Cinderfella

Plot synopsis:
When Fella's (Jerry Lewis) father dies, he continues to live with his wicked stepmother, Emily (Judith Anderson), and her two sons, Maximilian (Henry Silva) and Rupert (Robert Hutton). 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 in essence 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 (Anna Maria Alberghetti) is in town, so the stepmother decides to throw her a lavish ball in order to get her to marry one of the sons. Fella is not allowed to go to the ball, but his fairy godfather (Ed Wynn) 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's orchestra is playing at the ball when Fella makes his grand entrance. The young man 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, in the process discovering that this is where Fella's father's fortune is hidden. Fella gives the money to his stepfamily, saying 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.

Tags: fantasy, satire

Review:
"Cinderfella" was Jerry Lewis' answer to the classic Cinderella story.
When his father dies, poor Fella (Lewis) is left at the mercy of his snobbish stepmother (Judith Anderson) and her two no-good sons, Maximilian (Henry Silva) and Rupert (Robert Hutton).
Meanwhile, hoping to restore her dwindling fortunes, the stepmother plans a fancy ball in honor of the visiting Princess Charmein (Anna Maria Alberghetti) whom she hopes will marry Rupert.
Eventually, Fella's Fairy Godfather (Ed Wynn) shows up to convince him that he has a shot at winning the Princess himself.
In the meantime, he produced and starred in a low budget item called "The Bellboy" in order for Paramount to have a Jerry Lewis movie for summer release.
He was indeed fortunate to obtain the services of Judith Anderson, who, while not a performer one would expect in a Jerry Lewis film, was nevertheless excellent as the stepmother, bringing just the right touch of arrogance to the part.
Silva and Hutton do what they can as the stepbrothers, but the beautiful Alberghetti has nothing to do but fall hopelessly in love with the hapless Fella.
Below par gender-bending fairy tale a la Jerry Lewis..
Decades before there was a Jim Carrey, the movies unleashed another inspired nut case  Jerry Lewis  whose 50s and 60s Paramount Studio vehicles tended toward an oil-and-water mix of outrageous physical comedy and mawkish sentimentalism.
1960's "Cinderfella" is a casualty of that uneasy blend.Taking the classic fairy tale and tailoring it to fit his talents, the stretch-faced, rubber-limbed comedian portrays "Fella," a poor, imbecilic, ostracized stepson who lives only to serve his cruel, absurdly wealthy stepmother (Judith Anderson) and her two greedy sons (Robert Hutton, Henry Silva) in their palatial mansion.
The only reason they even allow Fella to still "bunk" at the mans (his bedroom is more the size of a closet) is that Fella's late father has hidden a vast fortune somewhere on the grounds of the estate and the step-kin think the dolt may know where it might be hidden.Jerry is priceless when it comes to engineering clever, complex, high-energy sight gags.
He gets what I call "telethon tender" on us -- trying to work our heartstrings instead of our funnybones.I remember the Marx Brothers having the annoying habit of breaking up their frantic comedy skits with "straight" musical numbers sung by some insipid ingenues that always took away from the fun.
The demure, exceptionally lovely Anna Maria Alberghetti, who complements the lavish surroundings, appears too late in the proceedings to make any difference as the "Princess Charming" character who, for whatever reason, is smitten by the ungainly Fella.
It's too bad she didn't get to sing instead of Lewis.I know it sounds like I'm not a fan at all of Jerry's, but I am!
And in the case of "Cinderfella," Frank Tashlin may be credited with directing, but I think we all know who the director REALLY was on this set.For those who appreciate Jerry as only the French can, I would suggest "The Disorderly Orderly," "The Ladies Man" and his most popular, "The Nutty Professor," to get a better feeling of this man's  genius..
This should've been foolproof: Jerry Lewis playing a male variant of Cinderella, unloved and hoping to go to the ball.
I was not a big Jerry Lewis fan when he worked with Dean Martin.
Like Cinderella, Cinderfella was a loving, hard-working and honest person who was treated unfairly at first.
But, like Cinderella, Cinderfella was rewarded in the end for all his hard work.
And when he made his grand entrance into the ball, I couldn't help notice what a smooth dancer Jerry Lewis really is.
