Hans Brinker and the Silver Skates is a 1958 American television adaptation of the story of Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates, directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Tab Hunter in the title role.
He wrote in his memoirs, "At twenty-seven, I was a little long in the tooth to be playing teenage Hans but then there weren't too many actors around could sing and not embarrass themselves on the ice opposite the Olympic iceskating champion Dick Button, who brought incredible pizzazz to the skating scenes.
The pay was good for a one-shot show, but to be honest, I'd have paid for the chance to meet, let alone skate with, Dick Button, who was one of my real heroes.
[5] Variety said "It was the Tab Hunter billing that probably piled up the Trendex points" on the show "but it was Dick Button who vested it with whatever elements of a real Dutch treat that remained in this musicallzation of the old children’s classic...
The maudlin, goody-goody moralistic overtones weighed heavily... and even the moppets must have found the going getting sticky at times... an uneven production that ran from mediocre and frequently tedious fare to some Spirited and zestful entertainment.