Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

We enjoyed this musical about a poor boy hoping to win riches in a chocolatier's lottery with strings attached. Jack loves rewatching old movies and my M.O. is to watch new ones. But I was stuck in bed for a few days (much better now, thanks!) and he suggested I see this in preparation for the upcoming remake with Timothée Chalamet.

Peter Ostrum, who plays the boy Charlie, was 14 in 1971. Gene Wilder (1933-2016) and Jack Albertson (1907-1981) are Wonka the chocolatier and Charlie's grandpa, respectively.

Mel Stuart (1928-2012) directs from a script by Roald Dahl (1916-1990) adapted from Dahl's 1964 children's book. The script was later tweaked, to Dahl's disapproval, by an uncredited David Seltzer.

The music by Leslie Bricusse (1931-2021) and Anthony Newley (1931-1999) got three Oscar nominations. The soundtrack is available on Apple Music and, no doubt, elsewhere. When Amy was a toddler in LA, we used to listen in the car to a Michael Feinstein audio cassette of kids' songs that included Pure Imagination, from this movie. Over and over (but I didn't get tired of it!). And we boomers remember Sammy Davis Jr.'s cover of The Candy Man.

This was Ostrum's only acting credit. Some of Wilder's best work is in The Producers (1967), Young Frankenstein (1974), Blazing Saddles (1974), Silver Streak (1976), and Stir Crazy (1980). Albertson is best known for The Subject Was Roses (1968). six episodes of Mister Ed (1961-64), 88 of Chico and the Man (as The Man) (1974-78), and hundreds more, many of which predate my awareness. Mel Stuart was not on my radar.

Many of prolific novelist Dahl's books have been adapted for the stage and screen. This was his fourth and final screenplay, after You Only Live Twice (1967), Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968), and The Road Builder (1971). Seltzer is new to me.

I'm a longtime fan of Bricusse and Newley, especially their stage musicals Stop the World – I Want to Get off (1961), The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd (1965), and Doctor Dolittle (1967). Bricusse also co-scored Victor/Victoria (1982) for the big screen and later the stage, among others. Newley was better known as an actor and singer than as a composer.

Rotten Tomatoes' critics and audiences are sweet on this, averaging 92 and 87%, respectively. We streamed it on Max with a subscription on January 27.