I grew up in the 60s, and I vividly remember the 1965 production of Cinderella, which from the year it was first broadcast appeared on TV like your embarassing old great aunt coming for a visit year after year. I generally watched it, being a total glutton for ANY kind of musicals...but even then, I knew that it was pretty bad. Except for some of the songs, which did have a tendancy to stick in one's head.

Then on Easter Sunday of this year, Mr. Otter shows up with a DVD. It's Cinderella. It's got the same songs. But it's NOT the stupid version I grew up with, amazingly enough. This one is GOOD.

Evidently Rodgers and Hammerstein wrote this show for television, and the version Mr. Otter brought home, the one broadcast in 1957, was the first time it was made. Then they REMADE it in 1965, with some good people but, as Mr. Otter said, doing their best to make it as dull as possible...and succeeding. Recently, a kinescope of the older production was found (this is how they could broadcast it in different time zones, by sending a kinescope to the western stations) and it was restored and released on DVD.

Julie Andrews as Cinderella. Alice Ghostley. Kaye Ballard. And a whole host of really good people, with the same head-sticky songs but this time done charmingly, with humor and good acting and a whole lot of verve.

This is a joy to watch, folks. Let this take that awful version right out of your heads.