







































Education, Society and Human Studies 
ISSN 2690-3679 (Print) ISSN 2690-3687 (Online) 

Vol. 1, No. 1, 2020 
www.scholink.org/ojs/index.php/eshs 

20 

Original Paper 

“Little Glass Slippers” on the American Silver Screen: An 

Inquiry into Hollywood Adaptations of Charles Perrault’s 

“Cinderella” 
Minu Susan Koshy1* 

1 Assistant Professor, Dept. of English, Mar Thoma College for Women (Affl. to Mahatma Gandhi 

University), Perumbavoor, Kerala, India 
* Minu Susan Koshy, Assistant Professor, Dept. of English, Mar Thoma College for Women (Affl. to 

Mahatma Gandhi University), Perumbavoor, Kerala, India 

 

Received: April 17, 2020         Accepted: April 28, 2020          Online Published: May 7, 2020 

doi:10.22158/eshs.v1n1p20                       URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/eshs.v1n1p20 

 

Abstract 

Considered as a form of translation, adaptations involve intersemiotic transfers of stories, novels and 

poems into the symbolic system of the cinema. This process could be construed as an attempt on the 

part of the “translators” to “consume and erase the memory of the adapted text or to call it into 

question” as also “pay tribute by copying” (Hutcheon, p. 7). Adaptations of folktales present a 

particularly challenging and at the same time, interesting task in that unlike novels or short stories, 

which are mostly in the written form and hence possess a fixed plot, folktales are mostly in the oral 

tradition and thus present regional and chronological variations. This accounts for the multiple 

adaptations of “Cinderella” or “The Little Glass Slipper”, one of the most popular tales by Charles 

Perrault, across and more importantly, within cultures, during different historical periods. In this paper, 

I attempt a diachronic comparative study of multiple adaptations of “Cinderella”, focusing on different 

‘versions’ of the tale embodied in films produced in the USA, from the early 20th century to the 

contemporary times. The study would take into account the issues of race, gender, class as also the 

varying themes, keeping in mind the historical conditions under which the films were produced. 

Keywords 

adaptations, semiotic system, multiple translations, film studies, gender roles, race, intertextuality 

 

 

 



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1. Introduction 

Cinematic adaptations, involving intersemiotic transfers into the symbolic system of cinema from that 

of the written or oral text, is an attempt on the part of the ‘translators’ to “consume and erase the 

memory of the adapted text or to call it into question” as also “pay tribute by copying” (Hutcheon, p. 7). 

Linda Hutcheon, in A Theory of Adaptation asserts that “adaptation is repetition, but repetition without 

replication” (p. 7), which perhaps accounts for multiple translations, or rather, adaptations of literary 

works. Adaptations of folktales present a particularly challenging and at the same time, interesting task 

in that unlike novels or short stories, which are mostly in the written form and hence possess a fixed 

plot, folktales are mostly in the oral tradition and thus present regional and chronological variations. 

This makes it imperative for the translator/film-maker to present the story in a way that appeals to 

diverse audiences and at the same time produce a work of art that can be seen as a text in its own right. 

This accounts for the multiple adaptations of “Cinderella” or “The Little Glass Slipper”, one of the 

most popular tales by Charles Perrault, across and more importantly, within cultures, during different 

historical periods. Multiple translations/ adaptations may mean either: 1) translations/adaptations of 

literary works into (films in) more than two languages, or 2) translations/adaptations of works into the 

same language more than twice, during different chronological eras. 

 

2. Method 

In this paper, I attempt a diachronic comparative study of multiple adaptations of “Cinderella”, 

engaging with the different “versions” of the tale embodied in films produced in the USA, from the 

early 20th century to the contemporary times. Cinderella (1914) by James Kirkwood, Cinderella (1950) 

by Walt Disney Television, The Glass Slipper (1955) by Charles Walters, Cinderfella (1960) by Frank 

Tashlin, Cindy (1978) by William Graham, Cinderella (1997) by Robert Iscove, Ever After (1998) by 

Andy Tennant, Another Cinderella Story (2008) by Damon Santostefano and Rags (2012) by Billie 

Woodruff have been taken into consideration for the purpose of the study. The major reason for the 

exclusive focus on adaptations produced in America is the fact that the country accounts for the largest 

number of adaptations of the story from any single country over different time-periods. The relative 

higher mass appeal of Hollywood to international audiences and the effect this has on the plot of the 

film is another reason. The study would take into account the issues of race, gender, class as also the 

varying themes, keeping in mind the historical conditions under which the films were produced. 

