CINDERELLA, OR THE GLASS SLIPPER (1907)
aka Cendrillon
Article 5189 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 6-22-2016
Directed by Albert Capellani
Featuring Louise Lagrange
Country: France
What it is: Fairy tale

You know the story.

Sometimes, I despair at having to review adaptations of overly familiar stories, often because there are usually few surprises in the story. It’s even tougher with short silent versions of them which generally can’t find the time to flesh them out. However, this one from Pathe does have a few entertaining odd touches to it. For one thing, Cinderella, on top of her other problems, is also tormented by a bearded imp from hell; if he tumbled, I’d say he was a Melies refugee. The ball takes place out of doors, which is an unusual setting for that scene. I also like the way the movie creatively stages a dream sequence for Cinderella by having the back of the stage explode into pieces to reveal her dream. This may not seem like much, but it’s little touches like this which can keep that dreariness of seeing another version of an overly familiar story at bay.