THE SLIPPER AND THE ROSE: The Story of Cinderella [1975 / 2017] [Blu-ray] [UK Release]
A Musical Re-Telling of the Classic Tale of Cinderella!
The enduring tale of Cinderella comes to life as never before in this Oscar-nominated musical.
The King of Euphrania is growing increasingly troubled that his son and heir, Prince Edward [Richard Chamberlain], has not yet taken a wife. And so a plan is hatched, to hold a royal ball and invite every princess in the land, despite the Prince Edward’s protests.
Meanwhile Cinderella [Gemma Craven] lives in misery, her father has died and her wicked Stepmother [Margaret Lockwood] has made her the house servant. Help is at hand however with the arrival of her Fairy Godmother [Annette Crosbie] and a magical invitation to the ball.
FILM FACT No.1: Awards and Nominations: 1977 Golden Globes: Nominated: Golden Globes Award for Best Foreign Film [UK]. Nominated: Golden Globes Award for Best Original Score in a Motion Picture for Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. 1977 BAFTA Awards: Nominated: Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music for Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. Nominated: BAFTA Film Award for Best Costume Design for Julie Harris. Nominated: BAFTA Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for Michael Hordern. Nominated: BAFTA Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for Annette Crosbie. 1977 Evening Standard British Film Awards: Win: Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress for Annette Crosbie. 1978 Academy Awards®: Nominated: Best Music for an Original Song for Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman for the song "The Slipper and the Rose Waltz (He Danced with Me/She Danced with Me)." Nominated: Best Music for an Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Best Adaptation Score for Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman and Angela Morley. 1978 Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA: Nominated: Saturn Award for Best Fantasy Film. Nominated: Saturn Award for Best Costumes for Julie Harris.
FILM FACT No.2: The scene where Cinderella sings "I Can't Forget the Melody," where Cinderella sits on a swing, is a reference to “The Swing,” a painting by Jean-Honoré Fragonard. Every detail of Cinderella's costume and setting are identical to Jean-Honoré Fragonard's painting, including the colour of her dress and the style of her hat. Cinderella and the Prince dance the Ländler, a traditional Austrian dance, to their first waltz. The same dance is also seen in ‘The Sound of Music.’ It was Margaret Lockwood's first feature film since 1955. At the 24th March 1976 Royal Film Performance of ‘THE SLIPPER AND THE ROSE’ the Queen Mother commented to the songwriters, "The waltz you wrote for the ballroom scene is the most beautiful song I've ever heard." In its initial USA release by Universal Pictures, the songs "What Has Love Got to Do with Being Married" and "I Can't Forget the Melody" were cut. They were also cut from the soundtrack Long Play Album, released in the USA (MCA 2097). In 2003 conductor John Wilson included some of Angela Morley's instrumental music in a compilation album featuring her film music. (Dutton Vocalion CDSA 6807).
Cast: Richard Chamberlain, Gemma Craven, Annette Crosbie, Dame Edith Evans, Christopher Gable, Michael Hordern, Margaret Lockwood, Kenneth More, Julian Orchard, Lally Bowers, Sherrie Hewson, Rosalind Ayres, John Turner, Keith Skinner, Polly Williams, Norman Bird, Peter Graves, Gerald Sim, Elizabeth Mansfield, Ludmilla Nova, Roy Barraclough, Geoffrey Bayldon, Valentine Dyall, Tim Barrett, Vivienne McKee, André Morell, Myrtle Reed, Peter Leeming, Marianne Broome, Tessa Dahl, Lea Brodie, Eva Reuber-Staier, Ann Rutherford, Suzette St. Clair, Jenny Lee Wright, Patrick Jordan, Rocky Taylor, Paul Schmitzburger, Robert Arditti [Dancer], Adrian M. Barnes [Dancer], Wendy Barrie [Dancer], Tony Bateman [Dancer], Nicky Benton [Dancer], Michael Buchanan [Dancer], Reg Bundy [Dancer], Susan Claire [Dancer], Ina Clare [Dancer], Rosalind Cole [Dancer], Michael Coleman [Dancer], Lesley Collier [Dancer], Michael Darbyshire [Dancer], Anna Delany [Dancer], Bill Drysdale [Dancer], Stanley Fleet [Dancer], Neil Fitzwiliam [Dancer], Joyce Graham [Dancer], John Heawood [Dancer], Deanne Horsham [Dancer], Jerry Hunt [Dancer], Sheila Humphreys [Dancer], Janie Kells [Dancer], Lorna Kelner [Dancer], Jimmy Land [Dancer], Maurice Lane [Dancer], William Lawford [Dancer], Adrian Le Peltier [Dancer], Susan Lockwood [Dancer], Vince Logan [Dancer], Connel Miles [Dancer], Thorey Mountain [Dancer], Connie Paull [Dancer], Terry Rendle [Dancer], Wayne Sleep [Dancer], David Shelmerdine [Dancer], Stuart Saunders [Dancer], Arthur Sweet [Dancer], Jessica Swift [Dancer], Petra Siniawski [Dancer], Jacquie Toye [Dancer], Hilary Tickner [Dancer], Domini Winter [Dancer], Fred [The Dog], Bryan Forbes [Herald] (uncredited), Emma Forbes [Bridesmaid] (uncredited), Jill Goldston [Wedding Guest] (uncredited), Walter Henry [Nobleman] (uncredited) and Aileen Lewis [Noblewoman] (uncredited)
Director: Bryan Forbes
Producers: David Frost and Stuart Lyons
Screenplay: Bryan Forbes, Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman and Charles Perrault (story "Cendrillon") (uncredited)
Composer: Angela Morley (uncredited)
Cinematography: Tony Imi, B.S.C. (Director of Photography)
Costumes: Bermans & Nathans, Jean Hunnisett, Shirley Reid and Arthur Davey
Choreographer: Marc Breaux
Image Resolution: 1080p (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (Panavision anamorphic)
Audio: English: 2.0 LPCM Uncompressed Stereo Audio English: 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Subtitles: English
Running Time: 142 minutes
Region: Region B/2
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Cinema International Corporation / Paradine Co-Production Limited / Second Sight Films
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: ‘THE SLIPPER AND THE ROSE: The Story of Cinderella’ [1975] is a very British take on the Cinderella tale by director Bryan Forbes, where Prince Edward of Euphrania (Austria) [Richard Chamberlain] wants to marry for love while his Royal parents want a political alliance. Meanwhile, Cinderella’s [Gemma Craven] cruel Stepmother [Margaret Lockwood] has banished her to the kitchen and forces her to work as a servant for her and her two vindictive daughters, Isobella [Rosalind Ayers] and Palatine [Sherrie Hewson].
A twist on the classic Cinderella tale told from Prince Charming’s point of view, this lovely old-fashioned musical is so very English it should be watched while eating scones with clotted cream and jam. It retells the Cinderella story in the most quintessentially British way. Clipped accents and massively old school UK film giants prance around in costume, singing about marriage and brides and balls and marriage. Seeing Richard Chamberlain dance a la Wayne Sleep is like a LSD flashback.
Prince Edward, the prince of tiny fictitious country Euphrania, is to be married off on the instructions of his father, the King [Michael Hordern]. A bride-finding ball is arranged, and it is there Prince Edward meets and falls in love with Cinderella, but instead of everything ending happily ever after, the King intervenes and insists Prince Edward marries a more suitable woman to cement a political alliance.
The music consisted of songs penned by the legendary Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman brothers of Walt Disney fame, although to be honest for the most part this was not their best work. With Angela Morley assisting, they did however come up with a terrific waltz number for the central ball sequence, a tune that has lyrics later on and if anything was taken away from this film it was that lilting melody which tended to stay agreeably in the memory. But for the story it was business as usual, relating a tale which everyone who settled down to watch would be all too familiar with, hitting all the beats by victimised Cinders by her wicked Stepmother Margaret Lockwood in her final role and not so ugly this time sisters to the Fairy Godmother [Annette Crosbie] saving the day and our heroine leaving behind the glass slipper on the big night.
So far, so much as we'd seen before, but once it got to the part everyone expected, what would traditionally be the "and they all lived happily ever after" bit, the British disease of class entered into the frame as Cinders was judged all wrong for her Prince. Previous to this, the scene stealer had been Annette Crosbie's amusingly level headed godmother who outshone her co-stars in the acting stakes, but here, with a good stretch of the movie to go, was a lovely scene where the kind-hearted but pragmatic Lord Chamberlain [Kenneth More] had a heart to heart with Cinderella about why the marriage was impossible and Cinderella should forget about it, charmingly played and even moving in its quiet dignity. After that the fairy tale deus ex machina was a given, but this took the plot in an interesting direction after sticking to it so faithfully for so long, and made you wish they'd taken more chances with the material before and there was a British quaintness about this film which appealed.
Although it has dated somewhat, little girls will enjoy this dreamily filmed tale that brims over with floaty costumes, soft focus, romantic shots of Gemma Craven and Richard Chamberlain, picturesque Austrian scenery and lavish song-and-dance numbers such as “What Has Love Got to Do With Getting Married,” and “Protocoligorically Correct.”
If anything this is a Cinderella story for grown-ups, not in its content, the only real political statement in it is that you should marry for love, and I doubt whether Bryan Forbes was thinking of arranged marriages when he was making this.
I think the real joy I got from watching ‘THE SLIPPER AND THE ROSE: The Story of Cinderella’ was seeing all of those wonderful British acting greats, doing their thing, like Michael Horden, Kenneth More, Lally Bowers, Annette Crosbie, Margaret Lockwood and the ever wonderful Edith Evans as the Dowager Queen.
If you want a real fairy-tale adaption of Cinderella, watch the enchanted and magical ‘THE SLIPPER AND THE ROSE: The Story of Cinderella.’ This is the only Cinderella adaption that continues the story after the glass slipper fitted, they don’t make films like this anymore, but this wins the hearts of many, from the same composers who made Mary Poppins.
A truly magical and beautiful film! The Sherman Brothers music and songs are outstanding, and the classic story has an unexpected twist. Anybody who loves classic fairy tales will love this. This is the most ground-breaking film of 1976 and it has got some really outstanding songs a crazy plot and script thanks to an unforgettable film you will not regret watching! It definitely gets a 5 star rating and much more!
THE SLIPPER AND THE ROSE MUSIC TRACK LIST
WHY CAN’T I BE TWO PEOPLE (Composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman) [Performed by Richard Chamberlain]
WHAT HAS LOVE GOT TO DO WITH MARRIAGE? (Composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman) [Performed by Michael Hordern, Lally Bowers, Edith Evans and Julian Orchard]
ONCE I WAS LOVED (Composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman) [Performed by Gemma Craven]
WHAT A COMFORTING THING TO KNOW (Composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman) [Performed by Richard Chamberlain and Christopher Gable]
PROTOCOLIGORICALLY CORRECT (Composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman) [Performed by Michael Hordern, Kenneth More, Peter Graves and Tim Barrett]
A BRIDE-FINDING BALL (Composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman) [Performed by Richard Chamberlain and Julian Orchard]
SUDDENLY IT HAPPENS (Composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman) [Performed by Annette Crosbie and Gemma Craven]
SECRET KINGDOM (Composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman) [Performed by Richard Chamberlain and Gemma Craven]
HE DANCED WITH ME/SHE DANCED WITH ME (Composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman) [Performed by Richard Chamberlain and Gemma Craven]
POSITION AND POSITIONING (Composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman) [Performed by Christopher Gable, John Turner, Paul Schmitzburger, Jenny Lee Wright and Peter Leeming]
TELL HIM ANYTHING (But Not That I Love Him) (Composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman) [Performed by Gemma Craven]
I CAN’T FORGET THE MELODY (Composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman) [Performed by Gemma Craven]
SECRET KINGDOM (reprise) (Composed by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman) [Performed by Richard Chamberlain and Gemma Craven]
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Blu-ray Image Quality – Cinema International Corporation, Paradine Co-Production Limited and Second Sight Films presents us the film ‘THE SLIPPER AND THE ROSE: The Story of Cinderella.’ The Blu-ray 1080p image is stunning and exceptionally clear, sharp and detailed, with no noise or distortion and a fine, natural grain pattern that conveys a truly film-like appearance and is helped by the fact that the restoration department at PINEWOOD were working from the original 35mm camera negative restored in 2k which was originally released in 1976, after being shot at PINEWOOD Studios in 1975. The department spent an estimated 400 hours digitally hand cleaning the material using PFClean systems, completed the DaVichi Resolve, as well as the audio restoration. Compression artefacts are not its problem, replicating the grain and other film attributes quite well. The film has been properly preserved with a 2.35:1 Panavision anamorphic aspect ratio and its cinematography by Tony Imi takes full advantage of the widescreen frame. The range of colours are tottally remarkable. Costume designer Julie Harris told director Bryan Forbes that she "almost" ran out of colours by the end of the production, and the wide range of the palette is fully displayed, especially during the ball sequences, but also in Cinderella's coach, the royal crypt and in unexpected locations like the Fairy Godmother's "office." The blacks are deep and solid, as can be seen in a night-time departure by coach late in the film. Many of the musical numbers are staged like a professional theatre production, showcasing the lavish sets and costume design. The transfer is mostly film-like, lacking serious problems with digital noise reduction or sharpening. Some scenes lack superior detail and resolution, particularly in close-ups, though that might be due to the softer style of filming prevalent at the time. Overall, this is a tremendous restoration of a beautifully shot film. The image is stunning quality and totally sharp to bring out the best quality of the colours of the costumes, the furniture, the decorations and the countryside landscape; it will be hard to convince young ones that this film predates them by more than three decades.
A word of warning, because on the back cover it states that the film is 1.77:1 aspect ratio, well this is false information and not a very professional attitude with Second Sight Films. Please Note: Playback Region B/2: This will not play on most Blu-ray players sold in North America, Central America, South America, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Learn more about Blu-ray region specifications.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – Cinema International Corporation, Paradine Co-Production Limited and Second Sight Films brings us the film ‘THE SLIPPER AND THE ROSE: The Story of Cinderella’ with two alternative audio releases, which consist of 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio and 2.0 LPCM Uncompressed Stereo Audio. The 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio experience is offered with little descriptive information as to its origins. I believe it to be the original four-track, stereo soundtrack, re-purposed for 5.1 channels. There is not a huge differences between it and the main surround mix, though the dialogue has subtly different characteristics in it and the track delivers clear and intelligible dialogue and equally clear renditions of the pre-recorded songs, which have been well-mixed to match the dialogue levels and tonal quality of the actors singing. As to the 2.0 LPCM Uncompressed Stereo Audio experience it is pretty standard and nothing spectacular, but still very enjoyable experience. The dialogue and music come through with really good presentation, but when you get to hear the high notes of the orchestra as well as the singers reaching their high notes, you get this terrible shrill sound and it is not a very pleasant experience. But with the 5.1 audio mixes, you get to hear Gemma Craven’s beautiful singing voice and carries the central role with grace. Richard Chamberlain had aspirations for a musical career before his acting career, though his vocal performance is really good and enjoyable. The orchestral accompaniment, especially with the scoring by Angela Morley is a totally pleasant musical experience. The film does not feature complex or gimmicky sound effects, so that the rear speakers are primarily used to open up the soundstage and support the front speakers. With the two alternate audio tracks, I sampled them and I could not immediately distinguish from the main mix. Please Note: You have to go to the menu to select the audio experience, because it automatically selects the 2.0 LPCM Uncompressed Stereo Audio.
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Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Audio Commentary with Director Bryan Forbes: Here Bryan Forbes introduces himself and informs us that he is the writer and director of the film ‘THE SLIPPER AND THE ROSE’ many years ago, and is doing this audio commentary via the previous DVD release. Bryan Forbes informs us that the film ‘THE SLIPPER AND THE ROSE’ had a curious history of a film he has ever made and was financed by one man and in this case it was financed by one man and in this case it was a ruler of an Arab kingdom who came to London and met a mutual friend of Bryan Forbes and over a long conversation asked how much does it cost to make a film, and the friend had no idea much it would cost, and it was suggested it would cost about £5,000,000 and the Arab ruler said that is also what he had heard and there and then brought out his cheque book and wrote out the cheque for £5,000,000 and of course it would definitely not bounce. So the friend telephone Bryan Forbes and informed him that he had in his hand the cheque for £5,000,000 and he can now go ahead and make the film, but at the same time asked Bryan Forbes if there was going to be an actual film, and Bryan Forbes informed him that very soon there will be an actual film and that is how it all began. With the start of the film you get to see four riders on horseback riding in a snow covered Austria landscape and Bryan Forbes informs us that he wanted to film these scenes even before the auditions so he did not lose the snow and was filmed in early February with a very small crew, and a few costumes, and was filmed just outside Salzburg. But as the credits appear at the start of the film, Bryan Forbes points out a castle in the background, which was used by the Gestapo as there headquarters in the Second World War, and to this day no one wants to buy it, and the actual castle was built around the 14th century and is in a very remote part of Austria and took forever to get all the equipment in place to film every day and Bryan Forbes informs us that he shot all the scenes even before he had a script or a storyboard, which he does not believe in and thinks it is all a waste of time, and the four unknown riders would just brought in just for those scenes at the start of the film. After the credits finish it is the start of the actual film, and you see those four riders pass another interesting historic castle and it is the once surrounded by the lake and was used for the main castle for the rest of the film, because Bryan Forbes thought it was a really beautiful looking fairy tale castle, and inside the castle there are lots of masterpiece paintings, that on close inspection has lots of holes in them, and this was caused by the German officers who use to get blind drunk every night and would take out their revolvers and fire their bullets at the paintings. When we finally see Richard Chamberlain and Christopher Gable enter the inner sanctum of the castle, this was actual a studio set, and was set over two stages, and by now they had finally finished all the auditions for the cast. Bryan Forbes informs us that this was the first British musical he had ever directed, and found it a wonderful experience. On top of all that, the music was pre-recorded, as well as the actors that get to sing, and of course they have to lip-sync to what they had recorded, and they have a special person who has to make sure the actors are lip-syncing 100% accurate to their own recordings and if it does not happen 100%, then they have to stop filming and start filming again until they get it 100%. Bryan Forbes starts talking about the British actors that appear after Richard Chamberlain has finished his first song, and feels so sad that a lot of those British actors are no longer with us, and also it was the first time the main British actors had never learnt to sing in a musical before. A lot of the costumes were designed by Julie Harris, who also won an Oscar® for the clothes designs for the film ‘Darling’ that starred Julie Christie. Bryan Forbes thought Richard Chamberlain had suffered a lot for being the doctor in the long running American TV series “Dr. Kildare” and when he decide to leave, worked very hard to become a professional actor and decide to come to England to work for a Repertoire Company and played “Hamlet” and really worked hard at it, but Bryan Forbes feels his good looks can be a disadvantage to an actor, and feels the actor was very self-effacing and did not have an ounce of ego and was very professional to work with. Bryan Forbes informs us that we are watching the full version of the film, but when it was going to be shown on American Television, the executives told Bryan Forbes that they had to cut out about 20 minutes of the film, which he was rightly furious and wish he had stood his grounds. When we first see the wicked Stepmother and the two sisters, Bryan Forbes wanted to make the two sisters look ordinary, and not like they are portrayed in a British Pantomime, which is always over the top and grotesque and of course are always men in drag. Bryan Forbes mentions that it was Gemma Craven’s first debuted in a major film and especially a British musical and felt Gemma Craven was really wonderful and so professional. Bryan Forbes mentions that this was the last of the great big British musical film and feels it was a pity that they do not make any more of these types of films. Bryan Forbes decided to recruit the best set designers, because he wanted to make the film look spectacular and interesting at the same time and especially for the audiences who went to see the film and Raymond Simm was the best set designer at the time and would always come up with something that was very unexpected and unique. Bryan Forbes love the kitchen setting, especially where Cinderella had to live. With the first song Gemma Craven sings, is where she is in the grounds of the castle, and is one a Bryan Forbes favourite song and feels the Sherman Brothers were very tuneful with their compositions. When we first come into contact with the Fairy Godmother, Bryan Forbes wanted her to look natural and not like something you see on top of a Christmas tree or to even to special CGI special effects for that character, and of course it is the wonderful Annette Crosbie who has appeared in lots of long running British Comedy Television series and feels the actress was a wonderful actress and her dialogue is so clear, and when you see the magic, Bryan Forbes wanted it to look natural and believable, and of course it is the first time we get to meet Freddie the dog, that was owned by one of his daughters, and Freddie was not very happy to perform and was very reluctant to perform, and use to pretend to be dead and that is why he was always being picked up, and was not destined to follow in the footsteps of Lassie, and Freddie’s career ended with this film. Bryan Forbes feels English actors wear period costumes really well and felt Richard Chamberlain was able to emulate this very well and does not look out of place. Bryan Forbes comments on a certain risqué saying that was invented by a British Prime Minister’s wife, and one Bryan Forbes wanted to include into that scene, and it was in fact British Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin’s wife Lucy Baldwin, Countess Baldwin of Bewdley, G.B.E, DSt.J. who said, “Whenever sex rears its ugly head with Stanley Baldwin, I Just Close Your Eyes and Think of England,” and Bryan Forbes wanted Michael Hordern to say it to Richard Chamberlain, but changes the place name to Euphrania. When they are instructed to go out and spread the word of the upcoming ball for the Prince, also a lot of the locations were filmed in different parts of England and especially with some of the different country houses. Bryan Forbes feels this film catapulted Gemma Craven’s career, but eventually concentrated more on a distinguished theatre stage career, because the actress after this film never got more offers to star in other films, which Bryan Forbes felt this was a very negative aspect of her glittering career she should of aspired to and said more’s the pity. Bryan Forbes feels the marvellous Julie Harris was able to blend the colours so wonderful with all of the costumes, whereas other costume designers would have made them look more garish and out of place and that is why Julie Harris was such a skilled costume designer. Bryan Forbes really enjoyed filming in Austria, because he was really spoilt with so many wonderful film locations and not have to worry about any modern road signs or any other stuff indicating the setting was filmed in modern times. Bryan Forbes was so pleased to get Margaret Lockwood to play the wicked Stepmother, because the actress went into semi-retirement for a long time and with his great skill of persuasion, was able get the actress to come out of semi-retirement, because Bryan Forbes felt Margaret Lockwood played the part of the wicked Stepmother so perfect and convincing, and it was her last ever screen performance in a film and Bryan Forbes felt this was a great loss. When we again see Annette Crosbie as the fairy Godmother writing on her kitchen table, and on the table was the chicken and Bryan Forbes says this chicken caused a lot of problems, and especially for Annette Crosbie. At the same time the dog Freddie appears and we are informed that Freddie only had eyes for that chicken and was hoping to have the chicken cooked. Bryan Forbes says that it was the first film ever for him to be shot in Super Widescreen Anamorphic 2.35:1 aspect ratio, but it also gave some technical problems, because you have to frame the shot very carefully, otherwise you would get weird distorted images and cinematographer Tony Imi was very helpful and very skilled in getting the right shots Bryan Forbes envisaged, also with over 28 films that Bryan Forbes has directed, he felt he has worked with some wonderful actors like Kathryn Hepburn, Charles Boyer, Leslie Caron and also his wife Nannette Newman. At this point of the film Bryan Forbes to not talk about any aspect of the film, but instead to say that he was very sad on the last day of the shoot, as he felt the film was one of his most happiest film he has ever worked on. At this point in the film we are coming to the big ballroom scene, where Bryan Forbes felt Julie Harris did a wonderful job with the costumes designs, especially in making them all look very different and with lots of wonderful different colours and also it was the biggest set of the whole film and Bryan Forbes wanted it to look totally natural and very magical and musical at the same time. Also when we see the transformation of Cinderella, who of course will be bell of the ball and again Bryan Forbes wanted the magical transformation in the kitchen to look totally natural and especially with the animals turned into the different human and animal characters, especially the ones taking Cinderella to the ball. When you see Cinderella in here wonderful ball gown, Bryan Forbes says when the film was finished the actual costume was auctioned off for charity. When you finally see the amazing golden coach that takes Cinderella to the ball, Bryan Forbes says that that they had to build the golden coach just for the film and just before that you see a troupe of mice dancing and one of them was Wayne Sleep who was one of the principle dancers for the Royal Ballet, and of course the set you see behind the mice dancing had to be built 10 times larger than the size of the ballet dancers. When you see Dame Edith Evans is taken onto the dance floor by Christopher Gable, the actress was 84 years of age and really tripped the light fantastic for her age. When we see Gemma Craven and Richard Chamberlain finally dance together in the ballroom, Bryan Forbes thinks this is one of the best scene out of all the film and Bryan Forbes also thought choreographer Marc Breaux did a brilliant job for the two dancers in making it look effortless and Bryan Forbes informs us that whenever he views the dance between with Gemma Craven and Richard Chamberlain in the film he always gets very misty eyed. When the clock strikes midnight, Bryan Forbes requests you to watch the scene when Cinderella has to run away and take note of the many changes in Cinderella’s clothing, from the wonderful gown to her rags clothing, which were all done with very skilled editing. Bryan Forbes mentions that where possible, please note the amount of roses that are positioned strategically and especially the red roses, especially in certain scenes in the castle, and was a private joke on his part, because the roses came from Bryan Forbes own garden, When the Lord Chancellor comes into the bedroom of Cinderella and has to give her very bad news that it will not be possible for Cinderella to marry the Prince and has to be sent off to live somewhere secret, and it reminded Bryan Forbes of the real situation where Princess Margarete was not allowed to marry the divorced Captain Townsend and despite the sad news of Cinderella’s situation, of course in the end we do get a happy ending of the film. When we get to the scene where Richard Chamberlain is being prepared for marriage to someone he does not love, in order to save the Kingdom of Euphrania going to war with their neighbour, well the church we see the marriage ceremony in was filmed in Southwark Cathedral or The Cathedral and Collegiate Church of St Saviour and St Mary Overie, Southwark, London, lies on the south bank of the River Thames close to London Bridge and the only church they were allowed to film in, whereas other churches that were asked to be able to film in, did not want their church to be used for the filming of the marriage ceremony, and by the way, Southwark Cathedral is very near the Globe Theatre and was opened in 1997 and on top of all that, in Southwark Cathedral William Shakespeare’s brother is buried in front of the main alter. As to the filming of the marriage ceremony, it was filmed on one of the hottest day of that year, and did not help, as they had to use lots of arc lamps, so making the temperature even higher, which did not help the cast, especially having to wear really heavy costumes. Bryan Forbes informs us that when the film had been edited and in the can, Bryan Forbes flew to America to really promote the film for the American Market, which can make or break a film, and finally Bryan Forbes lands in New York with his producer Stuart Lyons and of course a print of the film, and the first people to be shown the film was the United Artists executives, afterwards they were very luke warm towards the film and also not very interested and afterwards Bryan Forbes and Stuart Lyons decided to have a cup of coffee and felt very disillusioned and despondent, so Bryan Forbes had a bright idea, and came up with the idea of showing the film at the Radio City Music Hall in New York as it was not very far from them, and Stuart Lyons felt they would never allow the film to be shown there, on top of all that, how do you go about approaching the owner of the establishment, so Bryan Forbes found a telephone directory and their telephone number and asked if he could speak to the President of the establishment and to his amazement was put through to this person, and was asked what was he enquiring, and Bryan Forbes informed him that he had this particular film that he would like if possible to be shown at the establishment, as Bryan Forbes felt the film would be so ideal to be shown to the audience, so the President offered them both the lunch and afterwards the President suggested they run the film, and after they had shown the film, the President wanted the film to be shown at the Radio City Music hall over the Easter period and it was a massive success and made more money than any other film previously shown at that establishment. But sadly the success in America was not repeated, because a majority of Americans did not get to see the film through difficult circumstances, and Bryan Forbes felt it was a lost film in America, especially as it is a truly timeless film that does not date and can be enjoyed by future generations and that is why Bryan Forbes is so happy at the time of the audio commentary, that the film is to be re-issued on the VHS Tape and DVD format and now he hopes it finds an audience that it always deserved and he feels that if that sounds conceited, sorry, but that is how he feels. For the final sequence, Bryan Forbes opted for something a little theatrical, by bringing all the actors down to take their bow before the camera, and get their credits shown and Bryan Forbes felt it was in keeping with the film, with the whole magic of the story of Cinderella, which is after all a theatrical story, which Bryan Forbes tried to make very visual and to give it a few more twists and Bryan Forbes hopes we enjoy it and remains one of his favourite films and thanks us for viewing it with him. I to want to say it has always been one of my all-time favourite films that lets you experience something very magical and it is a great honour to have it in my Blu-ray collection. As to the Bryan Forbes audio commentary, well I can truly say it was also a very magical experience and helps with Bryan Forbes voice that really makes you enjoy viewing the film even more, plus we get to hear some wonderful anecdotes and information about the whole concept of the fil and this is a must hear audio commentary and definitely gets a five star top rating from me.
Special Feature: The Fairy Godmother: An Interview with Annette Crosbie [2017] [1080p] [2.35:1 / 1.78:1] [10:16] Here we get to meet a much older Annette Crosbie and informs us that she had been working with cinematographer Tony Imi on a series for a 1975 British television drama series, made by ATV in 13 episodes entitled “King Edward VII” and Annette Crosbie was Queen Victoria and near the end of the series Tony Imi informed Annette Crosbie that he was off to work on the film ‘THE SLIPPER AND THE ROSE: The Story of Cinderella’ and was lucky to be asked to play the Fairy Godmother and feels the film has not dated, because of the period it is set in and also feels it was a very beautiful period, and feels the costumes were wonderful and also looked so beautiful. Annette Crosbie feels they took great care with the film and was so amazed when viewing the DVD felt the film was totally delightful, and also feels it is a really wonderful family film. About two weeks after filming this interview, Annette Crosbie nearly knocked over by a gentleman while stepping off the pavement to cross the road who recognised the actress and had to drag the gentleman back onto the pavement otherwise he would have been knocked down by oncoming traffic, but all the gentleman wanted to say to the actress that he really enjoyed watching the film ‘THE SLIPPER AND THE ROSE: The Story of Cinderella.’ Next Annette Crosbie talks about the actress Gemma Craven, who was at the time very new to her acting career and it was her very first film and Annette Crosbie felt Gemma Craven had a very professional outlook working on the film. Annette Crosbie feels the film has a total innocence and is also at the same time feels it is a wonderful fairy story and feels this version is also extra special, as Bryan Forbes felt the story had to be expanded and added a sort of “La Traviata” storyline to the scenario to give the film much more emotions, which as you know with the opera storyline, it is about the story of the tragic love between the courtesan Violetta and the romantic Alfredo Germont, that is played out against the hypocrisy of upper-class fashionable society, Alfredo and Violetta's love threatens to shame his family, plus of course with the film you have the death of Cinderella’s father and having to live with the wicked Stepmother. Annette Crosbie says that today most films have the special effects done by computers, but feels this film does not have to have special CGI effects, instead you get extra dimension, especially when viewing it on a big screen in a cinema, and the only way to appreciate this magical film. Annette Crosbie says that when they stop for a break, they tend to go back to the make-up room, especially wearing their costumes, instead of going back to their home, and being all together you get to know everyone so much better and at times Christopher Gable would be with them and was very naughty and wicked and was the star of the Royal Ballet and he used to tell lots of naughty and outrageous tales with his time at the Royal Ballet, especially when it was pouring with rain outside, and the actors would laugh so much their make-up would run and really upset the make-up artists and were none too pleased, and Annette Crosbie was very upset when she heard of the death of Christopher Gable after a long battle with cancer at such a young age. Annette Crosbie now talks about the director Bryan Forbes, who of course was originally an actor and feels he was perfect being a director, because he was very intuitive and sensitive to the actors need, and helps to relax them before they do their scene and also makes them enjoy the experience and also always tries to encourage the actor to perform really well. Annette Crosbie had one slight tiny problem when filming and it was acting with Bryan Forbes little dog named Freddie, who of course most the time appeared in scenes with Annette Crosbie, but most of the time Freddie did not want to be in the film in the first place, and sometimes would try to bite Annette Crosbie. When you see the two horses in the film with Richard Chamberlain and Christopher Gable riding them, the chestnut horse that Richard Chamberlain rode was always in completion with the grey horse ridden by Christopher Gable, and when the horses had to ride towards the camera, the chestnut horse always wanted to beat the grey horse. Annette Crosbie talks about the last scene in the film when the credits appear, where most of the actors walk towards the camera, but there was a problem with Freddie who had a jewel encrusted collar and as Bryan Forbes and his children shout out to the dog, “Walkies Freddie, Walkies” and as Annette Crosbie and the dog got near to the camera the lead broke and of course the dog carried on walking towards the camera, so had to do the scene again and at one point the collar broke and of course by this time Freddie was totally fed up and not very happy with all the disruptions and of course they had to do a third shoot and this time Freddie refused to do any walking towards the camera, so Bryan Forbes suggested to Annette Crosbie to at one point pick up Freddie and carry on walking towards the camera and when Annette Crosbie turns left to walk past the camera, Freddie tried to take a bit out of Annette Crosbie’s neck. But despite some technical problems Annette Crosbie experienced while making the film, despite this, Annette Crosbie found the whole experience really wonderful, and everyone else also enjoyed making the film, also working with the crew was equally wonderful, as were the wonderful cast, all in all it was a wonderful joyous experience. And so ends a really wonderful interview with Annette Crosbie, who was a real joy to listen to and of all of her experiences working on the film ‘THE SLIPPER AND THE ROSE: The Story of Cinderella’ and is well worth viewing and as an added bonus we get a plethora of clips from the film.
Special Feature: The Naughty Sister: An Interview with Rosalind Ayres [2017] [1080p] [2.35:1 / 1.78:1] [9:04] Here we get to meet a much older Rosalind Ayres, filmed in the same location as Annette Crosbie, and informs us that the Bryan Forbes lovely wife Nanette Newman recommended Rosalind Ayres to play the role of one of the naughty ugly sisters and the reason this came about is because Nanette Newman had seen Rosalind Ayres in a BBC Television drama “The Mill” in 1972 and that is how Rosalind Ayres ended up in Salzburg in Austria for the film ‘THE SLIPPER AND THE ROSE: The Story of Cinderella.’ Rosalind Ayres felt that this film was going to be something really big, as did all the rest of the cast and crew, because it felt like the old days of producing the epic British film musical, and Rosalind Ayres felt the dance routines choreography were really wonderful and they were also huge and totally fantastic, despite having to work in 120 deg. Fahrenheit and was all done by the brilliant American choreographer Marc Breaux (November 3, 1924 – November 19, 2013). Also Rosalind Ayres felt the costumes were really fantastic and cinematographer Tony Imi made the film look fantastic and especially spectacular. But Rosalind Ayres felt the only problem with filming in Salzburg at the time, was that it was constantly raining a lot, that was why the grass looked so green in the film, and a lot of the time they had to sit in their costumes under an umbrella waiting for the rain to stop. Rosalind Ayres loved playing one of the naughty sisters and equally wonderful was working with the wonderful Margaret Lockwood as the wicked Stepmother and was totally fabulous, and they all had a really good time. Rosalind Ayres really liked the director Bryan Forbes and was really good at encouraging the actors to bring out their best performance in front of the camera and of course he was a real actor’s director. Rosalind Ayres really liked the fact that the storyline was expanded, especially towards the problem of the prince and being told he must get married to anyone available, even if the prince did not love the bride to be. Rosalind Ayres happened to check out the cast list before the interview to remind her of who was in the film, and found it total astonishing, as it was the who’s who of aristocracy of English actors and a lot of them had previously had worked with Bryan Forbes and was very loyal to the actors who had worked with him before on other films especially, but most of all they were great professional actors. Rosalind Ayres thought Gemma Craven was totally amazing, especially being one of the leading character in her first film, and also had a great singing voice and also danced very well and carried that part really well. Rosalind Ayres also thought the actor Richard Chamberlain was really wonderful, and at school Rosalind Ayres had the actors photo stuck to the underside of her school desk lid and was 14 years of age at the time and could not believe there was this actor in the film that she had a crush on and especially appearing in scenes in the film with her and became really good friends with him and met him quite often in Los Angeles when Rosalind Ayres and her husband visited that part of California quite often. Rosalind Ayres thought Austria was totally breath-taking and actually di The Sound of Music tour, and of course Rosalind Ayres also mentions again that whenever they did the ballroom scenes, the temperature was 120 deg. Fahrenheit and all the women were given small battery operated fans to keep cool to stop the make-up running and because the women’s costumes were so bulky and heavy you could not sit down. Rosalind Ayres had such a wonderful time being in that film and the only regret is they did not have a song written for the stepmother and the two ugly daughters, but despite this Rosalind Ayres really enjoyed the music. Rosalind Ayres took her two stepsons, who were aged 10 and 8 years old to go and see the film and sat manfully watching the film, but it was not quite their cup of tea, but sitting behind them was a young girl, who was totally ecstatic about the film and later on, Rosalind Ayres says that over time have met people who have seen the film and have said they really enjoyed the film, and one day Rosalind Ayres happened to be in a Los Angeles recording studio recently and they had a female recording engineer and shrieked out loud when Rosalind Ayres walked into the room and she said, “Oh my god, and I was up late last night and watched THE SLIPPER AND THE ROSE: The Story of Cinderella’ and it was my favourite film when I was young, and I suddenly thought ahh! its Ross!” Rosalind Ayres met someone who had a tradition of playing the film once a year with the whole family at Christmas. Rosalind Ayres feels sad that a lot of the actors that appeared in the film are no longer around anymore, but seeing them in the film is a great experience and a great tribute to their acting skills, and was a very expert piece of filming and really beautiful, and di all the right things that a musical film should be. And at that point the interview with Rosalind Ayres finishes and was again a really nice interview and especially we hear in-depth interesting information about working experience on the film and also the fascinating anecdotes of what happened behind-the-scenes and is definitely worth viewing, and again we get lots of clips from the film.
Special Feature: I Can’t Forget The Melody: The Sherman Brothers on the Making of ‘THE SLIPPER AND THE ROSE’ [2000] [480i] [1.37:1] [16:37] Here the Sherman Brothers share their thoughts and recollections on the musical they were involved with, the process of writing it and their collaboration in general. The Sherman Brothers’ song writing is a critical ingredient in the film’s success and both Sherman Brothers are interviewed together, but at the start one of them is playing the piano and you have a job hearing what the other Sherman brother is saying. The Sherman Brothers also provided the screenplay for the film and they were contacted by David Frost to write the songs for the film and at first refused to take on the project, because they felt it had been done all before, especially with the Disney animation film, but eventually they were persuaded to take on the project and they inform us it really helps to define the creative process the brothers went through in writing the lyrics and their overall goals, but they felt they wanted to concentrate on the aspect of the Prince and the problems he was experiencing and that is how the Sherman Brothers were able to come up with the lyrics and of course the melody. When viewing this special feature, we get to view different headings and they consist of “The Prince’s Story,” “How long did it take to write the screenplay and songs?,” “Suddenly It Happens,” “How important is the script in a musical,” “Director Bryan Forbes,” “Deceptively Modern,” “Songs with an English accent,” “Humour and Irony,” “The Process,” “Angela Morley Musical Arranger and Conductor,” “Marc Breaux Choreographer,” “Richard Chamberlain,” “Gemma Craven,” “Elton John’s Piano,” “What does ‘The Slipper and the Rose’ mean,” “Song Spotting,” “Dialogue into Song” and “Last of the Grand Musicals.” We get to see some rare behind-the-scene filming. This special feature is really magical, especially hearing how the Sherman Brothers went about composing the songs and music is totally fascinating of hearing from the participants and is a must view featurette. This featurette appeared originally with the DVD release.
Special Feature: A Cinderella Story: The Making of ‘THE SLIPPER AND THE ROSE’ Behind The Scenes [1976] [480i] [1.37:1] [28:46] Narrated by executive producer David Frost, the account focuses on the search for the actress to play Cinderella and the casting of then-unknown Gemma Craven. Behind-the-scene footage is included of rehearsal and studio recording, as well as set construction and costume design. This vintage documentary narrated by David Frost that was likely intended for television. It has a lot of interesting footage from behind the scenes, including Gemma Craven rehearsing her material, as well as seeing the Queen Mother and Princess Margarete meeting the cast and director, and them we get a short clip of the Queen Mother attending the London Premiere in 1976 as well as meeting everyone. This has a lot more depth than modern featurettes, touching on a number of critical aspects to the production. It goes over the lengthy process before Gemma Craven was finally chosen to be Cinderella. This is a well-made mini-documentary that should be required viewing for this film’s fan-base.
Theatrical Trailer [1976] [1080p] [2.35:1] [4:14] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘THE SLIPPER AND THE ROSE: The Story of Cinderella’ and it has to be one of the east entertaining theatrical trailer I have seen in a long time and sure gives you a wonderful glimpses of what you will get to view of the film.
Finally, ‘THE SLIPPER AND THE ROSE: The Story of Cinderella’ is a screen gem from start to finish. It is a lovely touch telling us more about Prince Edward, who in finding out more about him as a person, his hopes and desires and his clash with his family he feels like more than the cardboard cut-out from many a Cinderella film. Richard Chamberlain, a seventies heart-throb shines as the romantic lead and is a pleasant singer and a nifty dancer. Gemma Craven is excellent in this her debut role as Cinderella. In her final role, Margaret Lockwood plays an excellent villainess and her cutting comments still instil fear in me, as do her appearances during the film. Her reaction to Cinderella’s impending marriage is priceless as her face in seconds transforms from one of anger to one of insincere joy. Other notable mentions must include Michael Hordern playing a bumbling King and Kenneth More playing his Lord Chamberlain plays his character sympathetic to Cinderella’s love in a sensitive way. Annette Crosbie’s Fairy Godmother is a wonderful character and is almost exasperated with her job and annoyed with her charges, but overall Annette Crosbie plays her to perfection. The musical numbers and dance routines are enthusiastically played throughout the final scenes in which we meet the actors behind the parts almost like the end of a play curtain call which is a lovely touch. The costumes are magnificent, the setting is beautiful and the soft focus used to dreamy effect. The story was also a refreshing and new slant on a well-known fairy tale for girls of all ages, all of which by the end of the film were rooting for Cinderella and Gemma Craven her happy ever after. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
