Ella Cinders

Months ago I hunted down this film for Coleen Moore since I had never seen her in anything before and I wish to give every silent film star a chance. Imagine my surprise! Not only was Coleen a completely wonderful entertainer but Ella Cinders also turns out to be a little forgotten gem of silent cinema.

Although nothing earth shattering, that's fine because nobody wants to be overwhelmed with huge epics all the time. Occasionally everyone wants to escape into an easy, breezy, cute comedy they can just laugh at and enjoy. Ella Cinders accomplishes this.

Basically a simple Cinderella story, Moore stars as Ella, a girl who's sadly mistreated by her step-family (a mother and two sisters). The only light in her life seems to be her good guy friend Waite (played by gorgeous Lloyd Hughes). When a Hollywood contest comes to town, looking for a lovely new girl to turn into a star, Ella is determined to win. Everything takes off from there and quickly the story twists, turns, and does cartwheels into one of the funniest comedies of the silent era.

Coleen makes the movie a riot with her comedic talent. She really shines during the scene when she goes to have her picture taken and a fly keeps landing on her nose whenever the impatient camera man tries to snap the photo. Priceless. Harry Langdon has a short appearance as himself and is funny as always.

The Grapevine video for this movie doesn't have the best print and the organ score doesn't fit the flow of the film at all - but unfortunately it is the only choice we have.

Have you had a hard day? Boss nagging you? Homework building up? Pop in Ella Cinders and forget it all. Let it take you away.

If you thought all silent comedies were slapstick see this gentle character based comedy. Colleen Moore plays a much abused small town girl with a simply awful family. She wins a beauty contest - the prize a trip to Hollywood and a studio contract!

Colleen Moore is brilliant as Ella - funny, warm, beautiful, vivacious. The scene when she finds she has won the contest will move you to tears, and you'll roar with laughter when she practices eye movements for the camera. This is one of the great performances of the silent era. She can make the smallest thing funny, so it is interesting to see her work with Harry Langdon who could do the same. In one hilarious scene he plays himself.

What is remarkable about Moore is that she can be very funny but still maintain the realism of her characterisation - there is a sadness here that makes the comedy so much more potent. Wait till you see her smoke a cigar, and spin-out! I have never seen a moment like this played better.

Also very charming is Lloyd Hughes as her boyfriend. And the film's director Alfred E Green plays the director in the film!

This film, in a good print from Video Yesteryear which has a fine organ score from Rosa Rio, is a true classic - not to be missed.

I watched this silent comedy with Colleen Moore and gorgeous Lloyd Hughes with my 6 year old daughter and we were rapt with attention all the way through. This film boasts a touching sweet romance, and many fine and unique comedy moments, such as Ella getting her picture taken for a beauty contest and having a fly land on her nose, and Lloyd's character using the missing shoe for measurements to buy her a pair of dress shoes when she goes off to Hollywood.

Unlike one commentator here however I didn't care for that organ score. I heard some copyrighted song musical phrases in there that were misplaced too, like a strain from Dr. Zhivago! Weird.

If you love Colleen Moore or want to learn more about her this is a film not to be missed. She was an excellent comedienne, even better than Mabel Normand.

Colleen Moore stars as the title character. In many ways, Ella's life at the beginning of the movie is like Cinderella's. She's a hated step-daughter who's treated like a slave by her step-mother and step-sisters. However, there are fortunately many differences as well with the story. Instead of going to the ball and meeting Prince Charming, Ella is discovered by a nice guy (Lloyd Hughes) and he helps her to be discovered in a local talent contest. When she wins, she is sent by the town to Hollywood to get a chance to be an actress. But two things aren't as they appear to be....the contest is a fraud and the nice guy who helped her isn't the poor ice man he appears to be. See the picture and find out what's in store for this cute lady.

In so many ways, this story is like combining the tradition tale of Cinderella with a film like Marion Davies' "Show People"...about a young lady trying her best to make it in Hollywood. Ms. Moore is lovely in this comedic role and it's one of the better silents this forgotten actress made. Well worth seeing due to excellent writing, direction and acting.

By the way, if you do see the film, look for a cameo with Harry Langdon!

Right up to the end, this is a wonderful bit of entertainment, primarily because of the star, the former Kathleen Morrison, Colleen Moore.

She's not only lovely to look at, not only completely adorable, she is one marvelous actress, apparently being re-discovered in recent years. (There is even a website: https://sites.google.com/site/colleenmooresite/)

The story is based on a comic strip of that name which is based, obviously, on the Cinderella story.

Ella opens the story being badly put-upon, naturally, but she has one ally and, while being the family servant during a party, learns there is a beauty contest coming up in their hometown of Roseville in which the winner is awarded a chance at film stardom in Hollywood.

(Fascinating coincidence: The story starts in "Roseville," no state identified {like Springfield in "The Simpsons"?} and a Duckduckgo search turns up this: "Colleen Moore, Marriage & Family Therapist, Roseville, CA"!)

Reading a "how-to" book on being an actor, Ella sees these words: "The greatest requisite to stardom is the eyes. Master the art of expressing every emotion with the eyes."

Following that scene is a masterpiece of special effects (slightly reminding me of Colleen's role in "Orchids and Ermine," or at least one scene therein) and evidence Ella learned the lesson.

Colleen Moore certainly did learn that book's lesson. Movie after movie starring the lovely lady gave us the evidence that her eyes did indeed express "every emotion."

Eyes and face, and, really, her entire being. Colleen Moore probably could have coasted along on her looks and personality, but she set out to be an actress, not just a star.

There are, interestingly, some slight parallels to "Ella Cinders" and Kathleen Morrison and how they accomplished what they did in Hollywood, except Kathleen grew up with a successful and loving family.

That family, though, consented to her winning her trip to Hollywood but all along figuring that in a few months she would tire of it and return home. She was 17, and obviously could not know her own mind.

Ha.

She stayed and was almost an immediate success, but still put in the effort to learn her craft.

Her life should be a movie.

On the other hand, "Ella Cinders" presents no surprises, except, perhaps, to viewers not familiar with Colleen Moore, not already knowing what an extraordinary performer she was.

As a long-time fan, I am happy to see the re-discovery of her. I first saw her in "Orchids and Ermine," presented almost yearly in the 1970s at The Silent Movie Theatre on Fairfax Boulevard in Los Angeles, then run by the Hamptons, John and Dorothy (people to whom I will always owe a huge debt of gratitude for their dedication to silent movies).

"Ella Cinders," a thoroughly enjoyable film, is available in a good version at YouTube, although some will discount the jazz-era recordings used as sound-track.

I highly recommend "Ella Cinders."