Friedrich Hollaender(1896-1976)

For the movie The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. Frederick Hollander wrote an enormous score: 15 songs, two ballets and a parodic concert based on "Ten Happy Fingers." (A 16th song, "Count Me Out," was eliminated early on.) The composing job was an attractive challenge for Hollander: rather than just using incidental songs, here music would be integral to the plot and conception of the film. There would be huge amounts of scoring, running almost from beginning to end, with two ballets. Initial publicity reported that Hollander had composed an unheard-of 24 songs. It verged on "an unusual children's opera for adults," as Hollander called it.