On March 15 of this year, I stumbled onto this on Youtube. I had not seen it since its original airing in 1965, so long ago that the only thing I remembered from it were the songs Impossible Possible and Ten Minutes Ago. For some reason I cannot explain, I missed the subsequent airings that were shown until 1974, something I now very much regret. To say that I was captivated and enchanted by it is an understatement. There's much more than childhood nostalgia at work here. It affected me in a way that very few movies have. I watched it again the next day, and yet again when I decided to buy the DVD. All the performances of the supporting cast (The stepmother and sisters, the fairy godmother, the king and queen, etc.) are spot on. Stuart Damon's performance is convincing and perfectly done. His prince is handsome, kind, thoughtful, and gentle. His delivery of Ten Minutes Ago and Do I Love You Because, and the expression on his face when he first sees Cinderella at the ball and then later, when he gazes at her after discovering that the slipper fits, makes you truly believe that he really is seeing the realization of "a lover's dream". Richard Rodgers' decision to add the song Loneliness of Evening at the beginning was brilliant. It adds poignancy to the prince's character, making the story as much about his quest for his true love as Cinderella's. What truly raises this to the top rank of romantic movies for me is the performance of Lesley Anne Warren. She was the perfect age for doing this. She has just the right amount of sweet naivety and romantic idealism (Warren was quoted as saying that she truly believed it when she played this role). She's incredibly expressive, sincere, and authentic throughout, helped greatly by those enormous brown doe eyes of hers, eyes that I get lost in. When she appears at the ball she is heartbreakingly beautiful. The look on her face as she looks for and then sees the prince is transcendent, making you believe with all your heart that SHE is seeing the realization of "a lover's dream". Her grace and beauty as she descends the steps and then waltzes with the prince is the stuff of romantic dreams. Their performances of the two songs are heartfelt and oh so romantic. The later scene where she holds a flower to her cheek as she reminisces about that "lovely night" is immensely wistful. In the later scene, where she tearfully offers him water, a lone violin gently plays Ten minutes Ago, and I tear up and ache for their dreams to come true as the prince once again displays his kindness. The scene where he puts on the slipper, and she transforms once again into his dream come true, further elevates this to a romantic level that resonates with me FAR beyond any other version. The happiness of this "dream come true moment" is topped off by the look on Lesley Anne Warren's face as she looks at her fairy godmother once more. It's the most glorious expression of pure joy I think I've ever seen in a movie. No other version comes close, not the Julie Andrews version (far too mannered and farcical for my taste), and certainly not the Disney versions, with their silly singing animals and clumsy attempts at remakes and political correctness. I know that this is something I will treasure, hold near and dear to me, and watch many times again for the rest of my life.