Greenes Please don't spend money on this.

GrimPrecise I'll tell you why so serious

Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Paynbob It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

edwagreen Disappointing rendition of the faithful classic. It appeared to me that they were taking the express in this film.Leslie Caron, as Cinderella, comes off as an embittered waif. The parts of her wicked stepmother and step-sisters are grossly under- written. The latter three hardly say anything.The real life of the film is the performance of veteran pro Estelle Winwood, who portrays the fairy godmother with a delightful touch. Kind as they come, she is also into stealing items.Caron, as always, sings beautifully, but there is an almost- like contempt in all her actions. The Cinderella we came to love was anything but this.

mike48128 In some ways better than "Lili" but it still seems low-budget when compared to "Gigi". Beautiful story of "Ella", dubbed Cinder-Ella by a callous boy in town. Here she has a cinder-smudged face and is impish, as always, with two fantasy ballet sequences; as Leslie Caron was a great ballerina, after all. The first fantasy dance could be called "The Cook's Son Palace Ballet" and involves her visiting the palace to see the cook's son, who is actually the prince. It involves a great cooking sequence with a chorus line of ballerinas, and ends with Leslie dancing (on wire) and flying off the top of a huge wedding cake. The second dance is the "Dance of the Egyptian Princess" who in reality, is Ella's mistaken identity. This dance is not as imaginative, and is almost unnecessary to the story. A good supporting cast: Estelle Winwood as the funny absent-minded Mrs.Toquet (fairy godmother.) Elsa Lancaster as the mean stepmother. Amanda Blake as Birdena, one of the two very pretty but ugly-in-spirit stepsisters. A surprisingly good narration by Walter Pigeon. A good musical score. The movie falls down with too much dialog, not enough action, and no magical transformation of the pumpkin, mice, and lizards into coach, horses, and coachmen. (It all happens "off camera".) Where are the great special effects possible with "Famous Studios" and MGM Movie Magic? Missing scenes that should have filmed: Ella as a 6-year-old, running into the Prince for the first time. Her clothes turning back into rags, as the gown was "borrowed" and was (maybe) magic? The coach dissolving. (The "pumpkin" is shown smashed.) The happy-ever-after-ending seems slowly staged and less than triumphant but I am not sure why. The castle doesn't seem "grand" enough and very little of it is shown beyond the ballroom, kitchen and the Prince's study. Michael Wilding (or his dance double?) is o.k. but the whole production seems slow moving and lethargic. The "magic sparkle" of the fairy tale is somehow missing. A procession to the castle but no triumphant wedding? Worth watching just to see the captivating Leslie Caron dancing "on toe" once again. Not heroic or "dashing" enough for boys, so little girls might like it better. The "broadcast print" shows a lot of wear and tear and has not been well-restored.

MartinHafer 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.

moonspinner55 Leslie Caron was the perfect choice to play Cinderella, a scruffy, rebellious girl living with her step-mother and step-sisters, "not quite a servant and not quite a member of the family". Caron reunites here with much of the team from her best movie "Lili", and if the results are not quite as memorable it may be because the story has been exhausted. Still, director Charles Walters paces it carefully (some may say sluggishly) and keeps the outré magic of the tale to a minimum. The droll observation/narration is dryly amusing and the step-family isn't overly nasty to Caron (they treat her more like a black sheep than a housemaid). The MGM production is modest, but the cast is all quite colorful and the musical direction and balletic fantasy sequences are very good. Lovely, a bit tepid, but sweet and simple. **1/2 from ****