 

3. A Thematological Approach to Cinderella Movies 

3.1 Moral Dimensions, Religion and Family Dynamics across Time in “Cinderella Movies” 

One among the first American adaptations of the Cinderella story was the 1914 silent film Cinderella, 

directed by James Kirkwood. The most interesting aspect of this film was the attempt to impart moral 

values, especially through the use of intertitles which were necessary, since it was produced during the 



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“silent era” (1894-1929) of motion pictures. The story is divided into several segments, each part 

preceded by an intertitle, often imparting a moral dimension to the story. The intertitles attempting to 

inculcate moral values in the audience read as follows: 1) “Love of one’s neighbor and friendliness” 

(preceding the segment where Cinderella gives food to the fairy godmother disguised as a beggar 

woman), 2) “Ignorance and Superstition” (when the step-sisters go to a fortune-teller), 3) “Faith and 

Prayer” (of Cinderella), 4) “Peace of mind for Cinderella” (because she prays), 5) “Guilty Conscience” 

(for the stepsisters since they went to heathens), 6) “The consequences of disobedience” (when 

Cinderella forgets about her godmother’s warning and stays in the palace till midnight), 7) “The 

blessings of prosperity and happiness are always to be bestowed on the Good and Noble. And they 

lived happily ever after”, when Prince Charming marries Cinderella (Kirkwood). We can see an explicit 

attempt at inculcating values in the audience, which is significant when we take into consideration, the 

fact that it was produced in the same year the First World War began and it was necessary for the State 

to ensure the unchallenging support and obedience of the people. The ‘faith’ and ‘obedience’ Kirkwood 

includes in the intertitles are essentially exhortations to the people to have faith in the government and 

ready themselves for service to the nation. Such explicit statements about the importance of values and 

morality cannot be seen in any of the later adaptations (although they do contain inspiring songs such 

as “If you keep on believing” in the 1950 Walt Disney adaptation and “Someday” in Rags). This can be 

attributed to the increasing adherence of the United States to the Laissez Faire theory in the light of 

globalization and the emergence of the nation as the global power-center in later years. The individual 

was considered self-sufficient and the concept of the free individual who could take care of 

himself/herself even in the absence of state control became rooted and his explains why the adaptations 

of “Cinderella” undertaken during and after the second half of the 20th century do not state explicit 

morals for the audience. 

The significance of religion in America and the transitions the sphere underwent over time also gets 

depicted in the movies under consideration. As mentioned before, the 1914 silent movie Cinderella, 

places great emphasis on religion, with Cinderella being a devout Christian. In the other movies set in 

America with White American characters, we do not see much importance accorded to religion. It 

seems to have receded to the background—to the “private sphere” of the individual. This is true 

especially in the case of the two movies produced in the twenty-first century, Another Cinderella Story 

and Rags, where it is the public lives of the characters—that is, their performance in music and dance 

contests—that is highlighted. As such, religion is never brought to the fore. In Cindy, on the other hand, 

it assumes significance. Cindy prays every day and goes to Mass regularly. In fact, she earns her step 

mama’s wrath when she prays according to the traditional African system (which was followed in the 

South, where she had previously been) in the church at Harlem. Religion becomes a definitive marker 

of identity for the African-American Cinderella. In Ever After also, the Church as an institution 

becomes prominent. Here, it should be noted that the movie is a kind of historical fiction, set in 



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Renaissance France, the reason for which, may be the fact that France has been of the oldest allies of 

America from the 1770s to the contemporary times. In the movie, the church becomes the site where 

Franco-Spain relations get played out in splendor. The Prince is forced by the King to marry the 

Spanish Princess due to political reasons and in the church the latter starts weeping in a hysteric and 

very ridiculous way since she is in love with a courtier and finally, the Prince laughs and says: 

“Madame, I know exactly how you feel” and lets her go to her lover, in much the same way that Pierre 

le Pieu, who bought Danielle (the Cinderella figure) as a slave, gives her her freedom. The French King 

and Queen laugh at the Spanish Royal couple bickering, blaming each other for what transpired, once 

again, in a ridiculous way in the church. The Church becomes a venue for the playing out of political 

dramas. It is also interesting to note how the Spaniards are represented as totally ridiculous, in the 

movie. This may be a reflection of America’s support of France and consequent contempt for the 

latter’s long-term enemy, Spain. The reflection of political turbulence in the cultural media once again 

becomes evident here.  

