In Bavaria in the early 19th century, brothers Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm are commissioned to write a history of the local duke's family. Wilhelm finds it difficult to concentrate on the task, however, and irritates his wife Dorothea and his brother by devoting his time to collecting and writing fairy tales. One evening he tells to his children the story of "The Dancing Princess." A king offers his daughter in marriage to any man who can discover why each night she wears out a pair of slippers. A young woodsman dons a cloak that renders him invisible, follows the princess into the woods, and watches as she joins a band of gypsies in their dancing. He also joins in, and the two fall in love. The woodsman later reveals her secret to the king, and the king commands that they marry, much to the princess' delight . Wilhelm unsuccessfully tries to convince his bookseller friend Stossel of the value of his book of fairy tales by telling the tale of "The Cobbler and the Elves" to a group of small children. An old shoemaker spends Christmas Eve carving toy elves for orphans and neglects to repair his customers' shoes. The elves come to life while he is sleeping and complete the unfinished work . A short time later, the duke sends Wilhelm to another town to research a branch of his family. Wilhelm meets Anna Richter, an old woman who lives in the forest. Though many of the townspeople regard her as a witch, children flock to her cottage to hear her stories, one of which is "The Singing Bone." A servant slays a ferocious dragon and is himself slain by his cowardly master, who takes credit for killing the beast. One of the murdered man's bones appears in the form of a musical instrument that sings of the treachery. The master confesses to his crime; the servant is magically restored to life; and the king commands the master to become his servant's servant . Wilhelm, inspired by many more of Anna's tales, leaves the forest but loses the duke's manuscript along the way. The duke dismisses him, and Jacob decides to marry his fiancée, Greta, and work independently. Wilhelm becomes gravely ill and is near death when his fairy tale characters appear and plead for his life so that he may tell their stories. Wilhelm's miraculous recovery prompts Jacob to postpone his wedding and to support his brother's family. The two brothers' work eventually wins them recognition from the Berlin Royal Academy. Wilhelm is disappointed when the Academy cites only Jacob's scholarly work and ignores his own fairy tales, which have received wide popular acclaim. His despondency is short-lived, however; they arrive in Berlin and are greeted not only by Academy officials, but by hundreds of appreciative children anxious to hear a story.

Director:
Henry Levin	Director
George Pal	Dir fairy tales seq
Al Jennings	Assistant Director
Cast:
Laurence Harvey	as Wilhelm Grimm
Karl Boehm	as Jacob Grimm
Claire Bloom	as Dorothea Grimm
Walter Slezak	as Stossel
Barbara Eden	as Greta Heinrich
Oscar Homolka	as The Duke
Arnold Stang	as Rumpelstiltskin
Martita Hunt	as Story teller
Betty Garde	as Miss Bettenhausen
Bryan Russell	as Friedrich Grimm
Ian Wolfe	as Gruber
Tammy Marihugh	as Pauline Grimm
Cheerio Meredith	as Mrs. von Dittersdorf
Walter Rilla	as Priest
Yvette Mimieux	as The Princess
Russ Tamblyn	as The Woodsman
Jim Backus	as The King
Beulah Bondi	as The Gypsy
Clinton Sundberg	as The Prime Minister
Laurence Harvey	as The Cobbler
Walter Brooke	as The mayor
Sandra Gale Bettin	as The Ballerina
Robert Foulk	as The Hunter
Terry-Thomas	as Ludwig
Buddy Hackett	as Hans
Otto Kruger	as The King
Robert Crawford Jr.	as The shepherd
Sydney Smith	as The Spokesman
Cinematography:
Paul C. Vogel	Director of Photography
Charles K. Hagedon	Col cons
Writer:
David P. Harmon	Screenwriter
Charles Beaumont	Screenwriter
William Roberts	Screenwriter
David P. Harmon	Screen story
Producer:
George Pal	Producer
Editing:
Walter Thompson	Film Editor
Music:
Leigh Harline	Music Score
Charles Beaumont	Composer
Bob Merrill	Composer
Dance:
Alex Romero	Choreography
Art Director:
George W. Davis	Art Director
Visual Effects:
Gene Warren	Spec visual eff
Wah Chang	Spec visual eff
Tim Barr	Spec visual eff
Robert R. Hoag	Spec visual eff
Make-Up:
William Tuttle	Makeup created by
Sydney Guilaroff	Hairstyles
Costume-Wardrobe:
Mary Wills	Costumes
Art Department:
Henry Grace	Set Decoration
Dick Pefferle	Set Decoration
Sound:
Franklin Milton	Recording Supervisor
Production Companies:
George Pal	Company
Film Production - Main:
Thomas Conroy	Prod supv for cinerama
Gae Griffith	Asst to the prod
Robert Snody	European prod coordinator

Location scenes filmed in West Germany. Included in the cast of the book section are townspeople of Rothenburg and Dinkelsbühl and residents of the Rhine River Valley. Copyright claimant: Gallen Films.

1962 Academy Award Nominations for Best Color Cinematography, Best Color Art Direction, and Best Adapted Musical Score.

1962 Academy Award Winner for Best Color Costume Design.

Released in United States August 7, 1962

Released in United States Summer August 7, 1962

Shown at FILMEX: Los Angeles International Film Exposition (The Fabulous Fifty-Hour Filmex Fantasy Marathon) March 14-31, 1985.

Cinerama

c Metrocolor

Released in United States August 7, 1962 (New York City)

Released in United States Summer August 7, 1962

Themes: "The Princess' Waltz," "Ah-oom," "Christmas Land," "Dee-are-a-gee-o-en," "Gypsy Rhapsody," "Above the Stars" and "Theme from the Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm" by Bob Merrill.

"Singing Bone," words and music by Bob Merrill and Charles Beaumont.

Based on the book Die Brüder Grimm by Hermann Gerstner (Munich, 1952).

AA-Best Art Direction in 1962

AA-Best Cinematography in 1962

AA-Best Costume Design in 1962

AA-Best Score in 1962