Musicals are not normally the British cinema's forte. There have been great musicals set in Britain, such as "My Fair Lady" or "Mary Poppins", but both of those were made in America by American studios. Even the success of the Oscar-winning "Oliver!" from 1968 was something of a one-off and did not lead to a boom in British musicals.
"The Slipper and the Rose" is therefore something of a rarity. Unlike "Oliver!" it was not based upon a stage musical but upon a well-known fairy-tale, the story of Cinderella, so well-known that I don't need to set out the plot. The action is set in the fictional Kingdom of Euphrania some time during the 18th century, a period beloved of the makers of fairy-tale movies because of the ridiculous extravagance of the costumes, both male and female.
Although this was a British film, we clearly felt that we needed some help from across the Atlantic, because we imported an American leading man in the shape of Richard Chamberlain, although he plays his role with a British accent. (As Euphrania is supposedly somewhere in Continental Europe its people presumably do not speak English with any sort of accent, but somehow a British one seems more appropriate than an American one in a fairy-tale). We also hired two Americans, the Sherman Brothers, to write the songs. (They had also written the songs for "Mary Poppins").
Unfortunately, in neither case can it be said that this was one of Britain's most successful imports. Chamberlain as the hero Prince Edward (possibly named after the Queen's youngest son) is bland and unmemorable. The same can be said of the Shermans' songs. They had had a huge success with "Mary Poppins" but were unable to repeat it here. They try hard, coming up with a mixture of comic numbers such as "Protocolligorically Correct" (betraying the same fondness for made-up words they had revealed with "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious") and romantic ballads like "Secret Kingdom", but somehow none of these achieve the same standard as the likes of "Feed the Birds" or "Chim-chim-cheree". Vincent Canby of the New York Times accused them of "parodying the worst of the Broadway musical theatre of the '50s".
The previously unknown Gemma Craven was chosen to play the heroine and was tipped as the Next Big Thing of British cinema, a prediction which stubbornly failed to materialise, although she has had more success on television and on the stage. Here she comes across as sweetly innocent, but does not really justify her Next Big Thing status. There are, however, some good performances from the supporting cast, especially from Michael Hordern as Edward's father, the well-meaning but ineffectual King of Euphrania and Annette Crosbie as the heroine's Fairy Godmother. Other positive features are the attractively designed sets and costumes.
The film had a mixed critical reception when first released in 1976, but today it has largely faded from memory, unlike, say, "Oliver!" which is regularly revived on television. If you want a film version of the tale of Cinderella, I would recommend either the Disney cartoon or its recent live-action remake. 6/10
"The Slipper and the Rose" is therefore something of a rarity. Unlike "Oliver!" it was not based upon a stage musical but upon a well-known fairy-tale, the story of Cinderella, so well-known that I don't need to set out the plot. The action is set in the fictional Kingdom of Euphrania some time during the 18th century, a period beloved of the makers of fairy-tale movies because of the ridiculous extravagance of the costumes, both male and female.
Although this was a British film, we clearly felt that we needed some help from across the Atlantic, because we imported an American leading man in the shape of Richard Chamberlain, although he plays his role with a British accent. (As Euphrania is supposedly somewhere in Continental Europe its people presumably do not speak English with any sort of accent, but somehow a British one seems more appropriate than an American one in a fairy-tale). We also hired two Americans, the Sherman Brothers, to write the songs. (They had also written the songs for "Mary Poppins").
Unfortunately, in neither case can it be said that this was one of Britain's most successful imports. Chamberlain as the hero Prince Edward (possibly named after the Queen's youngest son) is bland and unmemorable. The same can be said of the Shermans' songs. They had had a huge success with "Mary Poppins" but were unable to repeat it here. They try hard, coming up with a mixture of comic numbers such as "Protocolligorically Correct" (betraying the same fondness for made-up words they had revealed with "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious") and romantic ballads like "Secret Kingdom", but somehow none of these achieve the same standard as the likes of "Feed the Birds" or "Chim-chim-cheree". Vincent Canby of the New York Times accused them of "parodying the worst of the Broadway musical theatre of the '50s".
The previously unknown Gemma Craven was chosen to play the heroine and was tipped as the Next Big Thing of British cinema, a prediction which stubbornly failed to materialise, although she has had more success on television and on the stage. Here she comes across as sweetly innocent, but does not really justify her Next Big Thing status. There are, however, some good performances from the supporting cast, especially from Michael Hordern as Edward's father, the well-meaning but ineffectual King of Euphrania and Annette Crosbie as the heroine's Fairy Godmother. Other positive features are the attractively designed sets and costumes.
The film had a mixed critical reception when first released in 1976, but today it has largely faded from memory, unlike, say, "Oliver!" which is regularly revived on television. If you want a film version of the tale of Cinderella, I would recommend either the Disney cartoon or its recent live-action remake. 6/10