Another aspect of the film that deserves attention is the way the Cinderella figure is treated by the 

step-mother and step-sisters. While in the 1914 movie, they beat and impose physical violence on her, 

this tendency disappears in the later versions, thanks to the increasing concern of the state regarding 

corporeal punishment of children. Verbal abuse and emotional harassment become the major means 

through which the Cinderella figure is “brought under control”. It is interesting to note that none of the 

movies present an alternate version of the movie, subverting the power dynamics. The step-parents are 

depicted as cruel and ruthless, thereby reinforcing the prevalent stereotypes, which may be a reflection 

of the general resistance of both children and adults to second marriages. Despite radical changes in the 

family set-up and the institution of marriage over the years, all the adaptations of the Cinderella story 

show the step-parent as being a monster-figure, usurping the (orphaned) child’s right to the deceased 

parents’ property and ill-treating them without reason. The films thus do play a role in reinforcing 

stereotypes about step-parents. It is to be noted that in all the movies, except Rags, the oppressor is the 

step-mother—a reflection of the widespread belief in the unresolved Oedipal complex. And except for 

the two movies where the Cinderella figures are male-Rags (where Charlie has a step-father and 

step-brothers) and Cinderfella (where Fella has a step-mother and step-brothers)—in all the movies, the 

monster-figures are female. The step-mother becomes a rival when she snatches away the father’s 

attention from the Cinderella figure, while the sisters become a threat when the Prince figure comes 

into the picture. The rifts thus become explicit in the plane of an established or potential relationship 

with a male figure. But the situation changes in Cinderfella, produced in 1960 and Rags, produced in 

2012—both films where the Cinderella figure is a male. In the former, Fella (the Cinderella figure) 

craves for the step-mother’s attention, which she finally provides him with, albeit in a very indifferent 

manner—another way in which the Oedipal complex (myth?) is propagated. The step-brothers are not 

real threats to him in his desire for the Princess, since they are interested more in Fella’s hidden 



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treasure than in marrying the Princess. In Rags, the rivalry between Charlie and Andrew (the elder 

brother) surfaces basically when the music competition is announced. The rivalry was initially in the 

sphere of talent and later it shifts to the potential relationship with the singer, Kadee. In a way, Charlie 

sees in Kadee a version of his deceased mother, in that both were interested in music, pointing to a 

latent mother-fixation. But such a fixation cannot be seen in the movies where the Cinderella figure is a 

female. The Prince is attractive to her, because he is handsome and dances with her and she does not 

make any explicit identification between him and her father. The depiction of the step-brothers/sisters 

in the later movies is slightly different in that one of the siblings is sympathetic to the Cinderella figure. 

In Ever After, the younger sister, Jacqueline stands up for Cinderella; in Another Cinderella Story, Bree 

does not grudge Mary as much as her twin sister; and in Rags, Lloyd supports and encourages Charlie. 

The increasing rate of second marriages in America may be a reason for this tendency. A weak attempt 

at subverting stereotypes takes place here.  

3.2 Sound, Setting, Color and Technology in “Cinderella Movies” 

Music and dance assume prominent roles in the movies, in different ways. The 1914 movie does not 

give much importance to dance as an art-form. The only time the characters dance is at the Prince’s ball. 

