*

It has become clear by now that all these celebratory box sets that the DVD industry keeps turning out are not, precisely, meant to be celebratory of this, that or the other. Cynics among us realize that they are in some cases driven by the desire to sell yet another copy of such and such a best seller. You issued a grand remastered edition of Movie X three years ago, and still have pallets full of copies in the warehouse? Create a new set saluting the director or producer or one of the stars, bundle Movie X with three or four others by the same director or star, and you've got a new product suitable for launch on the market.

Such is the case with the Stanley Kramer Collection [Sony]. "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" needs no apology, certainly; Mr. Poitier, Mr. Tracy and Ms. Hepburn speak for themselves in this 1967 Oscar winner, and if you didn't buy it the last time around you now get a second disc with various bonuses (including Stanley Kramer accepting the 1962 Irving Thalberg Award and Al Gore accepting the 2007 Stanley Kramer Award. How's that?)

But the red-letter event at hand comes from reaching into the archives to find obscure films to fill out the box. Here we have "The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T," an extraordinarily unusual musical that I really must say you should see if you have any interest in adventurous musical film or adventurous musical theatre. This is not a great film; it is, I readily admit, about as strange a musical as you are likely to find. But remarkable, in a modernistic way (circa 1953). This is a film imprinted with the vision of a major artistic talent, and I don't mean Stanley Kramer. Dr. Seuss wrote it, and wrote the lyrics; and although he is not credited as designer, his paint brush is all over the screen. Imagine one of his fanciful worlds lifted from one of his books, only here in full and blazing color that leaps off the screen (or the widescreen, anyway). A visual feast it is, and a verbal feast as well; even a choreographic feast. (The "Hypnotism Dance" is something to be seen, and the "Dungeon Ballet" even moreso.)

Some kids at the time, indeed, found the film chillingly frightening; there are certain images, I must say, that could cause nightmares. But 1953 children were different from the children of today; my kids absolutely adored Dr. T. and my eight-year-old walks around gleefully singing "dress me in liverwurst" and "basement dungeon, everybody out!" Which brings us to the score; weird, man, and cool. Frederick Hollander wrote the music to lyrics by Seuss. The songs are strange and in places hard to get a handle on, but they certainly fit in with plot and characters and the remarkable design. Add in the work of modernistic choreographer Eugene Loring, who works in a style somewhat reminiscent of Jack Cole, only more severe. (Loring is the fellow who did Fred Astaire's crazy beatnik number in "Funny Face.")

"The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T" is not a great film, no, and I guess it's fair to say that it doesn't work exactly. But this movie sure is both remarkable and unforgettable. The DVD has been filled out with a handful of bonuses, which in this case are as fascinating as the film. (It looks like whoever made these features tried to emulate the design, making them visually stunning.) Among those on screen are the daughter of Peter Lind Hayes and Mary Healy, the popular TV and nightclub couple who starred in the film; George Chakiris, who appeared as one of the dancers in the dungeon and has some interesting tales to tell; and Michael Feinstein, who has long been a champion of the work and makes numerous pertinent points. (With my son clamoring for "Do-Me-Do Duds," that liverwurst song, I discovered that Feinstein made an especially flavorful recording of it — with the original orchestrations — on his CD "Pure Imagination" [Elektra 961046].)

But let's get back to the Stanley Kramer Film Collection. The other entries are "Ship of Fools" (1963), with an all-star cast headed by Vivien Leigh and Simone Signoret (this being one of two films in the box directed by Kramer, the other being "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"); "The Wild One" (1953), with Marlon Brando on his motorcycle; and yet another special treat, the 1952 film version of Carson McCullers' "The Member of the Wedding." Here is the great Ethel Waters, recreating her legendary stage performance. Here is 27-year-old Julie Harris making her film debut as the 12-year-old Frankie Addams. (Harris earned an Oscar nomination for Best Actress in the process, losing to Shirley Booth — who was also making her film debut, at 45, recreating her Broadway performance in "Come Back Little Sheba." One can imagine the reactions of fellow-nominees Bette Davis and Joan Crawford to this two-barreled competition from the East). Here is 10-year-old Brandon De Wilde, who is on the short list of the finest child actors ever. The son of a Broadway stage manager, he stunned Broadway audiences two years earlier when "Member of the Wedding" played the Empire, and immediately followed the film version with yet another unforgettable performance in "Shane" — which earned him an Oscar nomination at 11.

So here's thanks to "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" for driving this Stanley Kramer box, bringing along "Member of the Wedding" and the resplendent "The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T." Continued...