Although it might have been nice if the original production of Cinderella had survived better, still this second version is a good one. A couple of regal monarchs are Walter Pidgeon and Ginger Rogers who are worried that their son hasn't wed yet.
This version of Cinderella introduced Lesley Ann Warren and Stuart Damon in their debut roles as Cinderella and her Prince Charming. Both sing quite well and both have certainly gone on to decent careers. Lesley Ann Warren's been in several major films and got an Oscar nomination for Victor/Victoria and Stuart Damon is known to fans of General Hospital as Doctor Alan Quartermaine.
I read in a biography of Richard Rodgers by David Ewen that when he and Oscar Hammerstein, II were approached to do this original television musical they did toy with the idea of an updated modern version of the story, but decided instead to do the original fairy tale instead, aiming at an audience of children of all ages.
Of course Cinderella has her family as well, not as supportive as the Prince's. Her stepmother is Jo Ann Fleet and her stepsisters are Pat Carroll and Barbara Ruick. But fortunately she's got a fairy godmother in Celeste Holm who as tradition has it, makes her dreams of escape from that dysfunctional family possible.
Rodgers&Hammerstein's score never had any real hits from it. The Prince sings a song that was cut from South Pacific, The Loneliness of Evening. The best song in the film for me was Lesley Ann Warren singing In My Own Little Corner, a very plaintive ballad about a young girl whose imagination is her best friend.
One thing I've never figured out from the fairy tale or this production. Did Cinderella have that unique a shoe size?
This version of Cinderella introduced Lesley Ann Warren and Stuart Damon in their debut roles as Cinderella and her Prince Charming. Both sing quite well and both have certainly gone on to decent careers. Lesley Ann Warren's been in several major films and got an Oscar nomination for Victor/Victoria and Stuart Damon is known to fans of General Hospital as Doctor Alan Quartermaine.
I read in a biography of Richard Rodgers by David Ewen that when he and Oscar Hammerstein, II were approached to do this original television musical they did toy with the idea of an updated modern version of the story, but decided instead to do the original fairy tale instead, aiming at an audience of children of all ages.
Of course Cinderella has her family as well, not as supportive as the Prince's. Her stepmother is Jo Ann Fleet and her stepsisters are Pat Carroll and Barbara Ruick. But fortunately she's got a fairy godmother in Celeste Holm who as tradition has it, makes her dreams of escape from that dysfunctional family possible.
Rodgers&Hammerstein's score never had any real hits from it. The Prince sings a song that was cut from South Pacific, The Loneliness of Evening. The best song in the film for me was Lesley Ann Warren singing In My Own Little Corner, a very plaintive ballad about a young girl whose imagination is her best friend.
One thing I've never figured out from the fairy tale or this production. Did Cinderella have that unique a shoe size?