And since it was produced at a time when sound-technology was not yet developed, music does not 

play any significant role. But in the later movies, there is an increasing importance attached to music 

and dance, the primacy progressing with the years. The 1950 Walt Disney movie begins with 

Cinderella’s song and the ballroom song is also heard. Besides, there is background music to suit every 

occasion, as when the animals modify her dress, when the fairy godmother performs her magic etc. In 

The Glass Slipper, the intimacy between the Prince and Cinderella develops when the former teaches 

her to dance. Cinderella also dreams of ballet performances and finally, there is the ballroom dance 

with the Prince. The movie seems to be set in Victorian England, with the waltz as the predominant 

form performed at the ball. The dance and songs in Cinderfella (1960) are much in the same vein, but 

with slightly comical touches to them. In Cindy (1978), in keeping with the African-American 

backdrop, the music played has jazz and pop music elements. Dance and music assume central role in 

the two movies produced in the two decades of the twenty-first century- Another Cinderella Story 

(2008) and Rags (2012). Damon Santostefano’s Another Cinderella Story has music and dance as the 

central motifs. The film starts with Mary, the Cinderella figure, dancing to her own song. The Prince 

figure is Joey Parker and his celebrity comes from his status as an extremely popular singer and dancer. 

The ball is replaced by a school masque party, where, for the first time, Mary’s dancing skills get 

recognized and she dances with Joey. It is the Zune that she drops that serves the function of the glass 

slippers in the movie. Joey tries to find her by the “most played songs” in the zune. Again, after the 

break-up, Joey and Mary reunite at a music-dance contest organized by the former in order to ensure 

Mary’s admission into the Manhattan Academy of Performing Arts. Music and dance seem to drive the 

plot forward. As different from the older films, Another Cinderella Story features modern dances and 



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not just waltzes. The case is the same with Rags as well, where Kadee (the Prince figure) and Charlie 

(the Cinderella figure) sing and dance to popular tunes, mostly those composed by Kadee. The function 

of the glass slipper is served by the CD in which Charlie’s song is recorded. The song becomes a hit not 

just because of the lyrics, but also because of the high beat and rhythm, appealing to audiences of the 

21st century, especially the younger generation. The rapid developments in the music industry, 

especially with the widespread use of computers and CDs in America get reflected in the two movies. 

The advent and advancement of modernity and technology in America also gets reflected in the movies 

under consideration. While in the 1914 movie, Cinderella has to go to the forest to fetch wood for 

lighting fire in the kitchen to cook, and Ella, in The Glass Slipper is perpetually covered in charcoal 

powder, the later day Cinderella figures like Fella, Mary and Charlie, have stoves to cook upon and also 

toasters, dishwashers etc. Cinder becomes an archaic object for them. Only the empty signifier of the 

name “Cinderella” persists. Mops and rags used to clean the floor in the silent movie Cinderella, the 

animated version, The Glass Slipper, etc., are replaced by vacuum cleaners and indeed, cleaning 

agencies in Another Cinderella Story. The function of the shoes is served by technology in the form of 

CDs and Zunes. There are also intercoms and computers and mobiles in the modern day Cinderella 

stories.  

Color becomes a motif in all the nine movies. The color of Cinderella’s dress is often what makes her 

stand out in the ballroom. In The Glass Slipper, while everyone else in the room wears dark colored 

gowns, Ella wears a white one. In Another Cinderella Story, everyone in the room is dressed in black 

and/or white, while Mary wears red. The case is the same with Fella in Cinderfella. The shoes/slipper is 

another motif. The role shoes played in identifying the social status of a person becomes evident in all 

the movies, and especially so in Ever After, where Da Vinci notices that Danielle, who pretends to be a 

countess to save a servant, is wearing shoes of cheap material which immediately identifies her as a 

maidservant. But later, her ballroom shoes become the point from where the Grand Dame of France 

begins telling her story to the Brothers Grimm. What becomes important here is the fact that despite the 

eulogization of Danielle as a defender of the rights of the downtrodden and a noble woman, it is only 

her grandeur that is highlighted. The shoes made of cheap material is not worthy of attention. The story 

can begin only with the expensive glass slippers! In The Glass Slipper, Cinderella (1997) , Ever After 

and the Walt Disney animated version of Cinderella, the shoes are made of glass, and in the 1914 

version, they are made of leather, while in Cindy it is a plain canvas shoe. This, in a way, points to the 

unequal distribution of wealth between the Whites and the Blacks of America. It can also be indicative 

of the prejudice that African-Americans are less polished and much less stylish than the White 

Americans, who wear colored, high-heeled expensive shoes like Mary in Another Cinderella Story. In 

the two movies where the Cinderella figure is played by men-Cinderfella and Rags—the shoes are 

significant only in terms of their function. The aesthetic appeal is not very important. In Cinderfella, 

the Princess already knows who Fella is and persuades him to try on the shoes just to make him 



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understand that she knows that it was he who danced with her. In Rags, the step-brother identifies 

Charlie by his shoes. In both cases, the shoes are no different from those worn by the others in the 

room. 

