Cinderella
About Cinderella
A meek baron remarries. His new wife and her two daughters turn Cinderella into a kitchen servant and leave her behind when the prince gives a ball. A fairy godmother fits her with a coach made from a pumpkin, mice, a rat, and a lizard, and tells her to be home by midnight. The finery turns back to rags on the steps, and she drops a slipper. The prince marries her when the slipper fits and the rags become a gown again.
Cast & crew
More about Cinderella
George O. Nichols directed it for Thanhouser. The catalog lists him as George Nichols. Thanhouser dates the release December 22, 1911, at 900 feet, from Charles Perrault, and says the picture was shot in the summer of 1911. Florence La Badie plays Cinderella. Thanhouser spells her LaBadie. Harry Benham is the prince. Anna Rosemond, Frank H. Crane, Alphonse Ethier, and Isabelle Daintry are also billed. A British Film Institute print runs 14 minutes 23 seconds. In England, Thanhouser Co., Ltd. released it on December 18, 1913.
Themes
Making
Thanhouser held the film from a summer shoot until the Christmas release.
Music
Silent. One presentation of the BFI print uses a score by Andrew Crow.
Preservation
A print is held by the British Film Institute and runs 14 minutes 23 seconds.
Notes
- The Moving Picture World printed a full synopsis on December 16, 1911, including the pumpkin coach and the midnight warning.
- Selig's three-reel Cinderella, with Mabel Taliaferro, opened on January 1, 1912, and drew more trade notice than the Thanhouser one-reeler.
- English trade showings ran at the company's Shaftesbury Avenue showroom in London from November 4 through 7, 1913.
- A presentation of the British Film Institute print uses music by Andrew Crow.
Scenes
- The godmother comes down the fireplace and turns a pumpkin, mice, a rat, and a lizard into a coach and team.
- Halfway down the castle steps the ball gown becomes rags again.
- The slipper fits and the rags turn back into a gown.
Influenced by
- Charles Perrault's Cinderella
Also available
- Wikimedia Commons (Cinderella (1911).webm)
- British Film Institute (surviving print)