After I saw this movie I had such a warm loving feeling in my heart and I really thank God for this touching comedy.
Modern Day Cinderella Story -- Jerry Lewis Style!.
Based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale "Cinderella", orphaned Lewis is trapped in the situation of being royally taken advantage of by a selfish, scheming step-mother and her two full-grown layabout, playboy-wanna-be sons.
Like Annette & Frankie and their beach outings, a steady supply of 1960s Jerry Lewis films have been shown and shown again on small screens all over the world.
this is a sweet,warm and adorable film but i would feel better if jerry wrote it.
taken from the fairy tale, jerry does it again by being funny and throwing in some cute gags!
ed wynn was great as the fairy godfather and the rest of the cast made this a great, heart warming movie.
the story was written and flowed nicely, but if the ending explained fella's and princess charming's relationship together, it might of been for the better.
i recomend this movie for anyone looking for a cute and touching story with some jerry lewis charm!.
I have nothing against Jerry Lewis - in fact, I've found several of his other movies funny.
The sexes are reversed in this one.This time it's Jerry Lewis victimized by a wicked stepmother and her 2 hoodlum sons.
Who else but Ed Wynn could play a fairy godfather?Dame Judith Anderson, a veteran player of the wicked, is at it again but how can we expect this great lady to add comedy to spice up her performance.
It's a little too heavy for this film.Jerry is funny but his attempts at singing fall quite flat.Nice to show the kiddies that guys can be victimized too..
When you talk to many people about Jerry Lewis and his films, you often get extreme reactions.
So, when I say bad things about "Cinderfella", understand I am NOT anti-Lewis--I just think this film in particular is very, very weak.
Well, three main reasons sink this film--which I'll talk about below."Cinderfella" is a reworking of the traditional Cinderella story with a few big changes.
Instead of women, it's a guy's story--with wicked step-brothers, a male protagonist and a fairy godFATHER.
Another is that it's set in the present day--so you'll see cars, mansions in Beverly Hills and the like.The film finds Jerry playing a person named 'Fella' (??).
Anyway, the rest is a lot like the original story--with a Ball, Fella working like a slave in his home and the rest.So why was I less than thrilled with the film?
While Lewis' singing isn't bad, and occasionally pretty good in some films, here it is rather poor--and he does it many, many times.
CinderfellaThe reason animals don't dress the men in fairy tales is they have appendages birds could mistake for an earthworm.Fortunately, nothing is ripped from the body of the lowly wretch is this comedy.After his mother's death, Fella's (Jerry Lewis) father remarries Emily (Judith Anderson), who has two sons (Henry Silva, Robert Hutton) as wicked as her.When his father passes, Fella is renamed Cinderfella, and banished to an empty bedroom.When a ball is held to find a suitor for Princess Charming (Anna Maria Alberghetti) everyone but Cinderfella gets to go.
By switching the genders of the main characters, this goofy slapstick version of the fairy tale manages to stand out from the throng of lesser Cinderella adaptations.However, no princess is ever going to pick-up a man's abandoned smelly shoe.Yellow Lightvidiotreviews.blogspot.ca.
I used to love Jerry Lewis, and Cinderfella was a favourite.Dean Martin used to get in the way I always thought with a lot of soppy songs!(I must warn you I also like Police Academy (my partner cant believe this) so have a taste for slapstick.)But from memory, I used to think Jerry had fantastic timing to a lot of his routines so you were on the edge of your seat while laughing as well.
I have seen this movie plenty of times and what is bothering me is i don't remember the name of two songs in the movie and would like to know the name of them?.....one song is when Jerry Lewis is at the ball and Count Bassie comes around and is playing Jerrys song....and the other song is when Jerry Lewis is in the kitchen playing the song with his wooden spoons it is fun to watch him think that he is playing that song....I Love this movie and those are the two of the best songs in this movie so if anyone can help me out.....Thank You.....I give this movie a 10 for all the fun the movie gives and it is a very funny movie and i recommend this movie for everyone to see.
CINDERFELLA (1960) ** Jerry Lewis, Anna Maria Alberghetti, Judith Anderson, Ed Wynn, Henry Silva, Count Basie and his World Renowned Band featuring Joe Williams.