3.3 Cinematic Representations of Shifting Gender Roles in America 
Gender roles and the perception of the categories of “woman” and “man” by the society also show 

significant transformation across the years in film adaptations of “Cinderella”. In the 1914 movie, 

Cinderella is depicted as a shy girl with little exposure with the outside world. But The Glass Slipper 

has Ella going out into the streets and arguing with people. She is shunned by the society for her 

“anti-social behavior”, which must have meant, her “unfemininity”—both in terms of appearance (in 

that she has short hair) and in terms of her behavior (in that she dares to come out of the confines of her 

home, out into the street). Ever After portrays Danielle as a well-educated girl, unlike most girls of her 

time. She dares to speak her mind because of her education and is not reluctant to confront the Prince to 

secure the release of a servant. She quotes from More’s Utopia and tells the Prince: “A servant is not a 

thief, your Highness, and those who are, cannot help themselves. …If you suffer your people to be 

ill-educated and then make them corrupt from infancy, and then punish them for those crimes to which 

their first education disposed them, what else is to be concluded, sir, but that you first make thieves and 

then punish them?” And this is what makes the Prince fall in love with her. She is not a meek woman, 

ready to suffer, but rather, one in charge of herself. This is proved when she threatens Pierre le Pieu 

when he makes advances towards her and gains her freedom from slavery. But it is to be noted that 

despite the fact that the Prince insults her at the ball when the fact that she is a servant is revealed, she 

does not hesitate to accept him back as soon as he comes to “rescue” her. Although educated and in 

charge of herself, and capable of gaining her freedom, she finally succumbs to the male figure, which 

must have appeased the predominantly male audiences. And Cinderfella shows the Princess pleading 

with Fella to marry her. He condescends only when she throws away all the markers of royalty and 

cries in front of him. It seems to convey the message that for a woman, power and prestige is of no use 

and whatever she achieves, she can achieve only through meekness and pleading with the man, even if 

he is much inferior to her. In Another Cinderella Story, Mary does conform to the standards set for 

women by the patriarchal social order. She does not rebel, and often is the angel in the house. The only 

instance of rebellion is when she leaves for the Manhattan Academy against her stepmother’s wishes. 

And she is capable of doing it, because she has Joey’s support. We see stereotypes of the woman as a 

subject without agency enforced once again. The agency of the woman is asserted in unequivocal terms 

only in Cindy. Despite being ‘chosen’ by Prince, she decides to marry Michael, thereby making her 

independence felt. 

In the movies of the first half of the 20th century with a female in the Cinderella role, we see attempts 

on the part of the women, (sometimes the Cinderella figure as well) to impress the Prince figure with 

their beauty. This is especially so in the case of Cindy, Cinderella and the Walt Disney version of the 



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story. In The Glass Slipper, it is the woman’s physical attribute that makes the Prince fall in love with 

her—her “sad eyes” (Walters). The popular notion that beauty and the body are the only assets that a 

woman possesses becomes evident here. The not-so-dangerous feminine quality of being beautiful does 

not pose any threat to male superiority and hence can be glorified in movies. But this changes by the 

latter half of the century. In Ever After, for example, the Prince is impressed by Danielle’s education 

and behavior rather than her beauty (although the other women still pose and preen to get his attention). 

In Another Cinderella Story, Mary’s skill in dancing is highlighted and not her beauty. The gradual 

acceptance by society of women as subjects in no way lesser than men becomes evident through this 

change in (the reasons for) Cinderella’s appeal in the movies produced over a century.  

