Customer Reviews

Cinderella (1965 Television Cast)

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella was originally written in 1957 for CBS television and starred Julie Andrews as Cinderella and Jon Cypher as the Prince. It was broadcast live on television that same year and was seen by a record breaking 107 million people.

In 1965, the network decided to mount a new production of the same show with a new all star cast. This time, the production was videotaped for posterity. While its audience didn't break any records, it nevertheless gained a respectable amount of viewers. It is the cast recording of this 1965 remake that we have here.

This album is not a true soundtrack, but rather, it was treated more like a Broadway show. The entire cast and orchestra went into the recording studio and recorded all of the show's songs, and the album was released in conjunction with the show's premiere. It is because of this that we notice some minor differences between the cast album and the show's soundtrack. For the show, several of the songs have been sped up. Additionally, the character playing the stepmother (Jo Van Fleet in the show itself) does not appear on this album and has been replaced here for the lines she has in "When You're Driving Through the Moonlight."

Nevertheless, we have an excellent recording that belongs right up there with Rodgers and Hammerstein's best.

For many years,before the advent of the compact disc, you could not beg borrow or steal a copy of this soundtrack,and I made the mistake of loaning mine out.Even then you could only get it from a "special TV offer". Thank goodness for CDs! I own both the original Julie Andrews version as well as this one. I found Lesley Warren to be an excellent Cinderella, although she lacked the depth and range of Julie Andrews. Stuart Damon as the prince is tops,and I found the haunting "Loneliness of evening". It is too bad that the technology we have today and have had since the 60's wasnt around when the original was done... all that remains other than the recordings are some fuzzy clips of Andrew's production. I enjoyed the supporting cast of the '65 edition,especially "why would a fellow" and of course "Its possible" with Celeste Holm. An all around good recording!

If "Cinderella" is second-string R&H -- John Simon has called it "anodyne" -- it is very entertaining R&H. Even after 37 years the second CBS special has a glow that suffuses this album. It's cruder but livelier than the 1957 affair as this is a true soundtrack album, unlike Goddard Lieberson's strictly studio version; the cast is more energetic, likewise John Green's conducting. The faults are the same; as Alec Wilder said of the sublime "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?", the composer seems to have changed stations before the ending. But it is still great fun, a rare quality found perhaps in "Flower Drum Song" and not much else. Note: the engineers decided to record this not for the stereo systems of 2002 but for the little TV speakers of the mid-sixties, hence the sound is somewhat compressed.

For those of us who grew up on the Orignial taped Cinderella, this is the soundtrack. For those of us who were born after Julie Andrews performed it live and whose performance was lost except for the 1957 recording this is THE soundtrack. With the exception of the 1997 version of "Cinderella" with Brandy and Whitney Houston, this soundtrack is the only one that should ever have been released. The casting is perfect and the singing is fun. Afterall, Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote some of the most memerable scores. If you grew up with the 1964 version as most of us did. This is the soundtrack.

There are many personal reasons why I like this over the Julie Andrews version. Many stem from the lovely TV presentation but - THIS CD - recaptures all of the magic of the songs and the lovely voices which the first version - somehow lacked.

Leslie Ann Warren and the rest of the stellar cast will always be engraved in my head because this was the version that CBS chose to repeat year after year. I am not even sure if the Julie Andrews version was ever rebroadcast.

Every song has been indelibly carved into my sub-conscious, the charming voices of Celeste Holm, Pat Carroll and Stuart Damon - their superior acting and comedic talents and timing lend themselves to just about the most perfect modern American musical.

Just so wonderful. These songs are part of Americana: In My Own Little Corner, It's Possible, Do I Love You Because You're Wonderful? Ten Minutes Ago, Why Would A Fellow Ever Once Prefer a Girl who's Merely Lovely? and others.

Since I grew up with this version of the R&H musical, I really can't do without the CD. I love the voices and orchestrations. I'd like it even better if this were a true soundtrack recording, but this actually turns out to be what passed for an original cast recording back in the 60's -- a studio recording made separately by the same cast and orchestra as the TV production (presumably during final rehearsals). If a true soundtrack album existed, I would get it instead, but this one is almost as good. A few minor differences between the CD and the video are as follows:

Pat Carroll (Prunella), in "Stepsisters' Lament," instead of singing 'I could pull out all her hair...Ah ha ha ha!" omits that little laugh, which I think may be the best moment in the whole video. In "When You're Driving through the Moonlight," Cinderella sings, "the room itself is floating ON the air" instead of "in the air." The songs "Impossible," "Ten Minutes Ago," and "When You're Driving through the Moonlight" are introduced by a lot of dialog, and some of it isn't even from the script but rather consists of radio-program-style descriptions to let you know what is happening without being able to see. Very corny, like a children's record. And all of the Stepmother's dialog (and her one line of singing) is done by some substitute on the CD instead of by Jo Van Fleet.

