The Pied Piper

The Pied Piper

Come children of the universe, let Donovan take you away, far far away.

1972 · 90 min · ★ 5.9 · Fantasy, Drama

Greed, corruption, ignorance, and disease. Midsummer, 1349: the Black Death reaches northern Germany. Minstrels go to Hamelin for the Mayor's daughter's wedding to the Baron's son. He wants her dowry to pay his army while his father taxes the people to build a cathedral he thinks will save his soul. A local apothecary who's a Jew seeks a treatment for the plague; the priests charge him with witchcraft. One of the minstrels, who has soothed the Mayor's daughter with his music, promises to rid the town of rats for the fee. The Mayor agrees, then renigs. In the morning, the plague, the Jew's trial, and the Piper's revenge come at once.

Directed by Jacques Demy · Written by Jacques Demy

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Streaming

Rent or Buy

Cast

Donovan The Pied Piper
Diana Dors Frau Poppendick
Donald Pleasence The Baron
Roy Kinnear Burgermeister Poppendick
John Hurt Franz
Michael Hordern Melius, Alchemist
Jack Wild Gavin
Peter Vaughan Bishop
Keith Buckley Mattio
Cathryn Harrison Lisa
Peter Eyre Pilgrim
David Leland Officer

Make it a double feature

3h 36m together

The Pied Piper

The Young Girls of Rochefort

Both from Jacques Demy.

More from Jacques DemySee all →

Musée Grévin

Musée Grévin · 1958

MovieDocumentary

A man dreams he is in a wax museum after it is closed for the night.The statues come to life and behave in mysterious ways.

The 400 Blows

The 400 Blows · 1959

For young Parisian boy Antoine Doinel, life is one difficult situation after another. Surrounded by inconsiderate adults, including his neglectful parents, Antoine spends his days with his best friend, Rene, trying to plan for a better life. When one of their schemes goes awry, Antoine ends up in trouble with the law, leading to even more conflicts with unsympathetic authority figures.

The Young Girls of Rochefort

The Young Girls of Rochefort · 1967

The Young Girls of Rochefort

MovieRomanceComedy

In the seaside town of Rochefort, twin sisters Delphine and Solange dream of love and artistic fulfillment beyond their quiet lives. As sailors, artists, musicians, and chance visitors pass through town during a weekend fair, a web of near-misses and romantic longing brings ideal partners tantalizingly close—without their realizing it.

Jacquot

Jacquot · 1991

Jacquot Demy, the son of a garage owner and a hairdresser, is fascinated by cinema and decides to pursue his dream of becoming a filmmaker by any means necessary.

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg · 1964

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

MovieDramaRomance

This simple romantic tragedy begins in 1957. Guy Foucher, a 20-year-old French auto mechanic, has fallen in love with 17-year-old Geneviève Emery, an employee in her widowed mother's chic but financially embattled umbrella shop. On the evening before Guy is to leave for a two-year tour of combat in Algeria, he and Geneviève make love. She becomes pregnant and must choose between waiting for Guy's return or accepting an offer of marriage from a wealthy diamond merchant.

Turning Table

Turning Table · 1988

On a winter night, the author of "The King and the Mockingbird" is visited by the cartoon characters he created in his studio. Along with a little clown, he screens a selection of his favorite shorts

Donkey Skin

Donkey Skin · 1970

MovieFantasyComedy

A fairy godmother helps a princess disguise herself so she won't have to marry her father.

Lola

MovieDramaRomance

A bored young man meets with his former girlfriend, now a cabaret dancer and single mother, and soon finds himself falling back in love with her.

Lust

This short film by Jacques Demy was based on his memories of growing up in Nantes, France. While it was initially made for the omnibus film THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS (as the segment on "Lust"), it has also been distributed and exhibited separately.

The Wedding in Monaco

The Wedding in Monaco · 1956

The Wedding in Monaco

MovieDocumentary

Exclusive footage captures the wedding of American screen star Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco.

Bay of Angels

Bay of Angels · 1963

MovieRomanceDrama

A bank clerk is drawn into the risky world of a gorgeous gambling addict.

Paris Belongs to Us

Paris Belongs to Us · 1961

Paris Belongs to Us

MovieMysteryDrama

A young woman joins a theatrical troupe where she slowly believes that the director is involved with a secret group and that he is in grave danger.

Model Shop

Model Shop · 1969

MovieDramaRomance

While trying to raise money to prevent his car from being repossessed, George is attracted to Lola, a Frenchwoman who works in a "model shop", an establishment that rents out beautiful pin-up models to photographers. George spends his last twelve dollars to photograph Lola, and discovers that she is as unhappy as he.