Now let us consider the movies where male figures play the role of Cinderella. Both Fella and Charlie 

attract the Princesses’ attention through their talents and/or behavior and not their beauty. A man, unlike 

a woman, does not need beauty or style to gain the Princess figure’s attention—this seems to be the 

message that these movies convey. In fact, in Rags, Charlie becomes close to Kadee because it is 

through him that Kadee can be “herself”. He becomes a savior figure for her. The popular notion of 

man as the “knight in armor” gets reflected in these movies as well. 

The constraints imposed on men due to these stereotypes also find space in the movies. In Ever After, 

Danielle rescues the Prince from the gypsies and carries him away on her back, thereby subverting the 

established gender roles. This leads to laughter and the Prince has to bear the brunt of the insult. It need 

not be mentioned that if it had happened the other way round, i.e., if the Prince had rescued 

Danielle—there would not have been any kind of ridicule. A strong case is made for masculism, a 

movement which emerged at around the same time the movie was produced (in the 1960s), by Fella’s 

godfather in Cinderfella when he says: 

Fella, you have been chosen to correct the wrongs brought about by 

the original Cinderella story. Through the centuries, the women of 

the world, influenced by Cinderella, have waited. Waited for their 

Prince Charming galloping out of the wide blue yonder on their 

white horses, to claim their hands in marriage. But there was only 

one Prince Charming. And when he didn’t appear, these women 

married the closest available man. And their lives were ever after 

miserable. Because, they all regretted and they felt that, well, that 

they had taken the second best. But what is worse, they made their 

poor husbands miserable because the poor fellow wasn’t a 

prince. …Oh, the Cinderella legend has brought nothing but 

dissatisfaction to the hearts of women. And their husbands have 

taken the brunt of it. …the unhappy husbands of the world are 

crying for help. They are crying for a chance to get even. It’s time 



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for a change. And you have been chosen to bring about that change 

(Tashlin). 

Fella has been chosen by the Board of Directors of All Fairy Godfathers, Committee for the 

Preservation of Sanity to Married Men etc., in order to put an end to “centuries of female abuse” 

(Tashlin). There is a strong criticism of the stereotypical images of men propagated over the centuries 

and the pressure it has on the man as an individual.  

Despite multiple adaptations of “Cinderella” in the United States over the years, featuring female and 

male Cinderellas, African-American Cinderellas, modern-day and olden-day Cinderellas, no attempt 

has been made till date to accommodate homosexuality in the Cinderella story. This may be due to the 

fact that many states in the US have still not passed the same-sex marriage bill, although homosexuality 

was legalized in America in 2003.  

3.4 The Dynamics of Race in Multiple Film Adaptations of “Cinderella” 

Racial factors also surface in a significant way in the movies. The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s 

and the African-American Civil Rights’ Movement (1955-1968) had had a significant impact on the 

cultural and social life of America. The movement of African-Americans from the South to Harlem, in 

the aftermath of the World War II, the living conditions of the Blacks in America, their institutions, the 

impact of the war with the Japanese and the ensuing political turbulence on their lives…all get 

represented in several of the Cinderella movies under consideration. Set in Harlem, Cindy (1978) has as 

the central character, an African-American girl who moved to Harlem from South Carolina, after the 

World War. The drafting of soldiers for the American army, in order to fight the Japanese, becomes a 

theme in Cindy, with the second Prince figure, Michael, being a draft-dodger in the beginning and later 

getting enlisted. In the 1997 film Cinderella, by Walt Disney Television, the impact of the 

Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, as an indirect result of which many interracial marriages took 

place, especially between Chinese American men and African American women, becomes evident. The 

King is a Chinese American man and the Queen an African-American. Their son, with explicit 

mongoloid features, marries the Cinderella figure, who is an African American woman. The rise to 

prominence of many African-Americans is represented by the popularity of Kadee, the Prince figure, in 

Rags. It is interesting that this movie was shot during the reign of Barak Obama, who has become 

iconic of African-Americans’ becoming success stories in the USA, where they had previously been 

considered as secondary citizens. Thus, an alternate history of the United States of America, through 

the representation of non-White races also gets reflected in film adaptations of “Cinderella”. 

