THE BORROWERS (1973)
Article 2296 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 7-8-2007
Posting Date: 11-25-2007
Directed by Walter C. Miller
Featuring Eddie Albert, Tammy Grimes, Judith Anderson

A family of tiny people who live under the floorboards of a Victorian mansion find their home in danger when their existence is discovered by a little boy.

This TV movie was based on a children’s book by Mary Norton. I’ve not read the book, so I can’t say how true it is to the story, but I’m afraid that this movie didn’t really do much for me. Part of the problem is that the TV-Movie budget didn’t really allow for the special effects to really effectively tell the story. It certainly doesn’t help that the movie features cutesy songs by Rod McKuen. Still, there are some nice touches here and there; I like the relationship between Pod (the father of the tiny family) and Aunt Sophy (the matriarch of the human family); he visits her when she’s had a bit too much to drink, so nobody believes her story of a little man. It also has a fairly exciting ending when a ferret is sent loose under the floorboards to catch the small family. Judith Anderson is a lot of fun as Aunt Sophy, but Eddie Albert plays his father character a little too broadly for my tastes. Overall, I wasn’t too impressed with either the script or the acting. It’s watchable, but could have been a lot better.