Singing Ringing Tree??

[buddy]

Does anyone remember a prog either called above or about above.In my adulthood I remember it as quite bizarre and now cant recall what it was about. P.S This is not a poser - it is a genuine enquiry for some of the cynics out there - LOL !!

[andy hughes]

I do remember it. It was a Czech programme, I think, and I think they voiced over, rather than dubbed it. There was a dwarf in it, and thinking back he was the first dwarf i had ever seen. It was quite spooky and scary, given how much less sophisticated children were about television in those days. I know it was a fairty story, a prince and princess were involve, and the dwarf was an evil character with magic powers, but I can't remember more than that.

[andy hughes]

OK, you got my curiosity going, so - the series was German, made in 1958, shown on Breitish TV in 1958 in black and white, and again in the 1970's in colour. To save money, the UK producers simply turned down the German dialogue, and voiced a naration over the top. the story concerned a preincess, wooed by a prince. She rejected his gift of jewels, and demanded a singing ringing tree. The prince found it in the land ruled by a spiteful dward, who turned him into a bear, and captured the princess, removing all her beauty. As the two sad characters slowly fell in love, the dwarf's power was diminished, and it all ended happily ever after. It's based on a Brothers Grimm story 'Snow White and Rose Red' and it's been a cult classic ever since its initial showing - you can get it on DVD if you want to stir those old memories again.

[LeMarchand]

I bought it for Mme LeMarchand a couple of years back! I think it made the lower reaches of C4's "Top 100 Scariest Film/TV Moments"!

[buddy]

Thank you andy for bringing back all those childhood spooky memories!!I actually was beginning to think I had imagined it cos no-one seems to remember it.Appreciate your help and your answer too lemarchand-glad i wasnt the only one who thought it was scary!!

[sddsddean]

Wasn't there a giant goldfish in the pond, which the princess had to save when for some reason the pond froze up? I'm sure I remember her breaking the ice with her shoe.

[owner2]

I saw it again at the GFT in Glasgow a few years ago so it's still occasionally shown at arthouse type cinemas. It's still as weird as ever you'll be glad to know.

[owner2]

and you're right about the giant fish too!

[bernardo]

Specifically, I think it was East German.

[Michael H]

Quite so Bernardo, and of an extremely high production quality not normally associated with eastern bloc television. Wasn't there another called 'Tales from Europe' on in the mid sixties that was very similar? It usedto scare the life out of me!

[andytreble99]

it was also spoofed more recently by the Fast Show when they did a version on their "Chanel 9" called the "The Singing Ringing Binging Plinging Tinging Plinking Plonking Boinging Tree" apparently because Paul Whitehouse was so terrified of it as a child

[andytreble99]

you may find this interesting http://uk.geocities.com/singringtree/4smitharticle.html

[buddy]

andytreble99-my god - after reading that I dont think I'll sleep tonight!!I have just suddenly had a flashback about the dwarf on the ledge (end of summary). Looks like we have all been affected by it!!

[RevShirls]

Aaarghh! That was a memory that has been well-suppressed over the years. Now it's back to haunt me. Whenever my wee brother annoyed me I used to do impersonations of the dwarf. It would always make him cry!

[owner2]

I think there was a series of programmes from Europe called " Tales from Europe " and screened on a Thursday every week round about 5.20. "The singing ringing tree" was one of many stories in the series.

[timbrewer]

There was a BBC radio4 programme about it earlier this year. Might still be on Listen Again...

[johnnybi]

Yes, the Singing Ringing Tree was part of the Tales from Europe series, a very public spirited attempt from the BBC to put (dubbed) foreign TV on in their children's television slots. (Other overseas series they put on were Belle and Sebastian, Chingachook, and Robinson Crusoe.) But The Singing Ringing Tree was released in a colour movie version a few years ago, and I went to see it. There is a page on the BBC website about a Radio 4 documentary about it, but I couldn't download the programme when I tried. It's basically about a spoiled, stuck up princess who gets her comeuppance. It's very sweetly made, and touching in places.