It’s no secret that the Hollywood Comet loves musicals.
In 2010, I revealed I had seen 400 movie musicals over the course of eight years. Now that number is over 600. To celebrate and share this musical love, here is my weekly feature about musicals.

This week’s musical:
Cinderella (1957) – Musical #143

Studio:
CBS

Director:
Ralph Nelson

Starring:
Julie Andrews, Ilka Chase, Edie Adams, Jon Cypher, Howard Lindsay, Dorothy Stickney, Alice Ghostley, Kaye Ballard

Plot:
Set to music by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, the story focuses on Cinderella (Andrews), a lonely young woman whose father has died and she lives only with her stepmother (Chase) and stepsisters (Ballard, Ghostley). Her stepmother and stepsisters have made Cinderella their servant, while Cinderella dreams of a better life. The Prince (Cypher) is in search of a wife, and the King and Queen (Lindsay, Stickney) hold a ball so he can find a wife. Cinderella’s fairy godmother (Adams) helps her get to the ball, but she must leave by midnight.

Trivia:
• “Cinderella” is the only Rodgers and Hammerstein production that was specifically written for television. While there have been several versions, this was the original version created specifically for this live television broadcast event.
• Aired live on March 31, 1957 on CBS.
• First film or TV appearance for Jon Cypher
• Broadcast in color, but the only print that remains is in black-and-white.
• Jon Cypher sang over Dorothy Stickney’s line in “Do I Love You Because You’re Beautiful.” In an interview, Cypher said he felt so guilty and cried afterwards.
• The viewership of this television broadcast was the largest TV audience in history at that time.

Highlights:
• Edie Adams spinning her wand like a baton
• Rodgers and Hammerstein’s score
• Kay Ballard

Notable Songs:
• “In My Own Little Corner” performed by Julie Andrews
• “Ten Minutes Ago” performed by Julie Andrews and Jon Cypher
• “Impossible; It’s Possible” performed by Julie Andrews and Edie Adams
• “Stepsisters’ Lament” performed by Alice Ghostley and Kaye Ballard
• “Do I Love You Because You’re Beautiful?” performed by Julie Andrews and Jon Cypher
• “When You’re Driving Through The Moonlight” performed by Julie Andrews, Kaye Ballard, Alice Ghostley and Ilka Chase

My review:
I grew up watching the Lesley Ann Warren “Cinderella,” and vividly remember watching this Julie Andrews version for the first time.

It was either 2001 or 2002 when I first watched the 1957 version of “Cinderella,” and this live TV performance had long been considered lost. I remember watching it on DVD and that it was a big deal we got the opportunity to see it. This was also probably my first viewing of any live event from those early days of television.

At this time, I was used to the polished look of recorded and edited film and television, and thought this 1957 live TV event had a bad picture and looked archaic.

Now, revisiting it for the first time in more than 20 years, I had such a wonderful time. And now that I’ve watched more live TV of the 1950s and questionable quality films, I thought the picture quality was great.

While Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella” is well-known today, it was groundbreaking in 1957. It was the songwriting duo’s first musical written specifically for television, and it was a the first time most people saw Julie Andrews, who was performing in “My Fair Lady” on Broadway.

In the well-known fairy tale, Cinderella (Andrews) is a lonely young woman whose father has died and she lives only with her stepmother (Chase) and stepsisters (Ballard, Ghostley). Her stepmother and stepsisters have made Cinderella their servant, while Cinderella dreams of a better life. The Prince (Cypher) is in search of a wife, and the King and Queen (Lindsay, Stickney) hold a ball so he can find a wife. Cinderella’s fairy godmother (Adams) helps her get to the ball, but she must leave by midnight.

Truly, this is just such a delight! The music from “Cinderella” may be some of my favorite by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. In her memoir, “Home,” Julie Andrews remembers performing in “Cinderella” with fondness, but also that live TV was difficult.

“This was an original musical created basically for me, and I felt incredibly fortunate,” Andrews wrote.

The cast in this is just wonderful. Andrews, of course, is lovely and plays a sweet and sympathetic Cinderella.

The major highlight to me was Kay Ballard and Alice Ghostley as the stepsisters. They are hilarious, especially Ballard!

Kay Ballard said she and Alice Ghostly had so much fun playing these roles, according to an interview in the DVD featurette.

I also really loved Edie Adams as the Fairy Godmother, who though youthful, that’s part of her magic! It cracked me up the way Adams twirled her wand like a majorette baton.

It’s also fun to see married actors Howard Lindsay and Dorothy Stickney as king and queen. They are delightful, and Ballard, Jon Cypher and Andrews all remembered them as a kind and gregarious couple who brought their lunch to set each day, according to a featurette on the DVD.

Jon Cypher, who played the prince, remembered being nervous when he auditioned and that Stickney treated him well.

Jon Cypher remembered being nervous when he auditioned and that Dorothy Stickney treated him so well, according to an interview in the featurette.

Remember – this was live television so there was room for errors. The night they performed was the night it aired, Julie Andrews said.

For example, Cypher made a mistake while singing “Do I Love You Because You’re Beautiful?” when he accidentally sang over Stickney’s cue. He was so ashamed and embarrassed that he cried about it later, but Stickney was kind about it.

Andrews also remembered her moment of going to the ball was elaborate and stressful:
“The most difficult part for me was the transformation scene when Cinderella, clothed in rags at one moment, is wearing a beautiful gown the next,” Andrews wrote in her memoir. “Since Ralph Nelson wasn’t using magical effects, this was achieved by a camera panning down to my foot to reveal my sparkling shoes. Then, while someone was furiously pinning a new hairpiece and crown on my head and draping a cape around my shoulders, the camera slowly panned back up. By the time is reached my face, the transformation was complete. It was risky, especially on live television.”

Though the filming overall went well, Andrews would have preferred for a more polished product.

“The evening went fairly smoothly … but for me, it felt a little lopsided: too rushed, and without the smooth polish we could have had if filmed and edited for a later date,” Andrews wrote. “It was an incredibly hard job, but a great learning experience. It took me years to realize the enormity of what we actually pulled off that night.”

Overall though, this is just a magical and lovely live TV play. It’s one of the best I’ve ever seen too – even more than Mary Martin’s “Peter Pan.”

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