The Slipper and the Rose: The Story of Cinderella

Beautiful sounds bizarre if you do not ignore the similitaries with the musicals - fairy tales adaptations of the period. But the gifts, the precious gifts are the actors, the humor and the songs. And, sure the atypical godmother fairy. Edith Evans, Annette Crosbie, Michael Hordern,Kenneth More,Christopher Gable and Richard Chamberlain are the basic motives to see, again, time by time, this lovely film, a Christmas one, off course, because, more than each Halmark production, preserves the spirit of it. So, an old fashion lovely adaptation of classic fairy tale . And that is just, just great.

This is one of my favorite 'comfort films'--I associate it with being home from college at Christmas, when I first saw it on late-night TV. I now own it on DVD and watch it almost every Christmas. The 18th-century costumes are absolutely superb (love that moment when Margaret Lockwood as the Stepmother removes her black widow's cloak to reveal her scarlet gown), the script witty (especially when Julian Orchard as the prince's camp cousin shows up), and the performances delivered with a light touch (Annette Crosbie and Kenneth More are the best at this). Richard Chamberlain never looked so dashing--the way he gazes adoringly at Cinderella!!--and Cinderella herself, Gemma Craven, is sweet and lovely, with an excellent voice.

A couple of the songs clunk a bit (you decide which ones), but the dancing is great, especially in the ball scene and the 'Position and Positioning.' The dancers come from the Royal Ballet (the dancing mice, too), so the dancing is a delight. And Richard Chamberlain has a dance number with Christopher Gable of the Royal Ballet, and he certainly doesn't suffer by comparison!

And oh, the costumes! I first saw a rather faded copy of this movie, and I loved the frosty pastels of the ballgowns (in fact, I thought Cinderella's dress was white); I was slightly disappointed by the brighter colors on the DVD. But not too disappointed--this is a beautifully-dressed film.

My favorite scene is Cinderella's flight from the ball; she runs down a series of staircases as the clock tolls midnight, rose-petals fluttering down all the time, and her pale-pink gown and frothy white wig gradually darken into her ragged blue dress and chestnut hair. It's a stunning effect.

This is a very clever and entertaining remake of Cinderella, with wonderful music, beautiful costumes and scenery, and a very talented ensemble cast. It also has a good deal of dry wit, particularly from the King, played marvelously by Michael Hordern, which sets it apart from other productions of Cinderella. It also features Richard Chamberlain trying his hand at his first musical, in the role of Prince Edward, the royal heir to the throne of Euphrania, who simply wants to marry for love, not political expediency. He is terrific in this role--handsome, aristocratic, with a very pleasant singing voice, and extremely graceful on the dance floor--he looks very much "The Prince." Gemma Craven is good in the role of Cinderella, and I particularly like her singing in the haunting "Tell Him Anything." The song "Secret Kingdom" with Richard and Gemma is beautiful, and one of the highlights of the entire movie. Though the film itself runs a little too long, I still love all the fine performances from this very talented cast, and recommend it to anyone who enjoys the musical genre.

I used to love this film when I was little, and I loved Richard Chamberlain in it!

I just got this on DVD the other day, and it didn't fail to make me still think how fantastic it is!

I think modern day costume movies don't have the same touch as older ones do, and the costumes in this are amazing. The whole look of the film makes me feel as if I'm actually there!

Richard makes the perfect prince, stunning as he is, and Gemma Craven is wonderful as Cinderella. Most of the songs are brilliant, and memorable.

All of the cast are fantastic in it, and the Stepmother and sisters are perfect, and the whole story works so well.

But of course, Richard to me is the star, he's absolutely brilliant. I wish I'd been Cinderella!

Watch this film!

I, too, have been longing forever (since VCRs appeared) for this musical to become available on video. The Sherman & Sherman (& Morley) songs are perfectly good, and the choreography is super, but what I remember best is the great, iconoclastically non-chalant Fairy Godmother character (Annette Crosbie). I put her among the greatest steal-the-show supporting characters of all time, right along with Nicol Williamson's Merlin in "Excalibur."