Cinderella Jones

This is a very, very contrived film with a very weak story idea. Considering what great films Warner Brothers usually made, the plot is amazingly poor. It's not surprising, then, that the studio held this film for a long time before it was released--as apparently they, too, knew it was a seriously flawed film.

The film begins with some radio show that is looking for lost people--and in this case it's the missing heir to a $10,000,000 fortune. When Judy Jones (Joan Leslie) is located, she learns that the money isn't hers yet--she must be married by Saturday to a man of genius IQ or the money is to be given to a museum. The problem is that the only guy who might marry her is a bit of a clod--and certainly NOT a genius (Robert Alda). So, Judy decides the best place to find a smart guy is the local technical college and she manages to charm her way into be admitted to school--even though it's an all-male campus and Jones is a complete idiot (I'm talking almost a Gracie Allen-level idiot!). Will this moron get a guy by the deadline...and will the audience even care? Considering that the leading lady is annoying, dumb and pretty self-centered, I sure didn't.

This film proves that even with wonderful character actors like Cuddles Sakall, Ruth Donnelly and Edward Everett Horton you CAN make a bad film. Unlikable characters, a contrived plot, bad writing and unnecessary singing make this a real dud.

Judy's a little short in the IQ department, but she stands to inherit big money if only she can decide which boyfriend to marry.

The pro's don't seem to like the movie much. Maltin calls it silly, which it is. But since when does silliness mean a movie isn't amusing. Okay, maybe my standards aren't high enough, still I found the madcap a lot of fun, with one of the best supporting casts on record. Nonetheless, it's really a Joan Leslie showcase, showing what a lovely and talented light comedienne she is.

Then again, show me any other film where phony tough guy Elisha Cook Jr. dons glasses and plays it for laughs, (Bogart must be turning over in his grave). Then there's 'Cuddles' Sakall who in my book is mainly a matter of taste, but is not too, too cuddly here; at the same time Edward Everett Horton gets a surprisingly non-addled role for a change. And competing for the delectable Ms Leslie are Alan Alda's dad Robert and William Prince as the sleek professor. So who will win. Shrewdly, we don't find out til the end.

To ease things along, there're also a few easy-to-take songs tossed in. But the star is really the fetching Ms Leslie who, for some reason, never quite got the career her talent deserved. Here she plays the lovable Judy with both humor and lots of verve. But whatever you do, don't let her Judy Jones fix you a sandwich, unless you like bubbles on your mayonnaise.

Ultimately pretty silly, but Joan Leslie is in it, and so I loved it. She is one of the most under-rated talents Hollywood ever had. She could do anything and everything, besides being incredibly lovely.

She started near the top at a very early age, and starred with some of the biggest names in movies, always holding her own.

Hollywood has never been known for justice, for treating its talent as they deserved, and perhaps Joan Leslie is the prize example.

She should have been that proverbial household name, with her looks, her talent, and the good movies she did perform in.

Obviously, with "Cinderella Jones" as the illustration, she wasn't always in the best pictures, but any she was in became much better for her presence.

Any flick directed by B. Berkeley, and has Edward E. Horton (small part) can't be ALL bad. Sure, that silly plot is pretty flimsy, but you also have some respectable song and dance numbers, Robert Alda and Joan Leslie, and of course "Cuddles" Sakall as the stubborn Professor. Judy ( Leslie ) and Tommy ( Alda ) work on a radio show that gives away money and prizes, and helps locate long lost relatives. But there are conditions to be met when they DO find the rightful heir, and the conditions are almost more trouble than they are worth... but in this case, its ten million dollars at stake. Also keep an eye out for Elisha Cook as the "roommate" at college... he was the weakling villain in "Maltese Falcon". The running gag in "Cinderella Jones is the list of malaprops said almost non-stop for the second half of the film. Half the cast ends up in jail, and then we're in court trying to straighten it all out, like any good, respectable, farce. Funny to note that in the credits, Sakall's role is listed as Gabriel Popik, but about halfway through the film, everyone starts calling him "Cuddles", his real nickname. Sit back and enjoy the 90 minute story, as long as you're willing to buy into the silliness.

Busby didn't have the $$ to make any spectacular dance scenes, but the musical numbers are still quite good with some artful but floor-bound camera moves. Joan Leslie is lovely, playing an idiotic bimbo with such charm that we blame the script, not her, for her dumb moves. Which is basically the movie's major problem: the film's best gag, bubbles coming out of a character's mouth, is done to death, indicating a worse lack of intelligence on the part of its makers than the one they ascribe to the funny but obviously smarter-than-the-material Leslie.