The Cinderella story got an updating in the popular British musical The Slipper and the Rose.
American Richard Chamberlain (as Prince Edward) and Irish Gemma Craven (as Cinderella) led a mostly British cast of stage and screen veterans in a song and dance reworking of the familiar fairy tale.
In this version of the story, Edward is heir to the throne of the tiny kingdom of Euphrania. His father, the King, wants him married for political alliance, but the Prince believes in true love.
Outside the castle walls, young Cinderella is reduced to a life of domestic slavery when her wicked Stepmother takes charge of the home. The girl’s Fairy Godmother shows up to brighten her life, helping her with her chores and preparing her for a shot at true love.
The Prince has announced a bride-seeking ball, and with the Fairy Godmother’s help, Cinderella goes masqueraded as Princess Incognita.
The Prince falls desperately in love with this mystery “Princess”, but Cinderella must leave before the magic wears off, leaving behind only a glass slipper.
The Prince mounts a desperate search for the slipper’s owner, while the King still insists his son find a royal bride.
The classic story benefited from modern tongue-in-cheek dialogue, detailed period sets, lovely Austrian locations and a score from Richard and Robert Sherman, who composed the Oscar-winning music from Disney’s Mary Poppins.
The brothers received another Best Score nomination for this film, as well as a nomination for their original song, The Slipper and the Rose Waltz. The Sherman Brothers’ score also included such memorable tunes as Position and Positioning and Protocoligorically Correct, tunes sung over and over by fans of this bouncy Cinderella fantasy.
Prince Edward Richard Chamberlain
Cinderella
Gemma Craven
King
Michael Hordern
Queen
Lally Bowers Lord Chamberlain
Kenneth More
Dowager Queen
Edith Evans
Fairy Godmother
Annette Crosbie
Montague
Julian Orchard
Stepmother
Margaret Lockwood
John
Christopher Gable
Lady Caroline
Polly Williams
Willoughby
Keith Skinner
Isabella
Rosalind Ayres
Major Domo
John Turner
Palatine
Sherrie Hewson
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Prince Edward
Lord Chamberlain
