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Sorry, this movie sucks

Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

I was around when there was no televisions in the homes and you had to go to the movie theaters to see movement on a screen, in fact, a very large screen we thought until Cinerama came into our lives. Everything was live. There was no filming for perfection and the first person to come up with the idea of filming live programs was Desi Arnaz when they started "I Love Lucy" on television, but I'm getting ahead of myself.Think of it! Every week, Sid Ceasar and Imogene Coca and others were rehearsing for a one and a half hour variety program called "Your Show of Shows" and even during the live T.V. Show, they made such mistakes that made the show funnier than if it was filmed. "Your Hit Parade" was live ever week. Snooky Lansen once had the hit song of the week and had a problem remembering lyrics and one time wrote them on the floor of the studio in chalk and when it come time to sing the song, someone had erased the lyrics! Ah, the days of live television! Then came along Rogers and Hammerstiens "Cinderella" in which they starred their new found personality Julie Andrews who was wowing Broadway in "My Fair Lady". So, they got the right cast together and put of a live musical version of Cinderella with wonderful music and Edie Adams camping it up as the Fairy Godmother when Cindereall, Julie Andrews, claims to Adams, "Oh! Fairy Godmother; what a beautiful dress!" and Adams with disdain in her voice says, "Oh! This old thing! It's 550 years old!" For years, it was rumored that they could never show the old Kinsoscope copy of Cinderella is because it was either destroyed of lost. After seeing all the talent in the show, it would have paid a lot of royalties out, but no more since most of them have passed away, so why not release it on D.V.D.? One thing about years later is that both Julie Andrews and Leslie Ann Warren played Cinderella on T.V. and they both starred together in "Victor Victoria" with Andrews playing a woman playing a man playing a woman and Warren playing a Chicogo Mobsters Whore! YOu must admit they both went from Saints to Sinners through the years.Thank God for the restoration of this wonderful show, and, of course, the original record album, always available, and now on C.D. can still be heard in it's original recording by Columbia! Wonderful show! Let the young'ins see what the fun of live T.V. was like in the golden age of television!

Back in the golden age of television, when TV specials were just that, waiting for the broadcast of a show like "Cinderella" was truly an anticipated event. Add the names of Rodgers and Hammerstein and Star-in-the-making Julie Andrews, and you have an entertainment milestone! This was the celebrated songwriters only musical especially written for television, and it is a classic. The project was specifically intended to showcase Andrews (then appearing on Broadway in "My Fair Lady"). The hand-picked cast included Ilka Chase as the stepmother, Edie (here billed as Edith) Adams as the fairy godmother, and Broadway Stars Howard Lindsay and his wife, Dorothy Stickney as the king and queen. A newcomer, John Cypher, later to gain fame on ''Hill Street Blues'' was cast as the prince, and up and coming comedians Alice Ghostley and Kaye Ballard played the stepsisters. Because this was before the advent of videotape, the production was kine scoped while being broadcast live, although the original color kine scope was lost. Julie Andrews may look somewhat matronly (even at 21) to be Cinderella, but her lovely voice and star quality carry her through. Fans of "Mary Poppins" and "The Sound Of Music" will be pleasantly surprised to see how vulnerable she can be. Cypher is a suitable prince, with a good voice, while Adams is pushing a bit too hard as the godmother. Ilka chase, as the stepmother, and Ghostley and Ballard as the stepsisters are more silly than wicked. In all fairness though, this version was written more as a modern take off on the fairy tale, while the 1965 remake returned to the mood of the traditional story. The sets and costumes are rather cut-rate, somewhere between medieval and '50s modern, but they get by. Andrews is really the reason to see this, and it did attract a record audience at the time. The DVD is a treat with a remastered black-and white picture which, while not perfect, is good enough. There are several nice extras, including a documentary with Andrews, Cypher, Adams and Ballard reminiscing about the making of the production. Either for historic or entertainment reasons, "Cinderella" is well worth having. It's not every day you can watch a star being born.

Boy, those were the days, weren't they? They did the musical live before millions of Americans. All that choreography, singing, staging, lighting, props getting set, happened live before the cameras, a TV musical with no net. Julie Andrews was granted a short leave of absence from My Fair Lady in order to do it. Lucky for us Lerner and Loewe were so generous to their American counterparts, Rodgers and Hammerstein. I was not quite four when this show appeared, but I was blown away enough to want to go into musical theater from that point on. Yes, those were the days...when TV was used for something more important than selling Viagra.

Just saw this b&w copy on KET2 (Kentucky Educational Television). What a treat! Julie Andrews' voice was marvelous (though I didn't think she quite captured the innocence of Cinderella, even at 21). Edie Adams really hammed it up as the fairy godmother -- she was terrific! And it was fun seeing familiar character actors such as Jon Cypher and Alice Ghostley in their earlier days. The version I saw broke in periodically for current-day commentary by Julie Andrews, Jon Cypher, Kaye Ballard, etc. It was fascinating that they did it in real time, with costume changes just barely beating the camera!If you get a chance to see this, go for it! It's a national treasure, even if the old Cinderella story is not your cup of tea.