While I would like to rate the actual telecast higher, I never got to see it live and I still haven't seen the actual telecast. In fact, no one may ever see the actual production again. The March 31st, 1957 telecast was live and may or may not have been recorded. A little bit of historySo, you're probably thinking, "Well, what about the kinescope copy?" This copy was not of the live March 31, 1957 production. I'll quote from the 1999 release of the CD liner notes written by Dider C. Deutsch:"By all accounts, the production of the telecast was not unlike a highwire act from the start; as Richard Lewine acknowledged in a recent interview, 'There was no room for error. Remember that everything was live then, and when we got on the air ... there was no possibility for a retake.... I suggested to my boss, Hubbell Robinson, that we should make a kinescope of the production, not for broadcast mind you, just to see what it looked like before we went on the air. He said, ''Do what you think is right, and if you have a problem let me know.... '' So, on March 17 we had a sort of preview in front of a small invited audience at CBS Color Studio 72, at 81st Street and Broadway, which is where the show was to be done.'The values of the full scale rehearsal were obvious. As Richard Lewine remarked, 'We made notes, we saw all kinds of things we wanted to change, in short there was our chance to do it the way wanted to do it.... For example, Dick (Rodgers) didn't like the way the designer had done the dress for Cinderella in the opening scene; it was a makeshift poor girl dress, he went on the stage and looked at it and said, ''This is a piece of junk...'' And he tore a piece off it...' (it was too fancy).Overall, the rehearsal might have added an estimated $20,000 to the production's budget of $350,000, but it helped make a sleek presentation that was far superior to anything that had been done on television." -- Dider C. DeutschBased on these notes above, the kinescope version was not of the actual March 31, 1957 telecast, but of the March 17, 1957 full-scale preview rehearsal. It makes no mention of a kinescope copy of the actual production. In short, there does not presently appear to exist a copy of the live telecast production in any form that I am aware of. The only version we have is of the full-scale dress rehearsal from March 17th. This is a fine point to consider when writing a review for this production. Since the kinescope version doesn't depict the live telecast performance, the final production may have had better production values than what we see in the kinescope copy as they had nearly two weeks to polish the production with better costuming, sets, lighting and practice.Note that 1956 saw the introduction of the color Quadruplex (quadrature scanning) tape recorders using Ampex tape. By 1957, NBC had such a recorder in its studio at the time of this telecast. CBS may or may not have had one. Some have theorized that NBC may have (or had), in its archives somewhere, a quadrature tape copy of this production in color that it taped on the night of the performance. CBS may have also had a color copy for rebroadcast purposes, but some theorize the tape was bulk wiped a week after presentation. I'm still hopeful that someone will find a quadrature tape of this color production in their archives and finally release the actual March 31st color presentation.Review of this productionWhat I will say about the surviving kinescope copy is that this version of Cinderella is charming and unique. Clearly, Julie Andrews pulls off her version of Cinderella perfectly. Her upbeat sweetness translates well to this classic version of Cinderella. The production does lack in-camera effects. Edie Adams plays the godmother in an almost sadistic way. It's like she enjoys trying to make Cinderella completely unhappy before granting her wish. Cinderella doesn't comply, though. She just wishes harder. More than this, the godmother compounds her sadistic streak with her odd cackling laugh right before she does something good. It's a weird combination. The rest of the cast pulls off their parts amazingly well, including Robert Penn, the town crier with his booming baritone voice.The R&H numbers work amazingly well across the board with the many strong vocalists chosen. In fact, this really is a televised stage production. CBS could have turned around and placed this right onto a Broadway stage immediately following the broadcast and milked a stage production in 1957. Unfortunately, there was apparently a lack of foresight for cross-marketing in 1957.The downside is that what we are seeing in the kinescope copy is not the actual production. It's a rehearsal. So, it's likely the sets and costumes may not have been fully completed. The actors may not have fully had their lines down yet. So, it appears to be rough in places. Overall, I enjoyed it enough to purchase the music in stereo which is well worth a listen.

