The Slipper and the Rose (1977)

 

The Slipper and the Rose is subtitled The Story of Cinderella, and it rather broadly follows the outlines of the original tale. However, the focus here is rather equally divided between Cinderella’s back story and that of Prince Edward (Richard Chamberlain), heir to the throne of Euphrania. Edward, however, wants to marry for love rather than for political advantage. (Actually, Chamberlain’s Edward seems rather uninterested in marriage and seems to enjoy the company of his friend and bodyguard John more than the possibility of marrying a woman. And given that John is played by the handsome Christopher Gable, I’m not sure that I necessarily blame the prince. Funny how we tend to reevaluate older films when we learn information about the performers’ personal lives, isn’t it?) Cinderella, meanwhile, faces torture from her stepmother after her father’s death, and it’s only the appearance of her Fairy Godmother (the delightful Annette Crosbie, playing the sardonic, overworked role for all she can wring from it) that provides her with a possible escape from her terrible life. The centerpiece of the film is, of course, the ball intended to put a large number of eligible young women in Edward’s presence so that he can choose one to marry. It’s fun to watch the Fairy Godmother turn a group of dancing mice into horses for the carriage. I’ll admit that Gemma Craven makes a rather wan Cinderella, but almost everyone suffers when compared to some of the scenery-chewing supporting cast like Dame Edith Evans as the dithering Dowager Queen and Michael Hordern as the befuddled but clever King. Too much of this movie is inexplicably shot in soft focus, but the sets and costumes and props are all beautiful, especially the glass slippers. Those shoes are, quite frankly, spectacular. The music, which was the source of the two Oscar nominations for this film, range from lovely (Best Song nominee “The Slipper and the Rose Waltz”) to the bizarre (“What a Comforting Thing to Know,” a song about how one day you’ll be buried alongside your dead ancestors that is performed in a crypt). The subplot about John, the Prince’s friend, being in love with a noble woman, a lady-in-waiting, provides the basis for “Position and Positioning,” a song in which servants seem to be dancing happily about their station in life. The Slipper and the Rose ends with the Fairy Godmother getting Cinderella, who’s been in exile since leaving her slipper at the ball, to Edward’s impending nuptials just in time for the happy ending that we’ve come to expect from this fairy tale (and, probably, all fairy tales).

Oscar Nominations: Best Song (“The Slipper and the Rose Waltz—He Danced with Me/She Danced with Me”) and Best Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Adaptation Score