Starring Leslie Caron, Michael Wilding, Estelle Winwood, and Elsa Lanchester
Directed by Charles Walters
Music by Bronislau Kaper; Lyrics by Helen Deustch
After their success with Lili, MGM tried again two years later with another ballet-influenced vehicle for Leslie Caron. This time, they went with one of the most famous fairy tales in the world. Helen Deustch, who wrote Lili, adapted a 1944 stage version of Cinderella, The Glass Slipper, into a whimsical semi-musical with two major dance sequences. How does this version of one of the most beloved fairy tales in the world look now? Let's begin in a picturesque European dutchy, where everyone is very happy to be preparing for a local festival...everyone but one little servant girl...
The Story: Ella (Caron) is not popular among the locals, who see her covered in cinders and make fun of her. For her part, she throws every insult back at them. She knows she'll live in a palace someday, like a fortune teller once told her mother. She's basically a servant to the Widow Sonder (Lanchester) and her pretty but icy daughters Birdena (Amanda Blake) and Serafina (Lisa Daniels), who respect her even less than the townspeople do. Her only friend is Mrs. Toquet (Winwood), an eccentric woman whom many people in town think is a witch.
One day, when visiting the lovely little pond on the palace grounds, she encounters a handsome man (Wilding) and his friend Kovin (Keenan Wynn). Angry with them taking over her favorite spot, she pushes the fellow in the pond. He's really Prince Charles, newly returned from school, but he tells her he's the cook's son. Enchanted with her spunk and beauty, he gives her an invitation to a ball at the palace. Ella is sure her stepmother won't let her go, but Mrs. Toquet knows how to get her there...
The Song and Dance: Caron is once again enchanting in a very different role. Ella's no put-upon little doll. She's a wild, willful creature, too strong-willed for the narrow-minded townspeople. I've never seen Cinderella played like this, not even in Disney's versions, and it's refreshing. Prince Charles is equally interesting, playful, funny, and intelligent enough to see that under her disdainful nature, Ella only wants to be loved. Stage actress Winwood had a lot of fun as the eccentric old woman who is the first person to ever give Ella a kind word. The gorgeous costumes and scenery go a long way to bringing fairy-tale Europe of the 18th century to life, especially the amazing ball gowns.
Favorite Number: The only song is Wilding's performance of"Take My Love" on the spinet after he's fallen for Ella at the pond, but there are two extended ballet sequences. The first is Ella's dream of what it would be like to be married to the cook's son. She and Wilding twirl and leap with maids in frilly petticoats and striped stockings and white-coated chefs around a white kitchen with massive blue stoves and copper pots, ending on a gigantic wedding cake.
The second is a lot darker. After Ella hears Prince Charles is to wed an Egyptian princess, she imagines him on the arm of a gold-clad Neferetti-esque beauty (Lilane Montevecchi) before he sees her laying on a coffin and kisses her. They flee together into the woods, only to be separated by guards in blue who return him to the princess.
What I Don't Like: First and foremost, the two ballets are so delightful, I really wish they'd gone full-on musical. Songs for the king and his court, the widow and her daughters, and maybe a patter number for Winwood might have been fun. Second, I can kind of understand why it didn't go over nearly as well as Lili did. It lacks that film's whimsy and graceful simplicity.
The Big Finale: If you or your kids are fans of ballet or Cinderella tales, you might want to visit with Ella and give this dance-heavy retelling a shot.
Home Media: Easily found on streaming and DVD, the latter from the Warner Archives.
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