This film is part of Free
Twinkling Fingers
Pianists Charlie Kunz and Mark Hambourg tickle the ivories for our entertainment in this jolly musical short.
Overview
Jovial, jazzy Charlie Kunz and stern concert pianist Mark Hambourg give impeccable performances of distinctly different pieces in this marvellous musical short. Kunz is backed by his band, and Hambourg is accompanied by the bizarrely brilliant Minipiano Ensemble - fourteen gifted juveniles, each of whom has their own piano on a stupendous stratified stage that looks something like a wedding cake.
The Minipiano Ensemble: once seen, never forgotten. The gifted girls sport identical flouncy princess dresses and enormous hair bows, while the boys show off in matching public school style Eton suits. Hambourg hides throughout their first dramatic number, finally revealing himself for a solemn solo spot when a gigantic curtain is whisked back at the top of the 'cake'. His young protégés stand and observe respectfully while the maestro plays, before the cake-curtain swishes shut to conceal him from view and they return to their keyboards.
Related
Five Guineas a Week Five Guineas a Week
Musical 1956 33 mins
1950s song and dance revue set in a colourful world of boarding houses and coffee bars
Devil's Rock Devil's Rock
Drama 1938 51 mins Location: Bangor
Will new open-air microphone technology give Richard Hayward the chance to silence his critics? Watch as Cushendun and Bangor steal the show.
Shooting Stars Shooting Stars
Comedy 1937 32 mins
Black music hall stars Scott and Whaley perform stereotypical minstrel routines in blackface in this 1937 touring revue.
The Rise and Fall of Nellie Brown The Rise and Fall of Nellie Brown
Musical 1964 70 mins Location: Liverpool
An incredibly joyous TV musical about a young woman's search for her long-lost cousin.
Song of Toledo Song of Toledo
Musical 1953 31 mins
This merrily musical short film takes a jovial trip across picturesque 1950s Spain aboard the Talgo Express
Musical Motorcycles - Cachito cha cha cha (Coursée) Musical Motorcycles - Cachito cha cha cha (Coursée)
Music video 1961 3 mins
The musical motorcycles hit Paris to a Cuban vibe.
China O'Brien: The Reunion China O'Brien: The Reunion
Documentary 2024 60 mins
Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton and Keith Cooke reunite three decades on from the groundbreaking martial arts classic.
Women in Action Panel Discussion Women in Action Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 28 mins
Action Xtreme - the UK's leading action film studio - hosts this panel discussion with four leading women in action cinema - Soo Cole, Jo Rolison, Jadey Duffield and Ioanna Karavela.
Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 24 mins
Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.