The actors were limited by the stage play sets and rhyming dialogue (it was tiring to listen to). The songs were okay, but just watching the stiff moves of the actors and the talking--did I mention the forced and mediocre rhyming? I kept waiting for the curtain drop between each scene (this is sarcasm). ( )

The music is the iconic score by Edvard Grieg, including "In the Hall of the Mountain King" and other favorites. The peasants sing and dance, as do the Piper and others.
The dialog is spoken in rhyme, derived from Robert Browning's poem (1842). The lyrics to Grieg's music are original to the show.
The special effects are cheesy now, but were "magical" in their day.

Van Johnson plays the hero (Truson) and the Piper, occasioning a small in-joke in the script.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050842/?ref_=ttrel_rel_tt

Other versions of the story are by The Brothers Grimm and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.

This one is still available in various versions on Amazon (2017-12-04). ( )