It was estimated that 107 million people saw the original broadcast of this made-for-television musical created by no less than the legendary team of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. That represents an astonishing 62% of the U.S. population at a time when there was no pay-per-view, no cable, no TiVo. Having just read Julie Andrews' remarkable early-life autobiography, "Home", I have to admit my interest was piqued to see this seminal production. Andrews was all of 21 on the night of March 31, 1957, when she performed the title role live, and it's fascinating to watch her screen persona so fully formed seven years before her big-screen debut in "Mary Poppins". Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote the musical specifically for her talents as she was then wowing Broadway audiences as Eliza Doolittle in the smash hit, Lerner and Lowe's "My Fair Lady". The evidence refutes Jack Warner's later claim that she was not photogenic enough to be in the film version, and the 2004 DVD is the closest many of us will get to see what her Eliza was like.Captured in black-and-white kinescope, the show is definitely a product of the Golden Age of Television with its flickering images and claustrophobic, sometimes awkward staging. However, as directed by Ralph Nelson ("Father Goose"), the story's universal charm and farcical touches, the expert cast of mainly Broadway veterans, and the memorable musical score more than offset the technical deficiencies. Andrews' bell-like soprano is at its best in her sadly hopeful ballad, "In My Own Little Corner". As the King and Queen, playwright Howard Lindsay (he co-wrote "Life with Father" and the original book for "The Sound of Music") and his real-life actress wife Dorothy Stickney prove to be a comically adroit pair. Fellow stage legend Ilka Chase plays the malevolent stepmother with catty aplomb, and the comic duo of Kaye Ballard and Alice Ghostley fulfill the comic possibilities as the jealous stepsisters. Edie Adams lends a more saucy twist to the ethereal role of the Fairy Godmother. Much later a reliable character actor best known as the Chief of Police on "Hill Street Blues", a stalwart Jon Cypher fits the cardboard dimensions of the gallant, smitten Prince and showcases a surprisingly robust tenor voice first in a soaring duet with Andrews on "Ten Minutes Ago" and then on the show's best song, "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?".Like most of my generation, I am more familiar with the 1965 color remake (starring a very young Lesley Ann Warren) since the original production aired only once. Running a fleet 77 minutes, it's a shame that the original color footage could not have been saved since the fairy tale atmosphere begs for it. Luckily, as part of the DVD, there is a gallery of color production and rehearsal stills to give you an idea of what the original audience may have seen if they owned a color TV set, a rarity at the time. Other DVD extras include rare archival footage of Rodgers and Hammerstein appearing on "The Ed Sullivan Show" to publicize the show (including a recited performance by Hammerstein of "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful?"), as well as a recently filmed introduction by Andrews. The best extra is a half-hour retrospective featurette, "A Lovely Night: the Making of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Television Classic", which features Andrews, Adams, Ballard and Cypher fondly recalling the experience. Children may not be able to tolerate the black-and-white, but baby boomers will find particular joy in seeing this particular production.

Face it-- "Cinderella" has been worn out since the day it was conceived. And since, the world has never forgotten this disgustingly sentimental heap of molly-wash. Julie Andrews gives a non-memorable performance in the title role-- where is the interest with which she has played every other part before and since? Other performers have absolutely no redeeming value whatsoever, where Andrews shows promise. But the reality is, the musical score by the normally-excellent Rodgers and Hammerstein is nothing more than a collection of garbage-riddled ditties wallowing in their own pathos. The only acceptable tune in the whole lot is the "Stepsisters' Lament," which occasionally borders on funny. Sadly, the entire telecast is an exercise in sugar-encrusted romantic tripe that makes James Cameron's "Titanic" look excellent.

This is, in my opinion, Rodgers and Hammerstein's masterpiece! Based on the beloved fairy tale, Cinderella comes to life in this spectacular TV production! Julie Andrews (who would later star in MARY POPPINS and THE SOUND OF MUSIC), is a joy to watch, and Jon Cypher as the Prince is great too. Other fine performances come from Howard Lindsay and Dorothy Stickney as the King and Queen, Ilka Chase as the Stepmother, Kaye Ballard and Alice Ghostley as the Stepsisters (they are HILARIOUS), and Edith Adams as the Fairy Godmother. The sets and costumes are good. The score is one of R+H's best. Everything about this production just impresses me.When broadcast on March 31, 1957, it got an audience of about 107 million people! Unfortunately, it was broadcast on that night only, so, in 1965, it was remade with Lesley Ann Warren playing Cinderella (this version was great too). It was also remade in 1997, with Whitney Houston as the Fairy Godmother and Brandy as Cinderella (again, another great production). Finally, in 2004, this classic 1957 version was finally released on DVD! The disc, released by Image Entertainment, has good picture and sound quality, and extras including interviews, galleries, and an appearance by R+H on THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW. A treat for musical fans everywhere! Recommended. 10/10