The Fairy Tale Blogathon: Cinderella (1914)

And they Lived Happily Ever After…

Ah, Cinderella! What little girl didn’t grow up hearing, in some version or other, the classic tale of Cinderella?  As for me, it first came in the form of a dazzling, illustrated oversized storybook (which I remember as if it were only yesterday!) and then, via the classic Disney animated film. And, of course, through the years I’ve seen many other iterations, from The Glass Slipper and the various Rogers and Hammerstein versions, to Ever After and A Cinderella Story — and lots of adaptations and versions in between… However, that said, I had not, up until now, seen one of the earliest film versions of Cinderella, and so that is the subject of my Fairy Tale Blogathon post…

The 1914 version of Cinderella stars “America’s Sweetheart” Mary Pickford (incidentally born in Toronto, Canada) as Cinderella, and her ‘then-husband’ silent screen idol Owen Moore as Prince Charming. The film was directed by James Kirkwood Sr (a favorite of Pickford) and released by Famous Players Film Company (which by the way, over time, morphed into Paramount Pictures).

The plot is essentially faithful to the 1697 Charles Perrault story, “Cendrillon” — complete with Fairy Godmother, glass slipper, pumpkin coach and all — but it does include a few deviations, such as Cinderella giving food to an old hag (who turns out to be her Fairy Godmother), Prince Charming meeting Cinderella in the woods prior to the Ball, a dream sequence with a clock, the inclusion of only one Ball (vs two consecutive Balls), and the Prince purposely going to Cinderella’s house to see if she fits the shoe (after inviting all women to the palace to try it on). For me, however, the ‘odd’ thing about the film is that it starts very abruptly, with no indication of who, what and/or why three women (i.e. step mom and step sisters) would abuse poor Cinderella. As a matter of fact, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think that the first reel of the film was missing. But, that said…

To celebrate Cinderella for this Fairy Tale Blogathon, here is a link to an English translation of the original 1697 Perrault story: “Cendrillon” …

AND a link to the film which you can watch for free on YouTube…
(so you can compare the film to the Perrault story for yourself)

PLUS some screen grabs from the film…

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Cinderella 1914, the Famous Fairy Tale in 4 Acts

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First Scene: Mary Pickford as Cinderella with Stepmother Isabel Vernon (right), and two Stepsisters Georgia Wilson and Lucille Carney to the left (honestly, not sure who is who)

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Cinderella offers food to an Old Hag (Inez Marcel)

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The Old Hag morphs into Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother (Inez Marcel)

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Cinderella meets Prince Charming (Owen Moore) in the woods (thanks to a little help from her Fairy Godmother)

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Stepmom and Stepsisters getting ready for the Ball (poor Cinderella)

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But luckily her Fairy Godmother comes to the rescue

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After picking a large pumpkin and a few mice… the Magic Coach appears

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And it’s off to the Ball… Don’t forget to leave by the stroke of midnight!

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She is the belle of the ball and…

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Prince Charming is enamored with her

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At the stroke of midnight, Cinderella runs

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And her shoe remains behind

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Cinderella runs home in rags and falls asleep… dreaming about ‘the consequences of disobedience’

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The Prince searches for his true love by inviting all the women in the land to come to the Palace and try on the shoe

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The shoe fits no-one… but it’s noted that Cinderella hasn’t come to the Palace to try on the shoe… so the Prince insists “I’ll visit this girl myself”

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Prince Charming goes to her home, and upon seeing her, remembers her from the woods… he brings her back to the Palace to try on the shoe…

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And, of course, the shoe fits…

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And, yes, and they lived happily ever after…

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The End 🙂

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A Big Thank You to Movies Silently (@MoviesSilently) for hosting this wonderful event! There are so many more wonderful Classic Bloggers participating in this Blogathon so please be sure to check out the other entries.

—Annmarie Gatti for Classic Movie Hub