A Modern Cinderella (1932)

Anita Ragusa, the daughter of a costume company owner, delivers a dress for a costume ball at the last minute. The snobbish customer doesn't like the design at first, but agrees to let ... See full summary »

Director:

Roy Mack

Writers:

A. Dorian Otvos (story), Burnet Hershey (story)

Stars:

Ruth Etting, Adrian Rosley, Barbara Child

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Ruth Etting	...	Anita Ragusa
Adrian Rosley	...	Mr. Ragusa
Barbara Child	...	Carolyn Belmont
Brian Donlevy	...	Charlie, the chauffeur

Storyline

Anita Ragusa, the daughter of a costume company owner, delivers a dress for a costume ball at the last minute. The snobbish customer doesn't like the design at first, but agrees to let Anita model it for her to decide whether to keep it. Charlie, a drunk partygoer, sees Anita in the dress and invites her to attend the festivities. She reluctantly agrees and sings for the other guests.

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Plot Keywords:

costume | costume ball | servant | singing | fantasy sequence | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Musical | Short

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

5 November 1932 (USA)

Also Known As:

Una cenicienta moderna

Company Credits

Production Co:

Vitaphone Corporation, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

17 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Vitaphone)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film short is available as an extra in the Warner DVD of Love Me or Leave Me.

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Soundtracks

"Little Cinderella"
Performed by Ruth Etting (vocal)

User Reviews

Interesting Vitaphone Short

I've seen a number of Ruth Etting shorts and have never really understood what was so great about her. She was a below-par actress and a passable singer. She certainly is not the singer that Doris Day portrays in "Love Me or Leave Me". In this short, she portrays the daughter of an Italian tailor who must deliver a gown to a socialite for a party. At the party, she is asked to sing. This is where we get her two musical numbers. The comedy in this short is mild at best and the supporting players do not add much. Ruth Etting does not give anything to her role; she is not funny and it seems that she is reading her dialog. I suppose her poor acting kept her in shorts and in guest spots in features. The Brooklyn Vitaphone short subject unit was never a great studio for comedy. They tried, but they rarely succeeded. They did not use Bob Hope properly and gave Shemp Howard some very bad material. This is just another in the series of comedy misfires from Vitaphone.