But racial prejudices abound in these the movies, especially Cindy. Although all the actors are 

African-Americans, the underlying racial prejudices of the writers, directors and producers—all of 

whom are whites-do get reflected in the film. Although Harlem was mostly populated by 

African-Americans who were well-educated and more or less affluent, the movie depicts Cindy’s street 

(Harlem, 135th Street) as poverty-stricken and consisting of the families of unskilled laborers. In fact, 



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the film begins with Cindy’s travel from South Carolina, a rustic countryside, to New York, which is 

depicted as a posh urban area with skyscrapers and educated people and then to Harlem, which is also 

in New York, but entirely different from the rest of it in that the inhabitants are mostly from the lower 

sections of the society and the streets are represented as ugly and crowded. Not a single inhabitant of 

Harlem is depicted as educated. Cindy’s father is a service-boy in a restaurant owned by the Whites and 

we see him doing menial work for them in order to buy Cindy a dress for the party. Again, Cindy 

becomes a laughing stock when she prays in the traditional way of the Blacks of the South, singing and 

clapping and saying Halleluiah out loud at the church in Harlem. It is to be noted that the Blacks 

residing in Harlem were expected to conform to European standards of propriety, with very controlled 

body movements in the church. When Cindy asserts her racial identity, it becomes an issue to be 

laughed at and an indication of “being uncultured”. 

Also, as different from the father figures in other Cinderella films (which feature white characters), 

Cindy’s father married her step-mother through deceit. He hid from her the fact that he had been 

married once before and also had a daughter in that marriage. The White father-figures in Ever After, 

Cinderfella, The Glass Slipper etc., on the other hand, are depicted as straight-forward men, honest and 

faithful. Again, there are two Prince figures in the movie. One is Captain Joe Prince, a Mulatto and the 

other, whom Cindy ultimately marries, is a Black man called Michael. The former is depicted as the 

character women swoon over, while the latter is an ordinary man, with nothing remarkable about him. 

Although the reason for Prince’s primacy is his status as an army officer of great merit, the question 

remains as to why a Mulatto, with White blood in him has been chosen to take that role and not a Black 

man. When Cindy chooses Michael to Prince, despite her father’s disapproval, it is a kind of 

condescension that can be seen- the condescension of the Black woman “chosen” by the half-White 

man towards the “unfortunate”, “ordinary” Black man. The movie becomes a message of the American 

condescension towards the African-American, and also a way of asserting American supremacy, as 

proved when the American flag flutters high with a White officer dictating the oath (pledging support to 

the American army) to Michael. In Another Cinderella Story as well, there are subtle elements of 

racism. Dustin, a Black American, is Joey Parker’s side-kick and “manager”. He often has to do the 

unpleasant tasks for Joey. The racial prejudices underlying the movies cannot go ignored. 

 

4. Degrees of Intertextuality in Adaptations 

The degree of intertexuality and the degree to which the movies acknowledge their indebtedness to the 

original Cinderella story also vary. Although all the movies are intertextual in that they draw from 

Perrault’s “Cinderella”, the plot structures vary greatly, with some movies involving magic and others 

avoiding that aspect, roles getting reversed, new episodes added and old ones deleted as per the 

expectations of the audience. Six of the nine movies under consideration have either the name 

“Cinderella” or “The Little Glass Slipper” (or their variations) as the title. Again the 1914 silent movie 



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begins with the intertitles—“Cinderella—A Play in Four Acts” (Kirkwood); Walt Disney’s animated 

version opens with the picture of a book titled Cinderella and as the narration begins with “Once upon 

a time” (Geronimi), the camera focuses on the pictures in the book and it concludes with the last page 

of the book where it is written: “and they lived happily ever after” (Geronimi); again, Cinderfella ends 

with “and they lived happily ever after” (Tashlin), the typical ending of the Cinderella story; Cindy 

begins with the intertitle: “Once upon a time, in a faraway country, there lived a girl whose name was 

Cinderella. This is a rip off that story” (Graham), and concludes with an African-American man saying: 

“And everybody, I mean, EVERYBODY, lived happily ever after” (Graham); as for Ever After, the 

story begins with the Grand Dame summoning the Grimm’s Brothers and showing them Danielle’s 

glass slippers. Thus, almost all the texts, irrespective of their historical spatial location, explicitly 

acknowledge the fact that they are derived from the fairy tale, thereby avoiding copyright issues. 

