Jerry Lewis-Anna Maria Alberghetti in Cinderfella

''Cinderfella'' is a 1960 American semi-

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

of the classic ''

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

'' story, with most characters changed in gender from female to male and starring

Jerry Lewis Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian, with a career spanning seven decades in film, stage, television and radio. Famously nicknamed as "Th ...

as Fella. It was released on November 22, 1960 by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

Plot

When Fella's father dies, he continues to live with his wicked stepmother Emily and her two sons, Maximilian and Rupert. His stepfamily takes over the family mansion, while Fella is reduced to living in an unfinished room at the end of a long hallway. He has essentially become their butler, catering to their every whim. Fella dreams nightly that his father is trying to relay a message to him about where he has hidden his fortune, but he always awakens before he learns the hiding place. His stepfamily knows of this secret fortune and some go to great lengths to discover its whereabouts, while others pretend to befriend him in order to wrangle Fella's fortune away once it is found. Princess Charming of the Grand Duchy of Morovia is in town, so the stepmother decides to throw her a lavish ball in order to get her to marry Rupert. Fella is not allowed to go to the ball, but his fairy godfather says he will not remain a "people" much longer, but will blossom into a "person." Before the ball, Fella is turned into a handsome prince.

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and the ...

's orchestra is playing at the ball when Fella makes his grand entrance. Fella quickly gains the attention of the princess and they dance. The night is cut short when midnight strikes and Fella flees, losing his shoe along the way. Back home, one of Fella's stepbrothers realizes that Fella is the supposed "prince." They wind up in a struggle under a tree and discover that the fortune is hidden there. Fella, who had always known where the money was, gives it to his stepfamily, saying that he never needed money to be happy; he only wanted a family. Shamed, his stepmother orders her sons to return the money to Fella. The princess arrives with Fella's lost shoe, but Fella explains that they could never be together because she is a "person" and he is a "people." She tells him that, underneath the fancy clothes, she is a "people" too.

Cast

as Fella * Anna Maria Alberghetti as Princess Charming * Judith Anderson as Emily *

Ed Wynn Isaiah Edwin Leopold (November 9, 1886 – June 19, 1966), better known as Ed Wynn, was an American actor and comedian. He began his career in vaudeville in 1903 and was known for his ''Perfect Fool'' comedy character, his pioneering radio show ...

as Fairy Godfather * Henry Silva as Maximillian * Robert Hutton as Rupert *

as Bandleader

Production

''Cinderfella'' was filmed from October 19 through December 15, 1959. While rehearsing for the scene in which he makes his entrance to the ball, Lewis realized that the movement of his pants was distracting. On the day of filming, he asked the wardrobe staff to attach elastic bands (stirrups) to the hems of his pant legs that would go under his shoes, keeping the pants straight. In the DVD commentary to the film, Lewis called this "an old dancer's trick." The scene was shot with one take of Lewis descending the stairs and another as he ascended. After running up the stairs in less than nine seconds and collapsing at the top, Lewis was taken to the hospital and spent four days in an oxygen tent, having suffered his second cardiac event. This delayed filming for two weeks. The exterior shots of the mansion are those of Chartwell Mansion in Bel Air, which would later be used in ''

The Beverly Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor backwoods family ...

''. The film's budget has been estimated at approximately $3,000,000, which was very high for a Lewis film. Box-office returns were $4,700,000.

Studio cast recording

A studio cast album for the film, featuring Lewis with a different supporting cast, was released by DOT Records (DLP 38001). Most of the songs included on the album were not in the final release of the film. The album featured a condensed version of the story as well. ;Track listing # Overture (Arranged and Conducted by Walter Scharf) # Let Me Be a People (Jerry Lewis) # Ticka-Dee (Jerry Lewis) # I'm Part of a Family (Jerry Lewis) # Turn It On (Jerry Lewis & Choir) # We're Going to the Ball (Salli Terri, Bill Lee & Max Smith) # Somebody (Jerry Lewis) # The Princess Waltz (Jerry Lewis, Loulie Jean Norman & Choir) # Turn It On (Jerry Lewis, Del Moore & Choir)

Release

Paramount wanted to release ''Cinderfella'' during the summer, but Lewis considered it a holiday film and wanted to hold it back for a Christmas release. To delay the release, Paramount demanded another film in its place for the summer. Lewis agreed and wrote, produced and directed '' The Bellboy'' in four weeks in February 1960 while he was performing at the Fontainebleau Hotel in

Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean an ...

. ''The Bellboy'' was released on July 20, 1960. ''Cinderfella'' opened at the Woods Theatre in Chicago on November 22, 1960, grossing $41,000 in its first week. It opened in Los Angeles on December 14 and New York on December 16 before opening nationally on December 18, becoming the top-grossing film for the week. In 1967, ''Cinderfella'' was rereleased on a double bill with another Lewis film, '' The Errand Boy''.

Home media

The film was released on DVD on October 12, 2004, and March 15, 2021.

References

External links

* * * * {{Cinderella (Fairy tale) 1960 films 1960 musical comedy films American parody films Fairy tale parody films 1960s English-language films 1960 romantic comedy films American fantasy comedy films Films based on Charles Perrault's Cinderella Films based on Cinderella Films directed by Frank Tashlin Films with screenplays by Frank Tashlin Films produced by Jerry Lewis Films scored by Walter Scharf Paramount Pictures films Films shot in California 1960s American films English-language romantic comedy films English-language musical comedy films