Sepia Cinderella (1947) User Reviews

Strangest Cameo Ever?

[wes-connors · 5/10 · 19 August 2012]

Encouraged by sweet and shapely Sheila Guyse (as Barbara), orchestra leader Billy Daniels (as Bob Jordan) has great success when his song "Cinderella" becomes a hit. Happiness for the couple is threatened when sexy socialite and nightclub owner Tondaleyo (as Vivian Marston) takes an interest in Mr. Daniels, although she is engaged to businessman Jack Carter (as Ralph Williams). The central plot is extremely old hat and given little new life by those involved, but everything proceeds well enough. The music is good and the film features, considering its proximity, one of the strangest and most unexpected cameo appearances in movie history...

Near the end, Daniels (as Bobby) notices a familiar face at a table - it's his old friend Freddie Bartholomew (as Freddie Bartholomew)!

The former child star seems to be reintroducing himself to the public, after service in World War II. This may have been done to provide Mr. Bartholomew with a screen "test reel" as he sought to re-enter the acting business as an adult. Bartholomew obviously still has an engaging screen presence and did go on to some film and television roles, but the effort wasn't sustained. After some fine dramatic roles in episodic television and lending good comic support to the otherwise lackluster "St. Benny the Dip" (1951), Bartholomew retired; with most of his fortune swiped by adults, there simply wasn't enough acting work to make a living.

***** Sepia Cinderella (7/25/47) Arthur Leonard ~ Billy Daniels, Sheila Guyse, Tondaleyo, Freddie Bartholomew

Entertaining musical with an all-black cast.

[tico-4 · 6/10 · 2 September 2000]

In this all-black cast musical romance, Barbara (Sheila Guyse) must compete with a rich woman (Tondaleyo) for the man she loves. The man, singer and band leader Bob Jordan (Billy Daniel), tries to pursue his career, but soon comes to realize that there is more to life than being in high society. He returns to Barbara, and they are married in the Cinderella Night Club, where Bob is appearing. A nice little love story with some interesting musical acts.

A good old-fashioned big band musical with a twist.

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 20 July 2015]

Billy Daniels is a rising band leader who is loved by the pretty Sheila Guyse, a sweet young singer, but her affections aren't returned. Vampish Tondaleyo (yes, that is the actress's stage name!) makes an immediate play for Daniels, sensing his success is imminent. But will true love play out for him and show him that he'll find happiness with Guyse? This (almost) all-black musical shows the glamorous lifestyle of black nightclubs and their performers, a far cry from what most black people were facing in the mid 1940's as civil rights hadn't yet exploded. There are some cool novelty numbers including one called "Ring Around My Rosie". One of the weirdest moments comes with a cameo by Freddie Bartholomew as himself, sharing personal memories of life as "Little Lord Fauntleroy" and "David Copperfield" that simply just stops the film in its last reel. Hilda Offley delivers a very warm-hearted performance as everybody's mother figure. While obviously cheaply made, this is a very interesting film that shows an era of black entertainment that led the way for some great artists down the road. Unlike other films made by black film makers, this has white actors in it as well. In addition to the bizarre cameo by Bartholomew, famed comic Jack Carter also appears.

Worth it for the music.

[grammy3 · 17 December 2003]

Two stars as a movie, four stars for the music and musical performers. Billy Daniels fans should find this interesting, showing him before he found his style. This film was released in 1947; Daniels teamed permanently in 1948 with pianist-backup singer Benny Payne, eventually dropping "Diane" as his trademark song for "That Old Black Magic", dropping his tenor voice to a deep baritone and adding plenty of body english, winning instant fans in 1950 in "When You're Smiling". Sheila Guyse's voice matches her beautiful looks, Deek Watson, formerly of the Ink Spots, is dynamic and sings well, as does, surprisingly, every member of his quartet. Two other male singers have solo spots, and again are quite good. Plus for jazz fans, there's the John Kirby group, which is prominently featured, with the great Sid Catlett on drums. Plus, on the acting side (and Sheila Guyse also has a great moment or two), Freddie Bartholomew shows considerable talent in an interlude with Daniels. Additionally, all the songs, unknowns, are good.

