''Cinderella'' is a 1914

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

starring

Mary Pickford Gladys Marie Smith (April 8, 1892 – May 29, 1979), known professionally as Mary Pickford, was a Canadian-American stage and screen actress and producer with a career that spanned five decades. A pioneer in the US film industry, she co-founde ...

, directed by

James Kirkwood Sr. James Cornelius Kirkwood Sr. (February 22, 1876 – August 24, 1963) was an American actor and director. Biography Kirkwood debuted on screen in 1909 and was soon playing leads for D. W. Griffith. He started directing in 1912, and became a fa ...

, produced by

Daniel Frohman Daniel Frohman (August 22, 1851 – December 26, 1940) was an American theatrical producer and manager, and an early film producer. Biography Frohman was born to a Jewish family in Sandusky, Ohio. His parents were Henry (1826–1899) and Ba ...

, and released by

Famous Players Film Company The Famous Players Film Company was a film company founded in 1912 by Adolph Zukor in partnership with the Frohman brothers, powerful New York City theatre impresario. History Discussions to form the company were held at The Lambs, a famous th ...

. The film is based upon the fairy tale ''

Cinderella "Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...

''. The film was released on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

as a bonus feature from the DVD of '' Through the Back Door'' (1921). It was previously released on DVD by Alpha Video.

Plot

Cinderella is a kind young woman who lives with her wicked stepmother and ugly stepsisters. They abuse her and use her as the housemaid. One day Cinderella's stepmother and stepsisters refuse to help a beggar at their door, but Cinderella offers her food and drink. The beggar woman is revealed to be a beautiful fairy in disguise, who then secretly helps Cinderella for her kindness. One day when Cinderella is sent to gather firewood, her fairy godmother summons a troupe of fairies who secretly gather a bundle of wood for her. Cinderella meets Prince Charming who is walking in the woods, and each is smitten with the other in their short encounter. Soon, a ball is arranged so the prince may choose his future wife. The sisters visit a witch-like fortune teller in the woods, who predicts that a member of their family will be chosen by the prince. The sisters are delighted, thinking it will be one of them. That night, the stepsisters have nightmares of the old fortune teller, while Cinderella has pleasant dreams of fairies dancing. When the stepsisters leave for the ball, Cinderella is left behind. The fairy godmother appears asks Cinderella to bring her a pumpkin, some mice, and some rats. The fairy transforms the pumpkin into a coach, the mice into horses, and the rats into grooms and footmen. Finally, she changes Cinderella's ragged dress into a gown fit for a princess (with glass slippers, of course). She tells Cinderella she will to be back at home before the clock strikes midnight, for then, her fine dress will turn into rags and the coach and servants will become what they were before. The unknown lady who arrives at the ball charms the guests, and especially the prince. He and Cinderella slip away to the garden. Their flirtations are interrupted by the clock striking midnight. Cinderella rushes away, losing one of her slippers, and she arrives home, a ragged cinder girl once more. Cinderella tosses on her bed, suffering a surrealistic dream in which evil-looking dwarves ring the midnight bell and the numbers on the clock's face dance and scramble wildly. She is awakened by the arrival of her step-family, who kick her out of bed and set her to her daily drudgery again. Later, heralds announce the Prince's wish to marry the woman whose foot fits the lost shoe. The sisters go to the palace, and a comic scene ensues as each tries to force her too-large foot into the dainty slipper. The Prince learns that every girl in the kingdom save one has tried the slipper on and failed the test, and announces that he will bring her to the palace himself. Finding Cinderella, he escorts her to the palace, where the slipper fits her. Her beautiful raiment is magically restored, and all bow to the future princess. Although a courtier suggests that this is an excellent opportunity for Cinderella to have her stepmother and stepsisters beheaded, she forgives them all. The prince and Cinderella again sneak away to the garden. When midnight strikes, Cinderella panics and starts to run away again, but her fairy godmother reappears and blesses her, assuring her that a good and noble spirit is always rewarded.

Cast

Owen Moore Owen Moore (12 December 1886 – 9 June 1939) was an Irish-born American actor, appearing in more than 279 movies spanning from 1908 to 1937. Early life and career Moore was born in Fordstown Crossroads, County Meath, Ireland. Along with his ...

Prince Charming Prince Charming is a fairy tale stock character who comes to the rescue of a damsel in distress and must engage in a quest to liberate her from an evil spell. This classification suits most heroes of a number of traditional folk tales, includi ...

Isabel Vernon Isabel is a female name of Spanish origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of '' Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew '' Elisheva''), Arising in the 12th century, it became popu ...

- Stepmother * Georgia Wilson - Stepsister * Lucille Carney - Stepsister * W.N. Cone - The King * Inez Marcel -

Fairy godmother In fairy tales, a fairy godmother () is a fairy with magical powers who acts as a mentor or parent to someone, in the role that an actual godparent was expected to play in many societies. In Perrault's ''Cinderella'', he concludes the tale wit ...

References

External links

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Cinderella (1914) on line, in English and Spanish
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cinderella 1914 1914 films American black-and-white films American silent feature films 1910s fantasy films Films about weddings Films based on Charles Perrault's Cinderella Films directed by James Kirkwood Sr. Articles containing video clips Paramount Pictures films Silent American fantasy films 1910s American films