
Emma Flint remembers an overlooked Cinderella tale from the 70s, one that played Hollywood at its own game…
This article first appeared in Film Stories issue 26.
The story of Cinderella is a universal one. Although it may be altered to suit the culture in which the tale is spun, the fundamentals remain the same. There’s a woman who’s downtrodden, emotionally abused by her family, and is longing for a life away from the harm she’s forced to endure.
There are darker variations of the tale, most notably by the Brothers Grimm. However, while they may alter the way in which the heroine finally overcomes her life of servitude, the results are the same. She overcomes poverty and lives a life of luxury.
When we think of Cinderella, recent retellings tend to come to mind – from the live action 2015 film starring Lily James, to the Disney animation it was based on. These two examples tend to be the dominant representations of the story. And yet there’s an arguably more iconic retelling than those two combined, a piece of British cinematic history that’s, sadly, overlooked rather than praised: The Slipper And The Rose.