What many critics consider the greatest Disney film of all time, Mary Poppins, premiered in movie theaters 50 years ago this month, on August 15, 1964. The story of a magical English nanny who comes to care for a pair of lonely children almost didn’t get made, a story related in the 2013 film Saving Mr. Banks, starring Tom Hanks as Walt Disney and Emma Thompson as Mary Poppins author P.L. Travers.
The Mary Poppins books are part of Professor Jan Susina’s course in children’s literature at Illinois State University. Susina talked with WGLT’s Judy Valente about the film version, and how he uncovered a surprising Illinois State connection to Travers.
Travers passed away in 1996 at the age of 96. Though she never wanted her work turned into a musical film, Mary Poppins was also adapted into a stage musical in 2004. It ran for nearly seven years on Broadway.
