Ella Cinders (1926)

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."

Colleen Moore's performance as Ella Cinders, the slavey who is mistreated by her demanding step-mother and step-sisters, is pure genius and she literally steals every scene of the film.Made in 1926, the story is a modernized Cinderella tale, with Ella dreaming of a better life in Hollywood. Lloyd Hughes plays the towns ice delivery man who is Ella's devoted beau, Vera Lewis as Ma Cinders, Doris Baker, Emily Gerdes as Lotta Pill and Prissy Pill the spoiled step-sisters.Ella makes it to Hollywood, with some cute comedy adventures along the way, she does become a star, eventually beau Waite Lifter comes to California to find his sweetheart, he does and it's a fairy tale ending.Terrific trick photography, an amazing cameo performance with Harry Langdon, and even director Alfred E. Green making an appearance. Add the many comedic charms of Colleen Moore, all together makes this silent comedy a real winner. I don't want to give a full synopsis, as I urge the reader to watch and enjoy this surviving Colleen Moore gem.

I first heard of this film as a fan of the great film comedian Harry Langdon because of a guest appearance he makes in one scene of this film. Watching the whole thing, though, I was very glad I got ahold of this comedy vehicle for the silent star Colleen Moore; it's a highly funny, pleasant, and entertaining picture all the way through."Ella Cinders" is based on a comic strip (or, as the main title has it, "comedy strip") of the same name that started appearing only the year before the film version was made. Having seen only one edition of the strip I can't say how closely the movie parallels it, but I can say that while looking very pretty in the picture, Colleen Moore also manages to look very much like the drawings of her character.Faithful or not, the screen treatment is a very good one -- a clever, witty, and involving update of, obviously, "Cinderella" and an effective satire of the arbitrary nature of Hollywood stardom. There are just enough diversions from the line of the story to stay funny, but keep the plot going. And the "Cinderella" elements can be very amusing when played right for laughs, especially Mrs Cinders' complete inability to remember she has another daughter.Colleen Moore was the real revelation of the picture for me, though. If there were nothing else to it she could have carried it on charisma and screen presence alone. She's totally likable, earnest, innocent, and bewildered, and there are several great scenes that are only that way because her performance makes them so. The scene on the train that would otherwise be simply "a woman smokes a cigar given to her by an Indian" becomes a a bravura performance of her nausea barely masked by a frightened attempt to please the threatening Indians. And a highlight is Ella's earnest but inescapably silly attempts to follow a book's (surprisingly accurate!) advice that great stars are often made by crossing their eyes. Add to the list a hilarious routine with an impatient photographer, a fly, and an Ella desperate to have a flattering shot taken for her beauty contest.It's a little ironic, actually, that a film that mocks Hollywood stardom in such an on-target way (Ella wins the contest because the fly on her nose made her look just right for the comediennes Hollywood needs!) should be so effectively "made" by its lead actress' star quality.When Harry Langdon does show up (as Ella wanders into the shooting of one of his films -- he was at the height of his popular at this point and releasing his films through the same studio as released this) and seems exactly the same offscreen as on, he and Moore seem to have great screen chemistry, like kindred innocents trying to help each other escape... something.Perhaps it's not substantial enough to be one of the greatest of silent comedies, but I think it would be very difficult if not impossible not to have a great time watching this. And it makes it very clear why Colleen Moore was such a sensation.

Ella Cinders is like a modern day (well, for the 1920s) Cinderella story. A poor girl (Colleen Moore) living in a house with her stepmother and stepsisters like a servant has only things going right for her. She has the love of a sweet man in town (Lloyd Hughes) and a film contest that she wins. A group of men hold a beauty contest in town and the prize is a trip to Hollywood to become an actress. The stepsisters and half of the town think they will win the prize, but a funny picture puts Ella in the spotlight, sending her on a train to Hollywood. Once there, she finds that the place isn't what she dreamed it would be, but she cannot go home so she does her best to succeed.Harry Langdon makes a very funny but short appearance in the movie. Even without his appearance, this movie would be a jewel. It is quickly paced, very funny, and stars one of the major stars of the silent era. Unfortunately, this film, along with most of Colleen Moore's other movies, is not commercially available. Bad bootleg prints are all that we will see until someone wises up to the quality of this movie and releases it on a quality DVD.