Fairy tale sex-change: Jerry's the Cinderella character in love with a princess and Wynn is the fairy godfather.
I love Jerry Lewis, I really do, but.....
I love Jerry Lewis, I really do, but.....
But being a devout fan doesn't mean I'm ignorant of his weaker efforts, and he does have many, of which Cinderfella is one of the bottom dwellers.It's on the premise surface a fresh and interesting spin on the Cinderella story, the sexes are reversed and this is the modern world in setting.
No amount of high energy mugging from Jerry can lift the picture out of its stupor, the songs from Harry Warren & Jack Brooks are weak, while poor Anna Maria Alberghetti (Princess Charmein) is reduced to being nothing but a pretty and well dressed up prop!Ed Wynn as the Fairy Godfather comes out with credibility still intact, and Count Basie's input into the production is like a ray of sunshine on a darkly bleak winter's day.
There's also one great sequence as Lewis goes panto playing various musical instruments, but the irony there is that the best scene in the film has nothing to do with the plot!
No, this is not close to being a good Jerry Lewis movie, and those stalwart fans who insist it is are sadly leading the uninitiated down the wrong path.
This one casts Jerry Lewis as an abused young man whose life changes when he meets his Fairy Godfather (Ed Wynn).
Personally, my favorite rendition of the story was the time on "Gilligan's Island" when Mrs. Howell dreamed that she was Cinderella and Gilligan was her Fairy Godfather.Jerry Lewis does an OK job in "Cinderfella", but now that we know what a jerk he is in real life, it weakens the whole thing.
Yes, I'm biased, but it's still a great Jerry Lewis comedy!.
I watched many of his films, back in the day (though it's hard, three-to-four decades later, figuring out which ones I saw), and loved his work, so I've made a point of getting many of his films from his classic period and checking them out.I loved his take on the Cinderella fairy tale, and thought it was both hilarious and well-made.
It was great seeing two of my favourite character actors, Judith Anderson and an intriguingly-cast Henry Silva, here as well, and seeing the much-and-rightly-lauded 'staircase scene', it was incredible that he did that, since he had suffered so much from back pain at that time (from falling during a show in Las Vegas), and suffered his first heart attack in trying to do it all in one take.This would also be great to see in a double bill with 'Blazing Saddles'--two comedies with The Count Basie Orchestra involved..
Cinderfella is Jerry Lewis's Cinderella story with role reversal.
Jerry is once again a poor schnook living on an estate with his stepmother Judith Anderson and stepbrothers Henry Silva and Robert Hutton.
Anderson is hoping to make a match for Hutton with Ruritanian princess Anna Maria Alberghetti as the family fortune is dwindling.A tale as universal as Cinderella need not be repeated.
Lewis is under the careful guidance of Frank Tashlin who knew how to get the best performances from him, especially as a solo artist.Harry Warren and Jack Brooks wrote some rather serviceable but forgettable songs for Lewis though why Alberghetti didn't have a number who knows.
Standing out in the supporting cast are Ed Wynn also restrained for him as he was one of the zaniest performers ever as Jerry's fairy godfather.
And Judith Anderson was properly sinister as the stepmother.Jerry's fans will appreciate this and it's not bad.
This updated comical parody of the Cinderella story is not only funny, but is also very touching and heart-warming.
The only things I did not like were the overdoing of Ed Wynn as the fairy godfather and the polo game: those parts were almost too ridiculous.
Anyway, here Jerry does a spin on Cinderella, with Ed Wynn as his Fairy Godfather who uses wizardry to put the bungling Jerry in the path of a European princess.
We all know how the story ends, but the difference here is that along the way, the princess has to wade through a succession of truly destructive comic disasters.
in the hands of Jerry Lewis, 'Cinderfella' becomes something special.
Though I wish the big dance number with Jerry had shown more of her.There are some very funny scenes and as sappy as the story gets, it's rather sweet ("Keep breathing fish!).
jerry lewis is an excellent writer and is a very good actor.
i especially love the when fella and the fairy godfather talk about the difference between a people and a person.
jerry lewis uses his creative ideas in the movie to make it funny.
