Directed by Bryan Forbes, The Slipper and the Rose, is a British musical film that retells the classic fairy tale of “Cinderella.”
The leads are played by Richard Chamberlain as Prince Edward, and Gemma Craven is the heroine.
The supporting includes Margaret Lockwood as the Wicked Stepmother, Michael Hordern as the King, Lally Bowers as the Queen, Kenneth More as the Lord High Chamberlain, Edith Evans as the Dowager Queen, and Annette Crosby as the Fairy Godmother.
Viually, the film has a painterly beauty–for a reason. The scene where Cinderella sings “I Can’t Forget the Melody”, siting on a swing, makes reference to “The Swing,” a painting by Jean-Honore Fragonard. Cinderella’s dress color and hat, and the setting are inspired by Fragonard’s painting.
The film’s Oscar-nominated songs were written by the brothers Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, who also shared scripting with Forbes, and the film’s executive producer, broadcaster David Frost (uncredited).
Harmlessly entertaining. the film is appealing but extremely old-fashioned in production values.
A good producer should have exercised authority in determining the musical’s running time, which is unnecessarily two hours and 23 minutes.
