Perhaps for many of you I could simply show a picture of this character from the (not so much for my childhood) delightful family musical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and it would invoke nightmares. And before we get too far down the line it’s important to state that I am a huge Sherman Brothers fan. The music and whimsical nature of most of the film is what has made a treasured classic. But this is a series about the things that fueled my love of horror, and as I have talked to people I have often found that the root of childhood nightmares, come from the simplest and often most innocent things. (Yes we will get to Willie Wonka and The Chocolate Factory soon as well)
But about the movie….The Sherman Brothers had left Disney, because as they described it at the time, Disney kind of forgot how to utilize them after Walt’s passing. Albert R. Broccoli best known for being the producer who brought James Bond to the screen wanted to work with them and produce a musical on par with their classic Mary Poppins. Here’s a little tidbit I didn’t know until I researched this article…The screenplay was based on a novel by James Bond Author Ian Fleming, and was written by Ken Hughes and (get this) Roald Dahl….yes that’s right…the guy who wrote (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) and therefore two of the films that scared daylights out of me as a child.
So to the film…Dick Van Dyke is a struggling inventor (Caractacus Potts) living on a farm with his two children who have become enamored with an old roadster style racing car that is about to be sold for scrap by the garage owner who owns it. A widower he is a loving but very absent minded father and in his quest to build the next great money making something, he often forgets that his children need to do things like ohhh…go to school. However a young socialite name Truly Scrumptious (I know it sounds like she should be working at a gentleman’s club) runs across them and brings them home in her own motorcar to “set him straight”
Long to short…he doesn’t like her intruding on his ultra liberal arts education approach…and she doesn’t like him because he’s well more into his inventions than taking care of his farm and his kids. Anyway…one day his candy making machine spits out sweets that you can play like a flute. He takes them to the city to try and sell them to the largest candy maker in the city, who also turns out to be Truly’s father Lord Scrumptious (who sounds like he should be working in a different kind of club…possibly wearing a dress and heavy eye liner) The resulting musical number goes well until dogs (attracted by the whistling sound) go all Cujo on the factory ending both the song sequence and any hopes of Caractacus selling his idea.
Truly comes out to the farm to apologize for her father’s overreaction ends up going on a picnic on the beach in the new car and in a strange bluring of reality what seems to be a story invented by Caractaus turns cinematic adventure as we learn of the existence of the vile Baron Bomburst (um…you can imagine what industry he might be in…) who wants to steal the new car and it’s secrets for himself. There are spies…there is a floating Chitty Chitty Bang Bang…the children’s grandfather is mistaken for the inventor and kidnapped away to the tiny childless country of Vulgaria and that is where we meet the creepiest (Bond) villain of them all the Baron’s evil Child Catcher (Robert Helmann) who quickly captures them and locks them up in an iron barred dungeon.
In the depths of despair Truly and Caractacus are found by the Toymaker who takes them to the underground where they are given disguises to look like giant toys and brought into the Barron’s castle for his birthday. Chaos ensues and they manage to effect a revolution returning power to the people of the underground and their children who have been hiding there all the time.
Lord Scrumptious who seems to have had a change of heart wants to by the toot sweets and sell them as canine candies. Truly and Caractacus end up together, the car flies off into the sunset, and we are left haunted by the knowledge that the terrifying Child Catcher is still out there…and he will find us….oh yes he will.
