Movie Death Match: Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella (1957) vs. R&H's Cinderella (1965)

Once Upon a Time: The History

"Peter Pan," the musical, aired on NBC's "Producer's Showcase" on March 7, 1955 bringing in a record crushing 65 million viewers leaving CBS in the dust. Yet CBS had something up their sleeve in hiring Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein not just to adapt one of their musicals, but write a completely original production. "At the time, [...] children's stories were much in demand for television, but what sold us immediately was the chance to work with Julie [Andrews]. Casting her as Cinderella was like casting Ethel Merman as Annie Oakley." (Rodgers. Musical Stages: An Autobiography. 1975) 

With their star firmly in place, the supporting cast began to file in rather quickly: Broadway veterans and married couple Howard Lindsay and Dorothy Stickney as the King and Queen, Jon Cypher as Prince Christopher, Kaye Ballard and Alice Ghostley as the stepsisters, Ilka Chase as the stepmother and Edie Adams ("The Apartment") as the Fairy Godmother. Production was 50/50 in CBS taking care of "elements unique to television - cameras, lights, sound and technical equipment, national promotion, studio facilities" and R&H's responsibilities would lie in all the Broadway elements. ("Cinderella :: Rodgers and Hammerstein :: Show Details")

Story, however, was another thing. According to Oscar Hammerstein in the Saturday Review, "We want the kids to see it to recognize the story they know. Children can be very critical on that score. But, of course, their parents will be watching too, so we have tried to humanize the characters without altering the familiar plot structure." ("Cinderella :: Rodgers and Hammerstein :: Show Details") Rodgers adds to his autobiography that "in writing the story and songs, Oscar and I felt that it was important to keep everything as traditional as possible, without any "modernizing" or reaching for psychological significance." To equate to a modern-day musical, the original story is very much in the similar biting vein of "Into the Woods."

The original production aired March 31, 1957 to more than 107 million viewers crushing NBC's record-breaking production of Peter Pan! Julie Andrews was nominated for an Emmy with her first television appearance as well as Richard Rodgers (music score) for Best Musical Contribution for Television Score and CBS for Best Live Camera Work. 

The great Oscar Hammerstein died in 1960, leaving Richard Rodgers as executive producer to the remake. Some alterations were made by screenwriter Joseph Schrank fitting the original story even closer to the beloved fairy tale.

Starring an 18 year old Lesley Ann Warren, who would eventually work with Andrews in "Victor/Victoria," the cast is riddled with stars including Ginger Rogers as The Queen, Walter Pidgeon as The King, Stuart Damon ("General Hospital") as the Prince, Pat Carroll ("The Little Mermaid," "With Six You Get Eggroll") and Barbara Ruick ("Carousel") as the stepsisters, Jo van Fleet ("East of Eden") as the stepmother and Celeste Holm ("All About Eve") as the Fairy Godmother.

Originally broadcasted on February 22, 1965 with a Nielsen rating of 42.3, the new "Cinderella" had the opportunity, where the original had not, to be syndicated often. Although the woman who is writing this was born in 1985, this production was somehow still playing on TV in the late 80s which resulted in recording it onto a VHS. There may or may not have been a handkerchief tied in hair singing along to "In My Own Little Corner."

"I Noticed the Pomp!": The Story & Songs

1957's production opens with "The Prince is Giving a Ball" announcing the celebration of Prince Christopher's 21st birthday. The secret plan behind this party is really a quest to set their son up with a bride at the behest of the Queen finding Christopher to be unhappy with life. But the ball sounds just as disappointing to the Prince of having to meet so many "candidates." The 1965 production does not begin the same way and instead, the song is much more elaborate and longer without its original reprise creating and separating time between the future relationship between Cinderella and the Prince. "TPGB" is instead placed after the interaction with a clever lead in in using the song title as a piece of dialogue from the King to his servant. Now the song, which intelligently mocks the many middle names of the royals, becomes the main song and dance number to highlight on the ensemble than the main cast.

"Impossible; It's Possible" has a greater divide between productions, showing the original had much more of a dark fairy tale edge. Through intelligence, the Fairy Godmother slowly gets Cinderella to say her dream out loud as "everything starts with a wish." As Cinderella begins to describe her wishes out loud how she could get to the ball, the Fairy Godmother begins to antagonize her in order to wish these things even harder until singing is the only option that Cinderella's dreams aren't as crazy as they seem. In 1965, the lead up to the song is far less complicated with the Fairy Godmother being fully realized as a magical creature, ready to grant Cinderella's wishes until she admitted it to herself.

"Ten Minutes Ago" is used much the same way, in the amazement of our star struck lovers of their growing adoration, but in the 1957 production, it is used as a recollection of what has privately and internally happened to the Prince and Cinderella propelling them to separate from the party. What makes this song different though, is the return of the lyrics, which close out the show. After the Fairy Godmother cleverly deceives the King's man into letting Cinderella, who comes to the castle to watch the Prince, to try on the slipper. The Prince's assistant immediately shouts for his presence resulting in "I have found her!"

"Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful" has a beautifully poetic lead-in in the 1957 version. "I am deeply in love and yet I don't know why. Do you? [...] I always want to know why I do anything. Why I feel anything. So I ask myself why? Why is the sound of your voice the sweetest sound in the world? Why is the color of your hair the only color a girl's hair should be? Why would I rather hold you in my arms than anything else in the world? [...] What makes you so miraculous? [...] What makes my imagination so miraculous?" In the 1965 version, there is no beautiful philosophizing between the lines but an outward astonishment of his sudden overwhelming emotions. "If it is not enchantment or a dream, then why do I feel as I do" somewhat suffices the previous more theoretically thinking incarnation.

In the similar vein of "Impossible; It's Possible," 1957's "When You're Driving Through the Moonlight/Lovely Night" is a deception game for Cinderella to assert the previous night's experience without saying the mysterious woman was her. In singing what she describes as a dream, it sedates the step-sisters into the image of the prince. With "Lovely Night," Cinderella cleverly gets into the boy-crazy stepsisters' minds on how that kind of a night would be for any woman. By extension, with the information we receive that the stepmother reconnected with an old beau, all three cruel women become lost in the musical round within their own wishes in taking Cinderella's cleaning supplies from her then falling back into their cynical awful ways. Lesley Ann Warren's Cinderella is far more a victim than Julie Andrews, and her version of "Lovely Night" is far different. Originally a ballet dancer and trained in at the School of American Ballet, Schrank, and Rodgers by extension, felt all of Warren's talents should be represented. "Lovely Night" becomes a singular ecstasy of remembering what happened earlier that night than the next day. 

Death Match Round

I personally couldn't choose one production over another as 1965 is essentially my childhood. There are elements I would take from both of them to make the most ideal Cinderella, but not Cinderella herself because both women are fantastic in their own ways. 

The Dress: Julie Andrews's Jean Eckhart

The Prince: Stuart Damon with Jon Cypher's dialogue

The Stepsisters: Pat Carroll and Barbra Ruick

The King and Queen: Howard Lindsay and Dorothy Stickney

The Story: 1957's edge, but with 1965's step-family abusiveness