I vaguely remembered seeing this version when I was five years old on a black-and-white set, so seeing it in this black-and-white kinescope version did not cause me any major trauma; it was not that different than how it was for me years ago except that now I have the advantage of more than forty years of experience and knowledge. There is absolutely no comparison between this version and the versions that came after it. In this version, the acting and plot are much more substantial, and Julie Andrews as a singer and actress dwarfs those women who played in the title role after her. The 1965 version had the advantage of color and more video effects but was all glitz and rather shallow. The Disneyized, multiracial version that was created later failed to take into consideration the need for acting ability on the part of the singers in the leading roles. The original version far surpasses both in terms of overall content and performance. Had the same technology been available for the original version as was available in the versions that followed it, there would be no contest at all.
I recall that when the 1965 version came out, the justification for making it was that when the 1957 version was produced, videotape did not exist so that once the production was aired, it was lost forever. Had the producers tried to recreate the 1957 version rather than to mangle it, perhaps they could have been forgiven, but Lesley Ann Warren could not easily have replaced Julie Andrews.
This version is truly Broadway brought to the small screen. In addition to Julie Andrews as Cinderella, Kaye Ballard and Alice Ghostley are the two stepsisters, Ilka Chase plays the stepmother, and the original version gives a much clearer picture of how Cinderella is excluded from the family structure than in the other versions while the talents of the actresses truly shine through. Edie Adams plays a very smart and savvy Godmother (the term Fairy Godmother is not used in the show at all) and is quite sly in how she "turns in" Cinderella to the palace guards so as to trick them into trying the glass slipper on her at the end. Her baton-twirling "magic" introduces the Waltz for a Ball, a true Rodgers and Hammerstein dance specialty number that is the hallmark of many of their great musicals. Howard Lindsay and Dorothy Stickney, both Broadway theater royalty, play the King and Queen and have very significant roles in the play in a way that was totally lost in the versions that followed; the scenes with the King and Queen are entertaining and endearing. The young Jon Cypher was a total unknown at the time of the production and gives an impressive performance; he had the best debut any novice actor could have dreamed of having. The magic of live theater is very evident throughout the show in a way that the later versions totally lack. Even without the comparison, this production of Cinderella is superb entertainment.
For those persons who remember the initial screening of Cinderella, watching this performance is a powerful experience. For those seeing it for the first time, it is a valuable milestone in the history of television and musical theater that has fortunately been captured for future viewing.
I recall that when the 1965 version came out, the justification for making it was that when the 1957 version was produced, videotape did not exist so that once the production was aired, it was lost forever. Had the producers tried to recreate the 1957 version rather than to mangle it, perhaps they could have been forgiven, but Lesley Ann Warren could not easily have replaced Julie Andrews.
This version is truly Broadway brought to the small screen. In addition to Julie Andrews as Cinderella, Kaye Ballard and Alice Ghostley are the two stepsisters, Ilka Chase plays the stepmother, and the original version gives a much clearer picture of how Cinderella is excluded from the family structure than in the other versions while the talents of the actresses truly shine through. Edie Adams plays a very smart and savvy Godmother (the term Fairy Godmother is not used in the show at all) and is quite sly in how she "turns in" Cinderella to the palace guards so as to trick them into trying the glass slipper on her at the end. Her baton-twirling "magic" introduces the Waltz for a Ball, a true Rodgers and Hammerstein dance specialty number that is the hallmark of many of their great musicals. Howard Lindsay and Dorothy Stickney, both Broadway theater royalty, play the King and Queen and have very significant roles in the play in a way that was totally lost in the versions that followed; the scenes with the King and Queen are entertaining and endearing. The young Jon Cypher was a total unknown at the time of the production and gives an impressive performance; he had the best debut any novice actor could have dreamed of having. The magic of live theater is very evident throughout the show in a way that the later versions totally lack. Even without the comparison, this production of Cinderella is superb entertainment.
For those persons who remember the initial screening of Cinderella, watching this performance is a powerful experience. For those seeing it for the first time, it is a valuable milestone in the history of television and musical theater that has fortunately been captured for future viewing.