Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (1957 Television Production)

Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (1957 Television Production) | Julie Andrews, Howard Lindsay | EXCELLENT

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	Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (1957 Television Production) Julie Andrews, Howard Lindsay Image Entertainment, 2004 average customer review:based on 53 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

In this enchanting musical delight from the legendary team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, beautiful young Cinderella (Julie Andrews) finds her life of drudgery at the hands of her stepmother and two wicked sisters changed forever in one evening, thanks to a fairy godmother and a handsome prince. Lost for years, this first television production of this enduring classic remains a rollicking, tune-filled delight for young and old alike! One of the most beloved entertainers of all time, Academy Award«-winner Julie Andrews (Mary Poppins, The Sound of Music) appeared in theaters this year in the smash hits Shrek 2 and The Princess Diaries 2. The much-revered musical team of Rodgers & Hammerstein produced such family favorites as The King and I, The Sound of Music, Carousel, South Pacific, State Fair and more! One of home video's most highly requested titles, Cinderella has been officially unavailable since its initial airing on March 31, 1957! This single performance spectacular was viewed by over 115 million people, a television milestone! Musical performances include beloved favorites "In My Own Little Corner," "Impossible" and "Do I Love You (Because You're Beautiful)!" In 1957, Broadway's reigning songwriters and Broadway's brightest new star joined forces to create a new musical version of Cinderella; it's one-night-only broadcast on CBS-TV was viewed by more than 115 million people - the largest audience in the history of the planet! - and an instant legend was born. Julie Andrews, the toast of Broadway for her performance in My Fair Lady, played the title role, joined by a stellar cast of Broadway and television all-stars. Providing a new take on the timeless tale as well as a bounty of beautiful ballads, comedy numbers and waltzes, was the team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, already at the top of their game thanks to such musicals as Oklahoma, South Pacific and The King and I. Though Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella has gone through several TV remakes and hundreds of stage productions, the original, magical version vanished after its initial broadcast, never to be seen again. Until now.

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A Budding Andrews Shines in a Rustic Record of Rodgers and Hammerstein's TV Musical Classic

It was estimated that 107 million people saw the original broadcast of this made-for-television musical created by no less than the legendary team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. That represents an astonishing 62% of the U.S. population at a time when there was no pay-per-view, no cable, no TiVo. Having just read Julie Andrews' remarkable early-life autobiography, Home: A Memoir of My Early Years, I have to admit my interest was piqued to see this seminal production. Andrews was all of 21 on the night of March 31, 1957, when she performed the title role live, and it's fascinating to watch her screen persona so fully formed seven years before her big-screen debut in Mary Poppins. Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote the musical specifically for her talents as she was then wowing Broadway audiences as Eliza Doolittle in the smash hit, Lerner and Lowe's My Fair Lady. The evidence refutes Jack Warner's later claim that she was not photogenic enough to be in the film version, and the 2004 DVD is the closest many of us will get to see what her Eliza was like.

Captured in black-and-white kinescope, the show is definitely a product of the Golden Age of Television with its flickering images and claustrophobic, sometimes awkward staging. However, as directed by Ralph Nelson (Father Goose), the story's universal charm and farcical touches, the expert cast of mainly Broadway veterans, and the memorable musical score more than offset the technical deficiencies. Andrews' bell-like soprano is at its best in her sadly hopeful ballad, "In My Own Little Corner". As the King and Queen, playwright Howard Lindsay (he co-wrote Life with Father and the original book for The Sound of Music) and his real-life actress wife Dorothy Stickney prove to be a comically adroit pair. Fellow stage legend Ilka Chase plays the malevolent stepmother with catty aplomb, and the comic duo of Kaye Ballard and Alice Ghostley fulfill the comic possibilities as the jealous stepsisters. Edie Adams lends a more saucy twist to the ethereal role of the Fairy Godmother. Much later a reliable character actor best known as the Chief of Police on Hill Street Blues, a stalwart Jon Cypher fits the cardboard dimensions of the gallant, smitten Prince and showcases a surprisingly robust tenor voice first in a soaring duet with Andrews on "Ten Minutes Ago" and then on the show's best song, "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?".

Like most of my generation, I am more familiar with the 1965 color remake (starring a very young, squeaky-voiced Lesley Ann Warren) since the original production aired only once. Running a fleet 77 minutes, it's a shame that the original color footage could not have been saved since the fairy tale atmosphere begs for it. Luckily, as part of the DVD, there is a gallery of color production and rehearsal stills to give you an idea of what the original audience may have seen if they owned a color TV set, a rarity at the time. Other DVD extras include rare archival footage of Rodgers and Hammerstein appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show to publicize the show (including a recited performance by Hammerstein of "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?"), as well as a recently filmed introduction by Andrews. The best extra is a 25-minute retrospective featurette, "A Lovely Night: The Making of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Television Classic", which features Andrews, Adams, Ballard and Cypher fondly recalling the experience. Children may not be able to tolerate the black-and-white, but baby boomers will find particular joy in seeing this particular production.

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EXCELLENT

Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (1957 Television Production) Was a great movie! It was excellent graphics for being a kinescope and the sound was pristine. I encourage all to buy this movie. Julie Andrews is the true Cinderella

Wish I would have rented it first

Being an R & H movie I knew that it would be good, but having never seen it I wish I would have rented it first. The lines were odd. Julie Andrews voice though does make up for it. Glad that I have it, completes the colection of all the Cindrellas made.

Cinderella - Julia Andrews Version 1957

Loved Julia Andrews! Loved the special feature about the making of the show! Loved seeing Rogers and Hammerstein on the Ed Sullivan Show! These guys are icons. It is amazing what was accomplished on live television.

I find this to be a great historical record and and enjoyable performance. However, television and the staging of musicals has become more lavish and creative, so based on that criteria, my preference is the Brandy version. However, even Brandy does not hold a candle to Julie Andrews for being Cinderella! (And Leslie Anne Warren, 1965 version doesn't even come close!)

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