Cinderella (1957)

Touches You

Load of rubbish!!

Crappy film

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

This is excluding the Disney film and Ever After with Drew Barrymore, both of which I love. Here we're talking about Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, of which there have been three versions, this, one from 1965 and one from 1997. Of the three, this one's the best, though I love the 1965 one too and found the 1997 Cinderella decent for the supporting cast and the production values. This Cinderella looks beautiful, with Cinderella's ballroom dress gorgeous and the rest of the costumes and sets suitably sumptuous. The photography is also fine, with the transformation sequences suitably magical and the ballroom sequence enchanting. The music and songs are simply amazing, I can't say which is my favourite as I love them all equally, the script is witty, the story timeless and the choreography dazzling. The performances are great, with the stepsisters suitably wicked and funny, the King and Queen's parts more prominent, the prince dashing and Edie Adams' Fairy Godfather suitably benevolent. But it is Julie Andrews who is the main draw, she has the beauty and allure, the vulnerability, the charm and the angelic quality of the voice, far surpassing Lesley Ann Warren(who I also loved, she was enchanting but I prefer Andrews vocally) and Brandy(who I didn't care for much, too passive and nasal for my liking). In conclusion, wonderful and the best Cinderella. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Before the TV movie musicals explosion of the later 90's and early 2000's, there was Cinderella, a Rogers and Hammerstein adaptation of a classic fairy tale. In the 1950's, color T.V. was the new thing and everyone wanted to show off their capabilities. This was also a time when art of all kind was for show on commercial television.Not to be outdone by rival NBC, CBS announced that they would get the legendary team of Rogers and Hammerstein to write a for-T.V. musical based on the beloved tale of Cinderella. The show would use such talent as Howard Lindsay, Dorothy Stickney, Edie Adams, and a young up and coming Broadway star named...oh...what's her name...Julie something or other, I think. I'll remember later. You've probably never heard of her, anyway.Though only black and white kiniscopes exist now, the show was filmed in glorious color and live in a cramped studio. What we'd find out later is that this was shown in front of the biggest audience at that time.ANDREWS! Of course.I've seen all three televised version of Cinderella, and I can say that the original is, without question, the best of the three. It had the one quality all great musical performances have...engagement. I was absolutely sold on everything that happen throughout the musical. Only the best shows and performances can do that. Andrews showed the country why she was a mighty force on Broadway and why she would become a beloved actress the world over. The old, familiar faces and the new people from different places, this was a meeting of all of them. I only hope we can see this again on the small screen again in the near future.

Due to the 1950s style production values of the sets I am limiting this to 1n 8, but if it had had 2005 set values it would be a 10.Cinderella is one of the few fairy tales we grow up with that actually have been successfully used in entertainment mediums. Most people think of the Disney cartoon feature film of the early 1950s, but there was also THE GLASS SLIPPER, a full length film that appeared in the middle 1950s, the early 19th Century opera LA CENERENTOLA by Rossini, and even modern variations in film (MIDNIGHT in 1939 and CINDERFELLA in the 1960s). Then came this 1957 Rodgers and Hammerstein triumph. It was their only joint musical venture for television (although Richard Rodgers had done the them music for VICTORY AT SEA), and it proved so successful that it was shown again in 1965 with another cast led by Leslie Anne Warren, Walter Pigeon, and Ginger Rogers.At the time the original television production was shown in 1957, it came at a critical moment for the lyricist and composer. They were doing well as producers, and they had a string of mighty successful works behind them (OKLAHOMA, CAROUSEL, SOUTH PACIFIC, and THE KING AND I), and they were very busy with the Hollywood productions of CAROUSEL and SOUTH PACIFIC at this time. But they were human: Several of their productions were not as successful. ALLEGRO (from the late 1940s) had an interesting book, but the music did not catch on (except one tune which was saved for SOUTH PACIFIC). ME AND JULIET, a backstage romance, had a middling run. PIPEDREAMS (based on the same stories of John Steinbeck that TORTILLA FLATS came from) was a total flop. Cinderella would be their first successful musical in five years. Soon FLOWER DRUM SONG would restore the pair to their Broadway leadership positions, capped off by their last masterpiece THE SOUND OF MUSIC.They were fortunate to discover for their lead Julie Andrews, she of the pure human voice that comes closest to a bell. She does well acting the role of Cinderella, as well as singing the score from her first big number (in the rocking chair by the fire) to the end. Edie Adams is having fun as a rather mischievous fairy godmother, but one whose mischief has it's good motives. The young John Cypher shows that he could have been the leading man in operetta parts (fortunately for his abilities he got better dramatic roles later). His Prince Christopher is a dutiful son and a wise lover. Ilke Chase is sharp as the stepmother, but not really as vicious as her cartoon equivalent in the Disney picture. As for Kaye Ballard and Alice Ghostley, they certainly are amusing (Ballard is pretentious about her learning - her first name is "Portia", which leads her constantly dropping "The Quality of Mercy" Speech to whoever she sets her eyes on as a prospective lover; Ghostly is just very pessimistic). It came as a surprise to me that the Cinderella march tune actually has words that the two sisters sing at the ball. The King and Queen are played by two performers who are not as well known as the others. Not today anyway. Howard Lindsey and Dorothy Strickney were better known in the 1950s for their work in Broadway productions (with or without each other - they were married). Lindsey is of particular interest because he made very few appearances in movies, and rarely in a large part like this one. His best recalled work was as the co-author (with Russell Crouse) of the dramatization of Clarence Day's LIFE WITH FATHER. This was one of the longest running plays in Broadway history (it once held the record of longest running - something like sixteen years). Lindsay played the role of Clarence Day Sr. (the role William Powell plays in the movie version). As you may notice that the King in Cinderella is wearing special pince - nez eyeglasses, it was probably suggested because Lindsay wore the same glasses as Mr. Day. He and his wife, Ms Strickney, share some sweet moments together as a happily married couple, probably based on their actual connection there.Tonight was the second time PBS has shown the complete 1957 version, and as such it suggests that there may be many other nice little treasures of "lost" live performances that are waiting restoration and re-showing to today's audience.

Just saw this b&w copy on KET2 (Kentucky Educational Television). What a treat! Julie Andrews' voice was marvelous (though I didn't think she quite captured the innocence of Cinderella, even at 21). Edie Adams really hammed it up as the fairy godmother -- she was terrific! And it was fun seeing familiar character actors such as Jon Cypher and Alice Ghostley in their earlier days. The version I saw broke in periodically for current-day commentary by Julie Andrews, Jon Cypher, Kaye Ballard, etc. It was fascinating that they did it in real time, with costume changes just barely beating the camera!If you get a chance to see this, go for it! It's a national treasure, even if the old Cinderella story is not your cup of tea.