AllMovie

Mary Mapes Dodges' children's classic Hans Brinker: Or the Silver Skates was adapted as a TV musical, 104 years after its original publication, by Moose Charlap. Robin Askwith plays Hans, an Amsterdam teenager devoted to ice skating. When his father (John Gregson) is injured, the subsequent financial deprivations deny Hans the opportunity to purchase the silver skates that he'd had his heart set on. Hoping to win those skates in a New Years Eve competition, Hans hasn't forgotten his father's plight, and seeks out the aid of a prominent surgeon (Richard Basehart). Eleanor Parker and Cyril Ritchard co-star in this 2-hour film, which was filmed on location in Holland and Norway; it originally aired December 14, 1969.