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The Gallery
presents
Victor Herbert’s
“Babes in Toyland”
Every Christmas season the sound of marching toys can be heard through the land. This operetta, composed by Victor Herbert with lyrics by Glenn MacDonough, weaves together characters from Mother Goose rhymes into a delightful musical for young and old.
“Babes in Toyland” ….on Broadway 1903 |
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This was Victor Herbert’s first major success. The operetta debuted at the Chicago Grand Opera House on June 17, 1903 where it played for three months and then opened on Broadway October 13, 1903 where it ran for 192 performances. The story: Two orphans, Alan and Jane, become pawns in the hands of their unscrupulous Uncle Barnaby who is after their fortune. Barnaby also plots with the evil Master Toymaker to create toys that maim and kill. The orphans are saved from a watery grave by gypsies and taken to Contrary Mary’s garden where, after another narrow escape, they are protected by the Moth Queen. The devil toys turn on their maker, Barnaby is the victim of his own devious scheme and Alan marries Contrary Mary. |
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"Babes..." on Broadway 1903
 Victor Herbert |
Born: February 1, 1859 Died: May 26, 1924 in New Haven, Connecticut Cause of death: heart attack at 64 Real name: Victor August Herbert Marriages: One to opera star Therese Forster Remarks: He wanted to be a doctor but money was scarce so he followed his second love, the cello. While a cello soloist in Vienna and Germany he also began to compose music. After his marriage the Herberts sailed for America. In 1898 he became the principal conductor of the Pittsburgh Symphony and made it one of the most notable symphony orchestras in the country. In 1934 he founded the Victor Herbert Orchestra and made it his life’s work. Herbert wrote 2 operas, 43 operettas, the first original orchestration for a full length silent film (“Fall of a Nation” 1916) and musical scores for the Ziegfeld Follies. |
But a funny thing happened on the way to the movies! While most of Victor Herbert’s music remained intact, both lyricist and lyrics were changed and so was the story. Soundtracks for the movies are either not available or never recorded on DVD (but we asked one of our favorite tenors to do the honors on this page). Here are three films made from Herbert’s work, two on the big screen and one made for television that have been very popular.
“Babes in Toyland” 1934 |
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| Here they keep both the original lyrics and music and revisit many of the same characters but the story goes in another direction. “Stannie” and “Ollie” live in a shoe with the Old Woman (Mother Peep), Little Bo Peep and a mouse (played by a monkey in costume). The shoe is owned by cruel Silas Barnaby who wants to marry Bo Peep. Stannie and Ollie try to get the mortgage money from their boss the Toymaker but get fired for mixing up an order from Santa Claus (they build 100 wooden soldiers each 6 feet tall instead of 600 wooden soldiers 1foot tall). One mishap follows another until Barnaby finally leads the Bogeyland army against King Cole and Toyland. Eventually the Toyland army with the help of a few alligators come to the town’s rescue. |  |
"Babes..." (1934)
 Stan Laurel….as Stannie |
Born: June 16, 1890 in Alverston, Lancashire, England |
 Oliver Hardy …as Ollie |
Born: January 18, 1892 in Harlem, Georgia Died: August 7, 1957 in North Hollywood, California Cause of death: stroke at age 65 Real name: Oliver Norwell Hardy Marriages: Three, two ending in divorce. His marriage to Virginia Jones in 1940 lasted 17 years until his death. Remarks: The day that shooting on this film wrapped Ollie had his tonsils out but it was just one of the health problems that plagued him. A heavy smoker, he also had heart and weight problems but it was diet given to him by his doctor that may have contributed to his death. Hardy lost 150 pounds in just a few weeks. Billy Wilder had planned to use the comic duo in a spoof that had them sleeping in the “O’s” of the Hollywood sign but Ollie’s health made the film impossible. |
“Babes in Toyland” 1961 |
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| The second film version was produced by Walt Disney in Technicolor but he changed both the tempo and the lyrics of Herbert’s music as well as the story. Here the tale opens as a stage play presented by Mother Goose (assisted by Sylvester J. Goose) about Mary Contrary (an unsuspecting heiress) and her husband-to-be Tom Piper. But sly miser Barnaby learns about Mary’s impending windfall and hires two crooks to throw Tom into the sea, leaving Mary to marry him. But the thugs (who look a lot like Laurel and Hardy) try to double their loot by selling Tom to the gypsies. Tom comes back disguised as a gypsy to find Barnaby has driven off Mary’s sheep. Mary, Tom and the children of Mother Goose Land fall into the clutches of the toymaker where a machine shrinks everything down to toy size. Barnaby uses it on the Toymaker, Tom and the two crooks and then locks them up in a birdcage. Tom escapes and brings back an army of wooden soldiers to rescue and re-size everyone except Barnaby who is accidentally shrunk. And, of course, Tom marries Mary. | .jpg) |
“Babes in Toyland” 1961
 Ray Bolger…as Barnaby |