In my opinion, this is THE BEST Cinderella. Stuart Damon and Lesley Ann Warren are perfect in the roles, and the music is wonderful. I grew up with this, and my daughter now loves it. It brings back my childhood.

I bought this album because I had just seen the video and wanted to have the music cd.I haven't heard this beautiful of a cd in a long time..
1) The "Overture" is very melodic and it takes you through a few of the songs and blends them very well.
2)"Loneliness of evening" is a great song, Stuart Damon handles it well except I feel this song sounded better in the movie. It needs to be sped up and there are parts where Stuart's voice seems to disappear. But I have to admit that the last two words of the song are sung with a pure voice.. "He" can hit the high notes beautifully...
3)"Cinderella March" sounds great nicely done..
4) "In my own little corner" is done well by Cinderella (Lesley anne Warren). She sings this song with confidence. One of her best!
5)"The prince is giving a ball" is a great song. You find yourself "trying" to sing along with it (but the words are a bit tough-with all the names that are said. I am still trying to figure the order of the names) but you feel like dancing anyway.
6) "Impossible, It's Possible" is sung by Celeste Holmes and Cinderella. Celeste does a great job with her part, singing in tune and making her part as the fairy godmother convincing, Cinderella takes over and sings the song great too. There are spoken words before the song starts and it leads into the music nicely.
7)"Gavotte" sounds like renassaince music and is very relaxing.
8)"Ten minutes ago"-(Now where do I start ,this is my favorite song of the cd...) Stuart and Lesley sing it beautifully and there voices mesh well, with beautiful orchestration. Rodgers and Hammerstein should be proud of this song and my 2nd favorite ("do I love you because your beautiful"), but Ten minutes ago is sung by the right man and woman. I LOVE Stuart Damon's singing voice in this and is usually the most played song on this cd for me.....
9)"Stepsister's lament" is a witty little song ,The only thing that would have made it better is if they would have used the version in the movie with Pat Carol's little "laugh" thrown in ,it make the song...but the singing is fun to listen to.
10)"Waltz for a ball" is so good I wish I would have taken ballroom dancing classes with my husband! I love this, and
it's a wonderful waltz song...I hum alot to this one.
11)Now, my 2nd favorite " Do I love you because your beautiful"..There are spoken words in front of this song too then it leads to the song. Stuart and Lesley's voice is very lush in this and it's another song that makes me appreciate R&H music collaberation!!! You feel the prince's and cinderella's yearning for each other..VERY WELL DONE!
12)"When You're Driving Through The Moonlight/A Lovely Night" has alot of spoken words before the song starts ,with the stepmother,stepsisters taking about the night at the ball and how wonderful the prince is...
Leslie does a great job, you feel the emotion that she has for the prince and her little secret about being there with him. Someone else plays the part of the stepmother in the cd,(not Jo van fleet) she does well.
in a "Lovely night " is the problem with Leslie.(she hits those high notes badly), I thought they should have tried until they got that right ,I mean this is a big production!
13)The "finale" is alot of orchestration no vocal...
ALL OVER THIS CD IS FANTASTIC! I HAVE PLAYED IT OVER AND OVER AGAIN ESPECIALLY FOR MY 3 1/2 YEAR OLD WHO LOVED THIS AND THE VIDEO,SHE CAN SING ALONG TO IT AND IT MAKES HER FEEL PROUD. I APPRECIATE THIS CD AND WILL TAKE VERY GOOD CARE OF IT. I HAVEN'T HEARD THIS KIND OF "MAKE YOUR BODY MOVE AND YOUR HEART SING" TYPE OF MUSIC IN A LONG TIME AND I TOTALLY RECOMMEND IT TO ANYONE, ANY AGE. I AM 36 YEARS OLD AND IT MAKES ME FEEL GOOD TO LISTEN TO THIS CLASSIC. I PERSONALLY THINK IT'S MUCH BETTER THAN THE JULIE ANDREW'S VERSION....(NOT THAT I HAVE ANY BAD FEELINGS ABOUT JULIE..SHE'S GREAT!)

Recommended
Yes

After listening to Rogers and Hammersteins Cinderella, I felt like a kid again back in the sixties. It totally transported me. I was amazed that I still remembered the words to most of the songs! Even though they were slightly out of order, I still enjoyed listening to the CD. One problem I had with the recording was Cinderella's step mother sounded very different on the cd then on the DVD. It was bothersome. Had they been the same woman, this reviewer would have given it 5 stars. Overall, I was very pleased with it...especially the price!

This is actually a studio re-recording and not an actual "soundtrack" record. The orchestrations by Johnny Green based on orchestrations by R. Bennett put Richard Rodgers' sentimental tunes to best advantage with a full overture, a waltz for the ball and more. The "South Pacific" rejected tune "Loneliness of Evening" is dusted off and works beautifully as a song for the Prince (Stuart Damon). Lesley Ann Warren is the perfect fragile heroine. This is possibly the most satisfying R&H album except for the 1965 soundtrack of "The Sound of Music."