Ed Wynn is great fun: the scene where he talks about men complaining about the Cinderella myth so they got Lewis in to be one is hilarious and the highlight of the movie (even if it kind of cheapens the romance between Fella and the princess). That moment also provides some choice Frank Tashlin satire – although most of the rest of the film is pretty much just for kids. Probably a mistake to have Fella meet the princess at a ball twice instead of once.
The musical treatment is tentative – for instance, Lewis has some numbers where he partly hears himself singing, then actually sings. Why not just make it a proper musical? The princess is a bit of a nothing, although pretty – it’s not believable how she falls for Lewis (not an impossible task – look at Shirley MacLaine in Artists and Models and Stella Stevens in The Nutty Professor.) Didn’t believe at the and where he gives the money to his step brothers (why?) then his stepmother says “no – the money belongs to Fella”. Yeah, right. Aussie Judith Anderson plays stepmum.
1 comment:
Am I showing my age when I say I remember going to see this one at the cinema? It must have been a re-issue because it was a few years after the release date. I find it strange that many of Lewis's other films - some not as good - are shown on television but not this one.
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