Star5

This film is based around the retelling of the classic fairytale 'Cinderella', with Leslie Caron taking on the title role and Michael Wilding playing the pronce. Although there are some good moments, overall I found this film a disappointment. The acting is stilted at times and there are some dis-jointed ballet sequences that could have easily been removed from the final cut - mainly a showcase for Caron's dancing skills and little to do with the overall plot. I think my main complaint is the mis-casting of Caron as Ella - I never quite empathise with her enough as the ill-treated and lonely young girl and from then on care little about the overall outcome of the story.

Film based around the classic Hans Christian Anderson tale of the 'Red Shoes', starring Moira Shearer. I'd wanted to see this for quite a while and even though it didn't quite live up to my expectations, I couldn't fault any of the amazing ballet sequences, which make it easy to see why this film has become such a classic. A good turn too by Shearer, who shows real emotion as the girl torn between her love of the ballet and her love for the young composer (Marius Goring)

This film may be long but it is thoroughly worth sitting through to the end.

The story starts off in the palace, where we are introduced to the Prince and the royal family. There are some great songs to get the film off to a bang and I had some fun spotting all the wonderful British actors who have bit parts - and believe me there are lots! Then we are taken to Cinderella's residence where her stepmother and stepsisters have taken over. (Margaret Lockwood does a super turn as the evil stepmother!) Here we are introduced to Cinderella aka Gemma Craven, who plays the part to perfection. She has a lovely voice and is ideally suited to the role of the young girl who is down on her luck but granted her heart's desire by her very own fairy godmother. It's a shame that Richard Chamberlain, in my opinion, couldn't have brought more to the part, although his scenes where he believes he has lost Cinderella forever were genuinely touching.

I do think that the film could have been cut in length slightly, especially the scenes in the palace but overall it's a beautiful retelling of the classic fairytale.