Cinderelo sem Sapato

As a pre-teen at a Saturday matinee I enjoyed this Jerry Lewis movie but watching it as an adult I realize it could have been much better. Jerry used Anna Maria Alberghetti as a mere character actress as the princess failing to use her talents to full potential making this a bit more of a musical comedy. In spite of a great cast Jerry could have produced something greater than a grade-B comedy more in a class with some of his better movies. Missed opportunities indeed!

Decades before there was a Jim Carrey, the movies unleashed another inspired nut case – Jerry Lewis – whose 50s and 60s Paramount Studio vehicles tended toward an oil-and-water mix of outrageous physical comedy and mawkish sentimentalism. 1960's "Cinderfella" is a casualty of that uneasy blend.

Taking the classic fairy tale and tailoring it to fit his talents, the stretch-faced, rubber-limbed comedian portrays "Fella," a poor, imbecilic, ostracized stepson who lives only to serve his cruel, absurdly wealthy stepmother (Judith Anderson) and her two greedy sons (Robert Hutton, Henry Silva) in their palatial mansion. The only reason they even allow Fella to still "bunk" at the mans (his bedroom is more the size of a closet) is that Fella's late father has hidden a vast fortune somewhere on the grounds of the estate and the step-kin think the dolt may know where it might be hidden.

Jerry is priceless when it comes to engineering clever, complex, high-energy sight gags. A testament to his versatility here is his miming flutist scene as he listens to a ditty on the radio in the kitchen (one of my all time favorite Lewis routines). The dinner scene where he caters to his family at an absurdly long dining table is another ingenious moment. Sprinkled throughout too are numerous well-timed bits, like the reading of the inscription off his father's ring, or (the frequently used) hair-combing bit, etc. But too much of the time, Jerry bogs the scenes down with cheap, slick, sentimental mush. He gets what I call "telethon tender" on us -- trying to work our heartstrings instead of our funnybones.

I remember the Marx Brothers having the annoying habit of breaking up their frantic comedy skits with "straight" musical numbers sung by some insipid ingenues that always took away from the fun. Same problem here...only worse! Lewis incorporates HIMSELF, a very mediocre singer, into these cloying musical numbers, and ten times out of ten they don't work. In "Cinderfella," he allows himself no less than FOUR soporific songs to indulge in, with one of those numbers, some silly nonsense about being a "people" instead of a "person", just unbearable. Jerry the Clown sells; Jerry the Lounge Lizard doesn't.

Judith Anderson is appropriately huffy and haughty and Henry Silva and Robert Hutton make a fine pair of oily villains, while proving good sports, too, as the unwitting victims of some of Jerry's mishaps. But the late, great Ed Wynn is wasted here as the "Fairy Godfather," mired in those gooey scenes I was talking about before. The demure, exceptionally lovely Anna Maria Alberghetti, who complements the lavish surroundings, appears too late in the proceedings to make any difference as the "Princess Charming" character who, for whatever reason, is smitten by the ungainly Fella. By the time she arrives, the film has lost its charm and humor, and we have lost our patience. It's too bad she didn't get to sing instead of Lewis.

I know it sounds like I'm not a fan at all of Jerry's, but I am! Like many producer/director/stars of his calibre, their egos get the best of them. Like Elvis Presley, most of his vehicles were not up to snuff. And in the case of "Cinderfella," Frank Tashlin may be credited with directing, but I think we all know who the director REALLY was on this set.

For those who appreciate Jerry as only the French can, I would suggest "The Disorderly Orderly," "The Ladies Man" and his most popular, "The Nutty Professor," to get a better feeling of this man's genius.

The old story told with a twist. The sexes are reversed in this one.

This time it's Jerry Lewis victimized by a wicked stepmother and her 2 hoodlum sons. Who else but Ed Wynn could play a fairy godfather?

Dame Judith Anderson, a veteran player of the wicked, is at it again but how can we expect this great lady to add comedy to spice up her performance. She needed to do her part with a comic twist as Jo Van Fleet did in the television version of "Cinderella." Sadly, that's missing. Playing the role straight is of no consequences in this farce. The sons come off like underworld hoods. It's a little too heavy for this film.

Jerry is funny but his attempts at singing fall quite flat.

Nice to show the kiddies that guys can be victimized too.

This should've been foolproof: Jerry Lewis playing a male variant of Cinderella, unloved and hoping to go to the ball. Talented writer-director Frank Tashlin allows Lewis to run rampant with the idea, which turns out to be a one-joke affair. Production is glossy, but the execution is enervated, overlong and fairly unfunny from the start. Jerry predictably mugs--he's never less than shameless--but with such weak material (and too much incidental chatter), he simply becomes a nuisance. His entrance in the ball sequence is, however, a wonderful bit, but it can't save the movie from being a huge disappointment. *1/2 from ****

I thought this was the cutest movie I've ever seen. Jerry Lewis is absolutely hilarious. I was not a big Jerry Lewis fan when he worked with Dean Martin. I had a very hard time getting into his work. However, when he went out on his own, I really became interested in his work. I would like to make mention of some things I found very interesting and very funny in this movie. For example, instead of a fairy God mother (like Cinderella had), he had a fairy God father. He also read approx. 50 words when reading the inscription on the ring given to him by his deceased dad. Like Cinderella, Cinderfella was a loving, hard-working and honest person who was treated unfairly at first. He waited on his step mother and step brothers hand and foot. I happily remember when he went to the kitchen to make orange juice and proudly put his hand out the kitchen window, pulled in a tree branch, took a knife and cut off several very large orange to use in the juice. I thought it was creative to have him listen to the radio and act out playing the flute. I loved it. But, like Cinderella, Cinderfella was rewarded in the end for all his hard work. I waited with excitement to see how he would get to the ball and loved what the writers came up with.. And when he made his grand entrance into the ball, I couldn't help notice what a smooth dancer Jerry Lewis really is. I thought the music was beautiful. After I saw this movie I had such a warm loving feeling in my heart and I really thank God for this touching comedy. Jerry Lewis is the funniest actor in the world and his shoes (glass or leather that is) will be very hard to fill in the future. Thank You.