 

5. Conclusion 

The multiple Hollywood adaptations of “Cinderella” help trace an alternate history of the country and 

its people through the lens of gender, race, class, modernity, social institutions etc. The original 

Cinderella tale has been modified at multiple levels during the process of translation/ adaptation, in 

order to fit it into the target culture or rather, the target age. The adaptations vary according to the 

zeitgeist, historiological conditions and the subjectivity(ies) of the translator/film-maker. Despite major 

differences between the various versions highlighted by this diachronic comparative study of the 

multiple adaptations, the basic human essences remain constant in the films—dispossession, cruelty, 

love, grief, good and evil, punishment and reward, the desire for happiness... The emotions and 

essences common to human beings, irrespective of class, race, gender or nationality, are not variables in 

the adaptations. A diachronic comparison of the multiple adaptations of Cinderella thus proves the 

American comparatists right in their argument that Comparative Literature is essentially a study of 

humanistic essences which are the same throughout the world, throughout the ages, irrespective of class, 

race and gender. 

 

References 

Geronimi, C. (1950). Cinderella. Dir. Hamilton Luske, and Wilfred Jackson. RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.  

Graham, W. A. (1978). Cindy. Writ. James L Brooks, Stan Daniels, David Davis, and Ed Weinberger. 

Paramount Television. 

Guillen, C. (1993). The Challenge of Comparative Literature (C. Franzen, Trans.). Massachusetts: 

Harvard University Press. 

Hutcheon, L. (2006). A Theory of Adaptation. New York: Routledge. 

https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203957721 

 



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Published by SCHOLINK INC. 

Iscove, R. (1997). Cinderella. Prod. Debra Chase, Robyn Crawford, David Ginsburg, and Whitney 

Houston. Walt Disney Television. 

Kirkwood, J. (1914).Cinderella. Prod. Daniel Frohman, and Adolph Zukor. Famous Players Film 

Company. 

Perrault, C. (2009). The Complete Fairy Tales. London: Oxford University Press. 

Raengo, A., & Robert, S. (Eds.). (2004). A Companion to Literature and Film. Oxford: Blackwell 

Publishing Ltd. 

Santostefano, D. (2008). Another Cinderella Story. Writ. Erik Patterson, and Jessica Scott. Warner 

Premiere. 

Tashlin, F. (1960). Cinderfella. Prod. Jerry Lewis. Paramount Pictures. 

Tennant, A. (1998). Ever After. Prod. Mireille Soria, and Tracey Trench. 20th Century Fox. 

Walters, Charles, dir. (1955). The Glass Slipper. Prod. Edwin Knopf. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. 

Wellek, R. (1970). Discriminations: Further Concepts of Criticism. London: Yale University Press. 

Woodruff, B. (2012). Rags. Writ. Jason Fuchs, Hilary Galanoy, and Elizabeth Hackett. Nickelodeon 

Network. 

 
Declaration 

I hereby certify that the paper titled “‘Little Glass Slippers’ on the American Silver Screen: An Inquiry 

into Hollywood Adaptations of Charles Perrault’s ‘Cinderella’” is an original work and that it has not 

been published previously. 

 

Bio Note 

Dr. Minu Susan Koshy is currently working as Assistant Professor in the Department of English, 

Marthoma College for Women, Kerala, India. She was awarded Ph.D in English (Comparative 

Literature) by The English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad in 2017. She has published 

extensively in national and international journals and presented papers at international conferences. She 

has served as the resource person at several conferences and has conducted workshops on cultural and 

critical theory. Her areas of interest include cultural studies, postcolonial studies and comparative and 

world literatures. She has also been a member of the editorial board of the 17th International Film 

Festival of Kerala (IFFK). Her book titled Narrating Childhood Trauma: The Quest for Catharsis and a 

translation of the Malayalam anthology Tattoo by Jacob Abraham, the winner of the Kerala Sahitya 

Akademi Geetha Hiranyan Award, were published in 2015. An edited volume titled When Objects Write 

Back: Reconceptualizing Material Culture in the Tricontinent is scheduled to be published by 

Cambridge Scholars Publishing in 2020. 