Born: January 10, 1904 in Dorchester, Massachusetts Died: January 15, 1987 in Los Angeles, California Cause of death: cancer at 83 Real name: Raymond Wallace Bulcao Marriages: One that lasted 58 years until his death. Remarks: Of Portuguese/Irish heritage, Ray was fascinated by vaudeville and eventually developed his own unique dance repertoire. But as long as he lived he was remembered for one role…as the Scarecrow in “The Wizard of Oz”. He starred in his own television show “Where’s Raymond?” from 1953-1955 and appeared in several Broadway productions. He won a Tony for his role in “Where’s Charley?” and introduced his signature song “Once in Love With Amy”. |
 Tommy Sands….as Tom Piper |
Born: August 27, 1937 in Chicago, Illinois Real name: Thomas Adrian Sands Marriages: Two, both ending in divorce. His second to singer/actress Nancy Sinatra lasted less than 5 years. Remarks: Born into a musical family, he began playing the guitar at 8 and by 9 he was doing a radio show. In 1957 at age 20, Tommy had a hit record “Teenage Crush” and got an offer to sing at the Academy Awards show. Sands made 10 films and numerous television appearances but after his divorce from Nancy Sinatra, everything went downhill. It is rumored that Nancy’s father Frank helped scuttle his career. Tommy Sands has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his recordings. |
 Annette Funicello….as Mary Contrary |
Born: October 22, 1942 in Utica, New York Real name: Annette Joanne Funicello Marriages: Two. The first to casting director jack Gilardi lasted 18 years before ending in divorce. They had 3 children. The second to Glen Holt has lasted since 1986. Remarks: She became Walt Disney’s most popular “Mouseketeer” in the 1950s after taking singing and dancing lessons to overcome shyness and a teen idol after several pop music hits in the 1960s. By the mid-60s she was doing the “beach party” films with Frankie Avalon and they even formed their own singing act. But in 1992 she retired from public life after announcing she suffered from MS and began the Annette Funicello Fund for Neurological Disorders at the California Community Foundation. Her autobiography “A Dream Is A Wish your Heart Makes: My Story” (1994) was made into a television movie in 1995. |
“Babes in Toyland" 1986 |
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| Made for television, this film was broadcast on NBC December 17, 1986 and while it was released on VHS so far there has been no DVD release. Only “The March of the Toys” and “Toyland” were retained in this version and the rest of the score composed by Leslie Bricusse. The story: Lisa Piper, 11, takes care of her siblings and cooks for her family leaving no time for play or toys. During a Christmas Eve blizzard a wayward wind carries her off to Toyland where the friends of her present turn into the magical denizens. Rascally Barnabas Barnicle is about to marry mary Contrary and take over the town. Lisa stops the wedding when she finds out Mary really loves Jack Nimble. So, with Mary, Jack and Georgie Porgie, Lisa seeks out the Toymaster’s aid. But he can only help if Lisa truly believes in toys. Barnaby captures them all and leaves them to be eaten by Troller, a monster with one eye. They escape and, with an army of toy soldiers, defeat Barnaby and his army of trolls. Jack and Mary marry and Lisa is taken home by the Toymaster a.k.a. Santa Claus only to wake up in her own bed Christmas morning. |  |
“Babes in Toyland" 1986
 Drew Barrymore ….as Lisa Piper |
Born: February 22, 1975 in Culver City, California age 34 Real name: Drew Blyth Barrymore Marriages: Two, both ending in divorce. The first to Jeremy Thomas lasted less than a year. The second to Tom Green lasted 16 months. Remarks: From a legendary theatrical family (see issues #29-31) Drew has proven herself a very talented and versatile actress. Notable among her over fifty movie roles are “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” (1982), “Poison Ivy” (1992), “Bad Girls” (1994), ‘The Wedding Singer” (1998) and “Music and Lyrics” (2007). She has at least seven films in development, filming or waiting for release. |
 Richard Mulligan….as Barnaby Barnicle |
Born: November 13, 1932 in New York City, New York Died: September 26, 2000 in Los Angeles, California Cause of death: colon cancer at 67 Marriages: Four, all ending in divorce. Two were to actresses …Joan Hackett (1961-1975) and Rachel Ryan (1992-1993). He had one son to his first wife.. Remarks: Richard was the younger brother of director Robert Mulligan and made his Broadway debut in the Pulitzer Prize–winning play “All the Way Home” in 1960. He then turned to television in 1963 with guest roles on “Armstrong Circle Theater”, “Mannix” and “Gunsmoke” among others and starring as Sam Grant on 4 episodes of “The Hero”. Another favorite was his role as Dr. Harry Weston in “Empty Nest” 1988-1995. Possibly one of his most notable film roles was as the borderline psychotic Custer in “Little Big Man” with Dustin Hoffman as the narrator Josh Crabb. But it was his role as Burt Campbell in television’s offbeat comedy series “Soap” that earned him an Oscar. |
 Keanu Reeves ….as Jack Nimble |
Born: September 2, 1964 in Beirut, Lebanon.. 44 Real Name: Keanu Charles Reeves (Keanu means “cool breeze over the mountains” in Hawaiian. Remarks: So what we have here is a Lebanese-born Canadian-American-British actor with an Hawaiian name. He began his acting career at the age of 9 in a stage production of “Damn Yankees!” and his screen debut in the 1984 CBC Television series “Hangin’ In” at 20. But his first big break came in the Rob Lowe ice hockey film “Youngblood” filmed in Canada in 1986. After that Keanu headed for Hollywood with the blessing of his step-father Paul Aaron, a stage and television director. Reeves has made over 50 films, 15 television roles and there are more in development. |
