The Child Catcher is a fictional character in the 1968 film ''

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' is a 1968 musical-fantasy film directed by Ken Hughes with a screenplay co-written by Roald Dahl and Hughes, loosely based on Ian Fleming's novel '' Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car'' (1964). The film stars ...

'' and in the later stage musical adaptation. The Child Catcher is employed by Baron Bomburst and Baroness Bomburst to snatch and imprison children on the streets of

Vulgaria ''Vulgaria'' () is a 2012 Hong Kong comedy film directed by Pang Ho-cheung. The film won Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress at the 32nd Hong Kong Film Award. Plot Struggling movie producer To Wai-cheung is hardly able to make al ...

Character

In the film, the Child Catcher was played by

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

dancer

Sir Robert Helpmann Sir Robert Murray Helpmann Order of the British Empire, CBE ( Helpman, 9 April 1909 – 28 September 1986) was an Australian ballet dancer, actor, director, and choreographer. After early work in Australia he moved to Britain in 1932, where he j ...

. Whilst filming one of the scenes where the Child Catcher drives his horse and carriage out of the village, the carriage tipped over as it turned a corner with Helpmann on board.

Dick Van Dyke Richard Wayne Van Dyke (born December 13, 1925) is an American actor, entertainer and comedian. His award-winning career has spanned seven decades in film, television, and stage. Van Dyke began his career as an entertainer on radio and telev ...

recalls Helpmann, with great presence of mind, swinging out of the carriage and skipping across the crashing vehicle to safety. Van Dyke later commented that he had never seen anything as graceful in his life. Helpmann was 60 years old at the time. Helpmann's child co-stars recalled that behind the scenes, the actor loved children and was extremely kind to them, often making them laugh between takes, which made it difficult for them to pretend to be afraid of him. Also, Helpmann often shielded the children from the temper of director

Ken Hughes Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in t ...

, even telling him at one point to stop swearing in front of them. The Child Catcher does not appear in Fleming's original book. Reputedly,

Roald Dahl Roald Dahl (13 September 1916 – 23 November 1990) was a British novelist, short-story writer, poet, screenwriter, and wartime fighter ace of Norwegian descent. His books have sold more than 250 million copies worldwide. Dahl has be ...

(co-author of the film's screenplay) created the character. Dahl's screenplay was heavily rewritten by

, the director, who said he had created the character. However, the character's black hat, long black coat, pointed nose and rôle as, effectively, a

Nazi Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

substitute have been seen as

antisemitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

. In the theatrical version in London's West End, he has been played by

Richard O'Brien Richard Timothy Smith. known professionally as Richard O'Brien, is a British-New Zealand actor, writer, musician, composer, and television presenter. He wrote the musical stage show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' in 1973, which has remained in conti ...

Wayne Sleep Wayne Philip Colin Sleep (born 17 July 1948) is a British dancer, director, choreographer, and actor who appeared on the BBC series '' The Real Marigold on Tour'' and ITV's '' The Real Full Monty''. Early life Sleep was born in Plymouth, D ...

(another ballet dancer), and

Stephen Gately Stephen Patrick David Gately (17 March 197610 October 2009) was an Irish singer, who, with Ronan Keating, was co-lead singer of the pop group Boyzone; all of Boyzone's studio albums during Gately's lifetime hit number one in the United Kingdo ...

amongst others and on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

, he was played by

Kevin Cahoon Kevin Cahoon (born July 21, 1971) is an American actor, director, writer, and singer-songwriter. Early life Kevin Cahoon was born on July 21, 1971, in Houston, Texas. Cahoon began his performing career at the age of six as 'The World's Younges ...

. In the Australian theatrical version, he was played by Tyler Coppin who wrote and performs a solo show about

Robert Helpmann Sir Robert Murray Helpmann CBE ( Helpman, 9 April 1909 – 28 September 1986) was an Australian ballet dancer, actor, director, and choreographer. After early work in Australia he moved to Britain in 1932, where he joined the Vic-Wells Ballet (n ...

called LyreBird (Tales of Helpmann). In 2005, the Child Catcher was voted "the scariest villain in children's books". In 2008, ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' called Helpmann's depiction of the Child Catcher one of the "50 Most Vile Movie Villains."

References

{{Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Chitty Chitty Bang Bang characters Fictional kidnappers Film characters introduced in 1968 Fictional henchmen Male film villains