the New York Daily News, and hosted at several New York City locations over its existence. It was first held in 1922, with the last edition on record taking place in 1960. It was part of a number of similarly named competitions that accompanied a boom in the sport's popularity in early 20th century United States.