Cinderella Jones (1946)

Too much of everything

Good movie, but best of all time? Hardly . . .

Admirable film.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This was one of the more fun "B" movies I have seen recently. I am a movie collector who enjoys clean light comedies, and enjoyed this. It stars S.Z. Sakall, so naturally it doesn't try to cover the meaning of life, or contain any heavy-handed social commentary. My kind of movie!! It has a highly unlikely story line with enough laughs along the way to make it enjoyable. Whether it is a sight gag, plot absurdities, the characters breaking out in song, or "inside" jokes about the actors themselves, it is obvious that everyone involved was having fun.Joan Leslie plays a naive good girl who works odd jobs, and Robert Alda is a band leader. Hungarian character actor S.Z Sakall plays a Hungarian professor from Budapest (go figure). Joan Leslie can inherit ten million dollars if she gets married. But it has to happen very soon, or else the inheritance is off. The movie is spent with Sakall, three young single guys (Alda as band leader, a young professor, and a stalker), and some very eager inheritance lawyers who try to marry off Leslie. After we are introduced to the characters, Sakall is shown walking around outside and chattering about his old science laboratory and how he wants a new one. Then he remembers that he accidentally left dynamite on the stove in his lab, and seconds later we hear it blow up in the distance. "No new laboratory, now no old laboratory." He ends up in jail twice in the movie, but not for accidentally blowing up his lab.A memorable line: (Sakall is on the stand in court): "For how long have you known the ladies in question?" "Question, what's question??" "You DO understand the English language..." "Yes I understand. I talk English perfect. A couple of years ago I had an accent, but I lose it."Will Leslie be able to make up her mind on which guy to marry before the clock runs out? Will some lucky guy end up with Leslie? Will Sakall get his funding for a new science lab? Will the inheritance lawyers strike it rich? Watch it to find out!

The number of laughs, chuckles, and smiles a movie classified Comedy affords me as I'm watching it and the overall feeling I have when it's ended is what determines the stars I award in my effort to encourage viewership.I'm shocked to read these old-posted reviews that say in so many words that this movie is not only not funny but also dumb, even to the point of getting 0 stars from someone. I TOTALLY DISAGREE.I had never heard of Cinderella Jones and the little information shown in the guide actually had me skipping it. However, since I'm on a comedy kick and desirous of seeing movies pre-1950 now that they're available on TCM (and I'm retired), I happened to switch channels to it 20 minutes into the film and started watching. After 10 minutes, I knew when it ended that I was going online to see if it's available for purchase. I want to see it again and I want to loan it out to others I know who enjoy a good 'old' comedy. While it goes into song a few times, you can fast-forward if that bores you. And, there's a bit of dancing...so ditto that....although I now enjoy watching dance moves, spins and taps or intended funny moves (esp. since acquainting myself with Astaire/Rogers routines.)What really makes this movie worth 8 STARS, however, is the fact that I had to press the Pause button over ten times to make a note of some clever remarks and behavior by a number of the actors/actresses that I intend to use sometime first chance I get. (SPOILER, but you'll forget) 1) A military parade is going by holding them up in traffic when they have an arrival deadline and the fabulous character actor, SZ Sakall, says "Fine time to invade California". 2) Robert Alda (Alan's father in real life) is going to the bar to set a guy straight; and, as soon as he gets there, he picks up a mixed drink, chugs it down, puts it back on bar, turns to the guy and says "Anybody drinking that?" and the guy says "Not Now!". 3) Joan Leslie gets hired on the spot as a waitress w/ absolutely no experience and no knowledge of the joint's 'lingo' in taking orders. (I barely knew what the order was w/o re- listening): "I'll have a couple of sinkers, a cup of java, save the cow (donuts, coffee, no cream) ... other guy says,"same, but shoot some chalk juice into my caffeine" (cream in coffee). Joan, of course, has no idea what they just said and guy adds "you know, bovine juice". 4) The other waitress tells her to change an order to: "take a cannibal for a walk" (hamburger to go) And, there's constant plays on words and sound-alike wrong words used by Joan (whose character had very little formal schooling) and by SZ Sakall (with his foreign accent and English translation) that I find amusing ala comedian Norm Crosby and Raising Hope's TV show Mom, Virginia in more recent times): 5) Joan: "What do you think I am, an immigrant?" (ignorant)..."Ignorance shouldn't be so bliss" (Ignorance is bliss) -----and a lot more goofy remarks that I thought were clever just to think of using them for plays on words. Sakall: "You take the words right out of my mouth...that's very unsanitary". ---and he has a ton more of sound and sight gags, as well as a minute's amusing dance for a man his age and size.While this is not an A-List of actors starring, it's all the more fun watching goofy behavior from most of the other characters who may only have a line or three in the entire movie; but, enough of those lines are clever and/or funny...which equals viewing enjoyment.Hey, watch for the airing of this movie. It's fun, funny, clever in parts, kudos to the character actors, and a pleasant viewing that I could've enjoyed seeing back to back ...had I recorded it. Yes, Joan and a few had some obvious facial overplays....so what. By the way, Joan is alive at 89 yrs.old.

Judy's a little short in the IQ department, but she stands to inherit big money if only she can decide which boyfriend to marry.The pro's don't seem to like the movie much. Maltin calls it silly, which it is. But since when does silliness mean a movie isn't amusing. Okay, maybe my standards aren't high enough, still I found the madcap a lot of fun, with one of the best supporting casts on record. Nonetheless, it's really a Joan Leslie showcase, showing what a lovely and talented light comedienne she is.Then again, show me any other film where phony tough guy Elisha Cook Jr. dons glasses and plays it for laughs, (Bogart must be turning over in his grave). Then there's 'Cuddles' Sakall who in my book is mainly a matter of taste, but is not too, too cuddly here; at the same time Edward Everett Horton gets a surprisingly non-addled role for a change. And competing for the delectable Ms Leslie are Alan Alda's dad Robert and William Prince as the sleek professor. So who will win. Shrewdly, we don't find out til the end.To ease things along, there're also a few easy-to-take songs tossed in. But the star is really the fetching Ms Leslie who, for some reason, never quite got the career her talent deserved. Here she plays the lovable Judy with both humor and lots of verve. But whatever you do, don't let her Judy Jones fix you a sandwich, unless you like bubbles on your mayonnaise.

Cut-rate romantic shenanigans from Warner Bros. and director Busby Berkeley features Joan Leslie as a ditsy band singer who stands to inherit $10,000,000 from a deceased relative--provided she marries a man with a high I.Q. under the deadline. Playing the kind of kooky girl who mistakes a bar of soap for cheese and thinks the 17th President of the United States was named Abraham Jefferson, Leslie's wide-eyed, open-mouthed innocent-act gets a strenuous workout here (she's nearly impossible to take). Songs by Jule Styne and Sammy Cahn aren't enough to save the picture, which shoehorns in greedy lawyers, hep-cat professors, and a penniless pianist who wants to "live on love". Poor in all respects, the film sat on the shelf for two years before Warners finally released it. They shouldn't have bothered. NO STARS from ****