Cinderella (1957)

Although mistreated by her cruel Stepmother (Ilka Chase) and stepsisters Portia (Kaye Ballard) and Joy (Alice Ghostley), Cinderella (Dame Julie Andrews) is able to attend the royal ball through the help of a Fairy Godmother (Edie Adams).

Director:

Ralph Nelson

Writers:

Oscar Hammerstein II, Richard Rodgers

Stars:

Julie Andrews, Ilka Chase, Edie Adams

Nominated for 3 Primetime Emmys.

Cast

Credited 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
David F. Perkins	...	The Court Tailor
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Eleanor Phelps	...	Ensemble

Storyline

Although mistreated by her cruel Stepmother (Ilka Chase) and stepsisters Portia (Kaye Ballard) and Joy (Alice Ghostley), Cinderella (Dame Julie Andrews) is able to attend the royal ball through the help of a Fairy Godmother (Edie Adams).

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Plot Keywords:

character name as title | cinderella character | stepsister stepsister relationship | fairy godmother character | french | 

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Genres:

Musical | Family | Comedy | Fantasy | Romance

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Did You Know?

Trivia

Dame 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 returned 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.

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Goofs

When performing the duet with the Queen of the reprise of "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?", Jon Cypher as the Prince, accidentally sings a line of the song that was meant to be sung by the Queen, played by Dorothy Stickney. This occurs after he sings the line "Do I want you because you're wonderful?" The camera shifts to the Queen and you can see her open her mouth to sing her line "Or is she wonderful because you want her?" but she remains silent when the Prince goes ahead and mistakenly sings the line from his point of view. According to the interview with Jon Cypher on the DVD release, he didn't realize that he had made the mistake of singing over Dorothy Stickney's line until it was too late, and because it was during a live broadcast, there was nothing either of them can do. If you listen closely, you can also hear that at that point, the orchestra has to catch up with Jon's singing to make up for the mistake.

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Quotes

Cinderella: [singing] It's possible!

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Connections

Version of Señorella and the Glass Huarache (1964)

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Soundtracks

In My Own Little Corner
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II
Performed by Julie Andrews

User Reviews

The Original Rodgers and Hammerstein Version

This musical Cinderella was the original. I like it the best for its innocence... the later versions with Lesley Ann Warren and Brandy were good as well, although much changed. This is my favorite. If you happen to see it, lucky you! The CD of the music is great too.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 March 1957 (USA)

Also Known As:

Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

CBS

Technical Specs

Runtime:

76 min (DVD) 90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

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

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1