Yes, I'm a fan and yes, I was hoping that the movie would be good. And it was good!
Leslie Caron was a very different Cinderella, dirty and enslaved, but this time not hurt but still good-natured. This Ella is angry about her status and dreams of living in the Palace. Michael Wilding was a Prince who felt a bit hemmed in by his status and remembered a moment in his childhood when he saw a teary young girl with rebellious eyes. He's a man who knows how good he's had it but can recognize sorrow and beauty when he sees it.
Unlike previous Cinderella stories, our handsome Prince knows exactly who his "mysterious princess" is before she gets to the ball. It's him that masquerades as the son of the palace cook and it's the son of the cook that Ella loves and goes to see. Most, if not all, other adaptations have made the Prince a brainless sort of fellow who fell in love with the prettiest girl at the ball. The writers here fleshed out the character and made Prince Charles the driving force behind the romance.
It was fun to see Leslie Caron's dream sequences, her dances with Michael Wilding (who looks hot in his tights), and it was great to see stepsisters who were not caricatures. But while we expect that Caron can dance, I had no idea that Wilding could or that he could sing. I think it was fortunate indeed that the movie wasn't spoiled by a dancer like Gene Kelly who could not act to save his life and that the director had the sense to cast Wilding who could blend seamlessly into just about any role. Estelle Winwood plays a fairy godmother with a difference. There is no magic in her creation of Ella's gown and coach....actually she's a bit of a kleptomaniac and a lot of an eccentric.
If you want to see an honest interpretation of the Cinderella story with a thinking Prince and a justifiably hostile Cinder-Ella, go for this one! MGM in the 1950s always made beautiful pictures and this is no exception. And feel free to let the kiddies watch it, little girls will eat it up and adults will take another look at a classic story and see something very fresh and honest.
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I am also a Michael Wilding fan, and, yes, he was smokin' hot in those white tights!
He is the most underrated actor I have ever heard of. In another post (the one about Stage Fright,) you said that some people would call him bland. They simply did not take a closer look. At first glance, he was quite ordinary, but, after a closer look you realise that he was really so much more than that!
His voice was very calm, but, I think there is something comforting about that. I don't think it would be possible to have an anxiety attack (which I am proned to) while listening to him speak!
His face was perfect, and I love the expressions he got! I especially love his smile!
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