Cinderella (1957) (TV)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Ralph Nelson

Writer:

Oscar Hammerstein II (writer)

Release Date:

31 March 1957 (USA)

Genre:

Musical | Family | Comedy | Fantasy | Romance

Plot:

The first of three TV-versions of the classic fairy tale that featured a Rodgers and Hammerstein score. |

Plot Keywords:

Fairy Tale | Beautiful Woman | Cinderella | Live Broadcast | Character Name In Title

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys.

Cast

Julie Andrews	...	Cinderella
Howard Lindsay	...	King
Dorothy Stickney	...	The Queen
Ilka Chase	...	The Stepmother
Kaye Ballard	...	Stepsister Portia
Alice Ghostley	...	Stepsister Joy
Edie Adams	...	Fairy Godmother (as Edith Adams)
Jon Cypher	...	Prince Christopher
Robert Penn	...	Town Crier
Alexander Clark	...	The Captain of the Guard
Iggie Wolfington	...	The Chef
David F. Perkins	...	The Court Tailor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Charles Aschmann	...	Ensemble
Herb Banke	...	Ensemble
Donald Barton	...	Ensemble
Julius J. Bloom	...	Ensemble
Hank Brunjes	...	Ensemble
Robert Burland	...	Ensemble
John Call	...	Ensemble
Jean Caples	...	Ensemble
Jean Coates	...	Ensemble
Jerome Collamore	...	Ensemble
Sally Crane	...	Ensemble
Richard Crowley	...	Ensemble
William Damian	...	Ensemble
Grace Dorian	...	Ensemble
Debbie Douglas	...	Ensemble
Jose Falcion	...	Ensemble
Pat Finch	...	Ensemble
Marvin Goodis	...	Ensemble
Martha Greenhouse	...	Ensemble
George Hall	...	The King's Steward
Gloria Hamilton	...	Ensemble
Dorothy Hill	...	Ensemble
Stuart Hodes	...	Ensemble
Diana Hunter	...	Ensemble
Kathy Kelly	...	Ensemble
Joseph Layton	...	Ensemble
Karen Lock	...	Ensemble
Leland Mayforth	...	Ensemble
Margot Moser	...	Ensemble
Giselle Orkin	...	Ensemble
Jacquelyn Paige	...	Ensemble
Hazel Patterson	...	Ensemble
Eleanor Phelps	...	Ensemble
Alex Polermo	...	Ensemble
Earl Rogers	...	Ensemble
John Smolko	...	Ensemble
Tao Strong	...	Ensemble
Johnny Towsen	...	Ensemble
Jayne Turner	...	Ensemble
Karen Waters	...	Ensemble

Also Known As:

Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella (USA) (complete title)

Runtime:

76 min (dvd release) | USA:90 min (including commercials)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (surviving Kinescope prints) | Color (original broadcast)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

CBS Studio 72, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

Trivia:

Julie Andrews says up front in the special commentary on the DVD that it was always the intention of director 'Ralph Nelson' to show as much on-camera magic (for what was a LIVE telecast) during the critical 'transformation' sequence with the Fairy Godmother. This involved a few 'cheats,' including having an assistant just out of camera shot to plop a tiara on her head as the camera shoots her from the floor up already in the glass slippers - but note that she carries her gloves in hand and displays a floor-length satin robe probably just thrown on over her servant dress. The "Impossible" number wraps up with an intended commercial break, which is probably when she changed into the ball gown. When they return from commercial she steps out of the carriage now wearing the gloves and the ball gown is visibly peering from under the robe. A plain fire sparkler was shown in extreme close-up to represent a magic wand.

Goofs:

Boom mic visible: The shadow of the boom mic visible on the right side of screen when Cinderella sings "In My Own Little Corner".

Quotes:

Cinderella: [singing] Are you the sweet invention of a lover's dream or are you really as beautiful as you seem?

Movie Connections:

Featured in My Favorite Things: Julie Andrews Remembers (2005) (V)

Soundtrack:

In My Own Little Corner

Kinescopically gorgeous!!

I'm gonna piggy-back right along with the previous comments. I just saw it on Maryland Public Television and it was a real event for me. I know both of the remakes, the Disney cartoon, the Prokofiev ballet, and the film EVER AFTER. But I'm a vintage T.V. junkie at heart, and more than anything else, this production was a phenomenal advancement in TV entertainment. Differing from the broadcast adaptation of the Broadway musical PETER PAN- and as Julie Andrews herself mentions in the opening monologue- this production was originally written for television by Rodgers & Hammerstein themselves. And it is the quirky, tongue-in-cheek script which is one of the show's delights. The biggest delight by far, is the fact that this was a LIVE performance, shown warts and all- like a boom mike shadow on a draping wall or a missed song cue in the second act. This performance occurred roughly six months ahead of the first ever videotaped images. No CGI or ILM movie effects here. Once you fully understand that, you can suspend yourself completely into a more innocent and wondrous frame of mind and let the performances and especially the music speak for themselves. A cleaned up, remastered kinescope film, you'll notice the unusually high contrast in some of the darker images and nighttime sequences. But the "Impossible" Act 1 finale with Andrews and gorgeous fairy godmother Edie Adams is still a stellar moment, from the sparkler lighting effects to the final shot inside the moving coach. And it is nice to see so many surviving cast members (Kaye Ballard, Edie Adams, and Jon Cypher) comment on this 47-year-old production. I loved it!!