Cinderella (1965)

As a child, this was one of few versions I saw back then of Cinderella....and this one is my favorite.The songs are memorable.....and I own a copy on VHS. Have not seen it on DVD anywhere. Watching it again at age 56 (I was 8 years old in 1965), it warmed my heart as I sang along.....and watched it all over again being transported back in time to an age of innocence.It is my prayer that all the actors are doing well in health and in the other aspects of their lives.If you are looking for an innocent, clean Cinderella story....this is the one. Of course there is Disney also, but in my book this version beats Disney because it is a live theatrical version.

Well actually, we'll never know if Hammerstein would have approved of the wholesale redo of his lyrics since he had died (maybe so since it was so beautiful, but maybe not since his lyrics crafter the initial farce, who knows?), so perhaps it should more accurately be called the Rodgers Cinderella. Every positive thing said about this gem is true and the negatives negligible, but I wanted to mention a couple of things I've not seen noticed (sorry if they were and I didn't see them): 1. If you know about the near-fairy tale bio of Stuart Damon, the biggest reason he was so successful and believable as the Prince is that he wasn't acting but being himself, his own wife of ~50 years having been his own true love at first sight like the Prince! 2. Another unsung hero I was sad to see seemed to have gone strangely unnoticed (http://www.IMDb.com/name/nm0374736/) in a non-exhaustive web search is Don Heitgerd, the great herald of "The Prince is giving a ball" with his wonderfully rich baritone voice, who doesn't seem to have gotten further deserved recognition, though hopefully his delightful vocal talents received many audiences unknown to IMDb.com.Though it's not nearly as good as the actual show due to it being so canned and regrettably editing a number of the lines in a way for which I didn't care, a still beautiful "original cast recording" can be heard at http://www.masterworksbroadway.com/music/cinderella-1965 I'm so glad Rodgers ditched the regrettable farcical nature of the 1957 version & the even far worse 1997 reversion that proves that even Disney's multiple millions years after Rodgers death couldn't even begin to make up for the loss of his genius. As much as I love Julie Andrews (1957 star), the distasteful nature of the farcical quality and the bizarre handling of the traditional story ruined it so much that the masterful 1965 cleansing revision was an indescribably wonderful radical beautification far eclipsing the 1957 original, an unusual occurrence. I usually dislike remakes, e.g. my hatred of the 1997 reversion, but the 1965 is a glorious exception.

I know that I run the risk of upsetting some fans here, but I just have to be honest. I have watched this one with my 7 yr old daughter several times and although I must admit I've grown to like one or two things here, it really is a very bad movie. Some of the songs are not too nauseating and one or two are actually cute like the "Christopher Rupert" part. Just because it seems to appeal to young people so much I took it easy on it rating wise, but it may well be the overall worst performance of a cast in its entirety of all time. I've never seen a movie where every single performance is terrible with this many talented people. That tells me something else was wrong, maybe the director? Ms. Warren looks and sings OK I suppose, but her acting is pretty stiff to put it nicely. The rest of the cast is actually much worse with Stuart Damon giving an unbelievably uncharismatic and stilted rendition of the prince. Even the king and queen are just awful and I love Ginger Rogers! Walter Pidgeon looked asleep as did just about everyone else. The stepmother and stepsisters get an A for effort here, but the acting was from the land of the zombies or mummies or something. Very strange. I can't quite figure out what people like about this and of course I'm talking about adults. No, I'm sorry, but the Disney animated version is absolutely superior in every single way.

I remember seeing this version of Rodgers' & Hammerstein's Cinderella as a very young child of 5 years old. I was captivated by the songs and the dreamlike love story of Cinderella and the Prince.As a young child, I did not understand all the words, but I knew I liked what I heard and saw. Now, as an adult, I clearly appreciate the talents and magical lyrics Mr. Rodgers and Mr. Hammersteins penned and scored together.The beauty of this production took on a whole new meaning when I saw it for the first time in color. (We did not have color television in 1965 when it first aired).Although Lesley Ann Waren was virtually an unknown, her youth and innocence added a lovely sparkle to the role of Cinderella, and Stuart Damon was a perfect prince.CBS would air this project around the Holidays, and each year I was enchanted as if I had seen it for the first time. I have the DVD and I feel the same today.