This is an interesting retelling of the story of Cinderella--interesting because the story is quite different from the French or German or Disney versions. For instance, Cinderella is NOT a very nice person in this film. As a result of being made fun of for her frumpy appearance, she is a rather short-tempered person--making her more complex and interesting compared to the perfect version in the Disney film. Her sisters, too, are NOT ugly--just vain and self-centered. It's also nice because unlike the traditional story, this one is much more romantic--and this is probably the best aspect of the movie. Seeing Leslie Caron in love scenes with the Price (though she thought the character played by Michael Wilding was just a cook) was delightful. The only serious problem with the film were some of the dance sequences. The dream sequence with the ballet just went on way too long and I am sure it tended to alienate many in the audience---I know it did that for me. In many ways, this sequence was so long and overdone it reminded me of the big dance scene from "An American in Paris"--which you either love or you hate (guess which applies to me!). As for the acting, Caron is her usual wonderful self and she made the film a delight. I also adored Estelle Winwood--she made for a very funny and more human sort of fairy godmother--wonderful and very, very different.
This is a hard one to rate. While I loved the film (it really melted my heart), it should have been tightened up by either eliminating or trimming all the fantasy dance sequences, as they tended to make the plot grind to a halt.
This is a hard one to rate. While I loved the film (it really melted my heart), it should have been tightened up by either eliminating or trimming all the fantasy dance sequences, as they tended to make the plot grind to a halt.