By making Cinderella - Cinderfella - Jerry attacks man's and societies need for perfection, a perfection that is a dream, only.
"Cinderfella" was Jerry Lewis attempt to re-tell the Cinderella story.
It follows the traditional story more or less with mixed results.Lewis plays Fella (Couldn't they have come up with a better name?) who's father instructed as part of his will that his wife care for his son Fella.
Of course the wife becomes the Wicked Stepmother (Judith Anderson) who has two equally wicked sons, Maximilian (Henry Silva) and Rupert (Robert Hutton).
But at the stroke of midnight.................................................................Lewis tries to play the pathos card throughout the film and you do feel sorry for him at times.
Henry Silva looks like a gangster and Robert Hutton is the fun loving playboy.
Look I really thought Jerry Lee Lewis was pure daft during the film but it's just the storyline was much too over the place!
It should've been kept as the traditional Cinderella not over the top comedy film!I mean the stepmother and his stepbrothers aren't meant to play nice to him!
This isn't really a good twist for a film to be honest with ya!They should really have done this better and I say if anyone created a gender bender movie like this, it will be a lot better I'm afraid..
Neal Hefti wrote a piece called "Cute",Count Basie and his orchestra recorded it and Mr J.Lewis dances to it in the kitchen .That 3 minutes or so of screen time encapsulates the peak of his work in the cinema.
Miss J.Anderson,Mr H.Silva and Mr R.Hutton are deliciously rather than unpleasantly evil and Mr E.Wynn has a fine old time as the Fairy Godfather.
Jerry Lewis is Cinderfella in this movie that is a variation of Cinderella, in this case she being he.He has to put up with Wicked Stepmother (Judith Anderson) and her sons Maximilian (Henry Silva) and Rupert (Robert Hutton).One day Fairy Godfather (Ed Wynn) appears and helps him win the heart of Princess Charming (Anna Maria Alberghetti).
Cinderfella is an extremely funny musical fantasy comedy by Frank Tashlin.Jerry Lewis is being him funny self in the lead.Extremely beautiful Ms Alberghetti doesn't only got the good looks but also the acting skills.In one great scene you get to see Jerry dancing with Anna Maria while Count Basie plays his swinging music in the back.Mr Lewis is quite a dancer.Today this amazing comedian turns 79.He has shown us he's the king of clowns.He's one of the greatest comedians off all time.
Lewis can be found from that list with Chaplin and Lloyd and all the other great ones.Jerry has also showed the serious side too.He can go beyond the clown.In this movie he does it occasionally.It doesn't offer only moments of laughter but sadness, too.Cinderfella is a tragic figure when you think about it.He gets kicked in the head by his stepmother and her sons.In one terrific scene Fella sits in one end of the huge table and the rest of the family in the other.All the time they make him come to their end of the table and do some favors.He is in his loneliness dreaming to be something more than he is.Jerry Lewis has said; there is no gap between comedy and tragedy.And that is the truth..
Perhaps the weakest of the Frank Tashlin/Jerry Lewis collaborations, this rift on the Cinderella story has Lewis as the one-legged step child of nasty Judith Anderson.
Anderson, along with playboy sons Henry Silva and Robert Hutton, tries mightily to get "Fella" to reveal the whereabouts of millions his father left him.
Lewis has a couple of funny gags (squeezing oranges, turning NUTTY PROFESSOR-style into a swinger to woo Alberghetti), but the film is pretty anemic when it comes to real laughs.
There is far too little screen time between Lewis & Alberghetti to know if they actually have any chemistry.
Ed Wynn is on hand as the Fairy GodFATHER and the Count Basie Orchestra makes an appearance during the ball scene..
the Frenchies are right about Jerry Lewis.
it also helps to like fairy tales and be a fan of the 'Cinderella' story.
not only are there fanciful little fantasy touches, like an appearance by the "real" Cinderella, Jack and Jill and a Goldfish turned chauffeur, but there are so many things in this that worthy of being thought of as classic film/comedy moments.
it's nice to see someone in film, other than Disney, take advantage of his talent and warm brand of humor.loved the songs, performances, set design and it's poignant, timely message.