This is the reason why I skipped Ben Stiller’s 2013 remake of the movie “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty,” which was in turn based on a James Thurber short story. I just couldn’t bring myself to see the king of deadpan take the classic I adore and bend it to his will.
Danny Kaye didn’t read music. That never ever mattered. I don’t think there are many (any?) actors alive today who could actually do what he did in his movies.
No, the movie didn’t have that much to do with the original short story. And that’s okay. The new one didn’t, either. And that’s another story.