A Room in Town

A Room in Town · 1982

MovieDramaRomance

Set against the backdrop of an increasingly violent strike, a worker falls in love with the middle-class daughter of his landlady.

Break of Day

Break of Day · 1980

MovieDramaRomance

A writer in her fifties spends the summer in her Saint-Tropez home, tending to her garden and animals while reflecting on her past. As nature thrives around her, a handsome young man and a restless woman draw near, bringing the uncertainties of desire and romance. Adapted from Colette's quasi-autobiographical novel.

Ars

MovieDocumentary

With ghostly eyes looking through the winter landscapes of the plains and villages of Ain, where the sanctified priest the Curé of Ars once lived, Jacques Demy tried to understand this fighter for communal spirituality and his daily torments of mysticism.

More Like This

Sharky's Machine

Sharky's Machine · 1981

Sharky's Machine

MovieCrimeDrama

Police officer Tom Sharky gets busted back to working vice, where he happens upon a scandalous conspiracy involving a local politician. Sharky's new 'machine' gathers evidence while Sharky falls in love with a woman he has never met.

Savage Streets

Savage Streets · 1984

MovieActionCrime

Brenda, vivacious leader of the "Satins", a fun-loving group of pretty high school girls, searches for deadly vengeance against the gang members who assaulted her deaf-mute sister.

Fury

MovieCrimeDrama

Joe, who owns a gas station along with his brothers and is about to marry Katherine, travels to the small town where she lives to visit her, but is wrongly mistaken for a wanted kidnapper and arrested.

Thriller: A Cruel Picture

Thriller: A Cruel Picture · 1973

Thriller: A Cruel Picture

MovieActionThriller

Madeleine, rendered mute after being sexually assaulted as a youth, accepts a lift from a wealthy and sadistic pimp who soon enslaves her into his prostitution racket. Despite her limited means, Madeleine embarks on a bloody road to revenge against her captors.

WΔZ

MovieCrimeDrama

There is something horribly wrong with the bodies found in the dark city streets. Some are mutilated while others have the Price equation (wΔz = Cov (w,z) = βwzVz) carved into their flesh. Detective Eddie Argo and his new partner Helen Westcott unearth the meaning of the odd equation and realise each victim is being offered a gruesome choice: kill your loved ones, or be killed. Before long it becomes clear that the perpetrator has suffered a similar fate and is now coping by seeking a way to solve this philosophical dilemma.

MovieDramaCrime

Kate and her brutish boyfriend Big Al sell handguns on the streets of New York. She's smart, stylish, and self-confident, but all that leaves her when Al, in a jealous and self-indulgent rage, beats her. Three friends encourage her recovery: Vic, a woman who would like to be Kate's lover; Reilly, who runs with Al but also is attracted to Kate and repulsed by Al's violence; and, Liz, the counselor assigned to Kate from a battered-women's program. Vic and Reilly talk about killing Al, Liz gives pep talks; Kate remains frightened. Will Al's menace and Kate's dependency hold sway?

Fresh

MovieCrimeDrama

Death and violence anger twelve year old drug courier Fresh, who sets his rival employers against each other.

Wrath of Man

Wrath of Man · 2021

MovieThrillerCrime

A cold and mysterious new security guard for a Los Angeles cash truck company surprises his co-workers when he unleashes precision skills during a heist. The crew is left wondering who he is and where he came from. Soon, the marksman's ultimate motive becomes clear as he takes dramatic and irrevocable steps to settle a score.

Scarlet

Scarlet · 2025

MovieAnimationAction

After failing to avenge her father's murder, Princess Scarlet, wakes up in the "Land of the Dead." In this world filled with madness, if she does not achieve her revenge against her nemesis and reach the "No End Place," she will become "Void" and cease to exist. Can Scarlet find a way to live at the end of her endless journey?

The Brand New Adventures of Aladdin · 2018

The Brand New Adventures of Aladdin

MovieComedyFantasy

After freeing Baghdad from its terrible ruler, Aladin delays his marriage to the princess until a new dictator arrives to take over the city.

Five Minutes of Heaven

Five Minutes of Heaven · 2009

Five Minutes of Heaven

MovieCrimeDrama

The story of former Ulster Volunteer Force member Alistair Little. Twenty-five years after Little killed Joe Griffin's brother, the media arrange an auspicious meeting between the two.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter