The Slipper and the Rose
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| The Slipper and the Rose | |
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 "The Slipper and the Rose" (UK DVD cover) |
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| Directed by | Bryan Forbes |
| Produced by | David Frost and Stuart Lyons |
| Written by | Robert B. Sherman & Richard M. Sherman and Bryan Forbes |
| Starring | Gemma Craven Richard Chamberlain Michael Hordern Lally Bowers Edith Evans Annette Crosbie Christopher Gable Julian Orchard |
| Music by | Richard M. Sherman & Robert B. Sherman |
| Cinematography | Tony Imi |
| Editing by | Timothy Gee |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 1976 |
| Running time | 143 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
USA poster
The Slipper and the Rose (1976) (143 min) is a British musical film retelling the classic fairy tale of Cinderella. This film was chosen as the Royal Command Performance motion picture selection for 1976.
Directed by Bryan Forbes, the film stars Gemma Craven as the heroine, Richard Chamberlain as the Prince, and a talented supporting cast led by Michael Hordern, Edith Evans and Annette Crosbie. Academy Award nominated songs are written by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, who also shared scripting duties with Forbes and, reportedly, David Frost.
Partially filmed in Austria, this Cinderella story is considered by many to be one of the best film adaptations of the tale.[citation needed]
Contents |
[edit] Cast
- Gemma Craven - as Cinderella
- Richard Chamberlain - as Prince Edward
- Michael Hordern - as the King
- Lally Bowers - as the Queen
- Edith Evans - as the King's mother
- Annette Crosbie - as the Fairy Godmother
- Christopher Gable - as John, the Prince Edward's valet and friend
- Julian Orchard as the Duke of Montague, cousin to the Prince
[edit] Plot
In the tiny kingdom of Euphrania, a disgruntled prince is pressured to seek a political marriage for the sake of his nation. Instead he falls for put-upon waif Cinderella, whose fairy godmother has given her one magical chance to attend the royal bride-finding ball. Understandably, this causes complications in a plot that lends a new twist to the familiar tale.
[edit] Royal Command Performance
On the March 24, 1976 Royal Command Performance of the 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." [1]
[edit] Criticism
Writing in The New York Times, critic Vincent Canby called the film "harmless", adding that the writers "stretched the fable without mercy, largely to accommodate a whole bunch of forgettable songs by the Shermans", and that, as the Prince and Cinderella, "Mr. Chamberlain and Miss Craven have impossible roles that are less like characters in a fairy tale than pictures on a jar of peanut butter."[2]
[edit] Songs
- "Why Can't I Be Two People?" - Richard Chamberlain
- "What Has Love Got to Do With Getting Married?" - Michael Hordern, Lally Bowers, Edith Evans, Julian Orchard
- "Once I Was Loved" - Gemma Craven
- "What a Comforting Thing to Know" - Richard Chamberlain, Christopher Gable
- "Protocoligorically Correct" - Michael Hordern, Chorus
- "Bride-Finding Ball" - Richard Chamberlain, Julian Orchard
- "Suddenly It Happens" - Annette Crosbie, Gemma Craven
- "Waltz Theme" (an instrumental version of He Danced With Me")
- "Secret Kingdom" - Richard Chamberlain, Gemma Craven
- "He Danced With Me/She Danced With Me" - Richard Chamberlain, Gemma Craven
- "Position and Positioning" - Christopher Gable, Chorus
- "Tell Him Anything (But Not That I Love Him)" - Gemma Craven
- "I Can't Forget the Melody" - Gemma Craven
- "Secret Kingdom (Reprise)" - Richard Chamberlain, Gemma Craven
[edit] In other media
In the 2006 London play, Frost/Nixon, playwrite, Peter Morgan makes reference to Executive Producer, David Frost's involvement in The Slipper and the Rose suggesting that Frost is more "entertainer" than serious journalist.[3]
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- Jim Reston: "Where's David?"
- Bob Zelnick: "At a movie premiere."
- Jim Reston: "What, the night before we start taping? What premiere?"
- Bob Zelnick: "The Slipper and the Rose"
- Jim Reston: "The Cinderella movie?"
- Bob Zelnick: "He's the executive producer."
- Jim Reston: "What the one with Richard Chamberlain singing, 'ding diddy ding ding'?"
[edit] Reference
- ^ Sherman, Robert B., Walt's Time: from before to beyond. Santa Clarita: Camphor Tree Publishers, 1998, p.190
- ^ Canby, Vincent, "Screen: Glass Slipper Into Sow's Ear", The New York Times, November 5, 1976. Requires registration. Retrieved December 1, 2006
- ^ Morgan, Peter, Frost/Nixon. London: Faber and Faber Limited, 2006 p.41
