A young girl (Leslie Caron) is treated like a servant by her stepmother (Elsa Lanchester) and her haughty stepsisters (Amanda Blake of TV's
GUNSMOKE, Lisa Daniels). She fantasizes about living in the palace of the Duke (Barry Jones,
BRIGADOON), who is giving a grand ball in his son's (Michael Wilding) honor and there's an eccentric old woman (Estelle Winwood) who insists that she attend the ball. This slightly revisionist take on the Cinderella story never materializes into the promising fable its beginnings suggest. Instead of the sweet little maiden, Caron's Cinderella is a bit of a hellraiser, the years of mean spiritedness from her family and the townspeople have made her anti-social. The magic elements are kept to a minimum, Winwood's dotty old kleptomaniac (she steals Cinderella's ballgown) subbing for the wand waving fairy Godmother. The film's biggest problem is her Prince Charming in the form of the uncharismatic Michael Wilding, so dull to make one rethink becoming a royal. A borderline musical in that while there are no songs, there are several ballet numbers but Roland Petit's choreography is unimaginative. Directed by Charles Walters. With Keenan Wynn, Lurene Tuttle, Liliane Montevecchi and the narration is done by Walter Pidgeon.
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