At the Nickelodeon: The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T (1953)

DVR alert...this incredibly bizarre and imaginative film from 1953 is being shown at 8am (EST) tomorrow on TCM. The entire film is also available (for now at least) on YouTube (embedded below). The story follows Bart, a young boy with a curious hat, who lives with his widowed mom and absolutely dreads his weekly piano lessons with the imposing Dr. Terwilliker. During one of his lessons, Bart enters a dreamlike world where he and 499 other boys are forced to play the immense piano that Dr. Terwilliker has constructed. Of course Bart desperately wants to escape...and...well I guess you'll have to watch to see what transpires. The film was written by Theodor Seuss Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) and is notable for its "Seuss-like" set design. It's definitely one of the creepier children's films I've ever seen...although The Peanut Butter Solution is a close runner-up, but that's a post for another day.

At the Nickelodeon: The Cookie Carnival (1935) by Disney dir. Ben Sharpsteen

Is anyone else feeling overwhelmed and sugar-shocked from a surplus of Christmas cookies still lingering around the cupboard?

This is one of my favorite Silly Symphonies  - it was released in 1935 as an homage to the Atlantic City  boardwalk parade and bathing beauty contest (that eventually became the Miss America pageant) of the 1920s and 30s.

Watch this a few times to ensure you catch all of the amazing, whimsical details.

At the Nickelodeon: Santa Claus (1898) by G.A. Smith

At the Nickelodeon: Skeleton Frolic (1937) by Ub Iwerks

At the Nickelodeon: The Danse Macabre Filmstrip

This is a 1970s film strip that was shown in many elementary schools (including mine) featuring the "tone poem" Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saëns (1874). The illustrations are by Harold Dexter Hoopes. Let the bones dance!