Sepia Cinderella was a pretty entertaining "race movie" of the time period

[tavm · 7/10 · 14 February 2018]

This is one of those "race movies" made during a time of segregation. The stars are Billy Daniels and Sheila Guyse-two beautiful singers who end up singing the same song separate and together simply called "Cinderella". There's another woman who's a club boss but that story is easily done with quick enough for other musical acts to perform in this little-more-than-an-hour picture. Also appearing is Freddie Bartholomew-a former child star appearing as an old friend of Daniels who does some jokes that I thought was funny. Nothing more to say except that Sepia Cinderella is worth a look for any one interested in this sort of thing.

Watch it just to try to catch a glimpse of Sidney Poitier.

[planktonrules · 3/10 · 8 August 2022]

A sad part of history is that in much of the United States, movie theaters used to be segregated. In some, non-white patrons were forced to sit in the balcony. In others, non-whites weren't allowed at all and needed to go to special theaters where mostly black audiences would go. But instead of watching the latest Hollywood product, many of these theaters would instead show films starring all-black casts. Unfortunately, the tiny studios that made them couldn't afford great productions.

One of these black films is "Sepia Cinderella". While I've seen a few dozen films made for black theaters, I sought this one out specifically because Sidney Poitier is an extra...and it's his first film appearance. The problem is...you have to spot him in the audience of the night club scenes. Perhaps you could watch it with friends and you all could search for him....as well as Freddie Bartholomew!

The story is a familiar sort of movie. A bandleader/composer strikes it big with one song. But instead of keeping his head, he allows this success to make his head swell...and he forgets those he's left behind. Can he manage to do the right thing and live happily ever after?

Like most such movies, the acting is very uneven. Some actors had trouble delivering their lines...a few, such as the comedians and a few of the singers, came off better. Overall, the movie is pretty much what you'd expect from such a low budgeted B-movie. It's okay...but nothing more. In fact, it's more of a curiosity than a great film.

More Like Bing Crosby than Miles Davis

[dougdoepke · 21 August 2012]

It's a typical show-biz success story. A vocalist and his band move up the ladder despite professional and personal complications.

I tuned in hoping to catch some hot Harlem jazz. It wasn't to be. Instead the music was right out of a Bing Crosby crooning session. Not that there's anything wrong with mellow sounds; it's just that I expected something else from an African-American production. In fact, it may be telling that the film features none of the buffoonish humor identified with so many black movie characters of the time. On the whole, the movie was conventional enough that it could have played as easily in white theaters as in black.

Outside the smooth sounds of Billy Daniels', the movie has two notable features. Oh my gosh, Sheila Guyse (Barbara) is a stunner with a voice to match. So why didn't she have a Lena Horne or Dorothy Dandridge-type career. It's too bad she apparently wound up a well-kept show-biz secret; her talent certainly merited more. On the other hand, what's with the clumsy Freddie Bartholomew interview. It's like a ten-minute audition for something or other, maybe a stand-up comic routine. But whatever, it's an almost surreal appearance for fans of the former kid star.

Other than these points, the movie's a harmless little time passer.

Mildly Entertaining Race Picture

[Michael_Elliott · 27 February 2017]

Sepia Cinderella (1947)

** (out of 4)

Barbara (Sheila Guyse) is secretly in love with band member Bob (Billy Daniels) but after he makes a hit record she fears that he might be lured away by the vamp Vivian (Tondaleyo).

Here's another low-budget race movie that was produced to be shown in black theaters across America. If you're looking for something ground-breaking then you're obviously not going to find it here but if you're a fan of these race movies then there's plenty to enjoy here. Obviously, the main reason to watch this is for the music of Daniels who was still a bit before his prime.

Even though Daniels hadn't quite found his mark yet, it's still fun seeing him before he was extremely famous and for the most part the musical numbers here are good enough. You won't be looking the songs up afterwards to add to your MP3 players but while the movie is going on they kept me entertained. The strangest thing about this movie is a quick cameo by former child star Freddie Bartholomew.

I'm really not sure how Bartholomew got in the picture but it was clearly meant as a way for him to be introduced back to cinema after the war. It's a little confusing as how being in a race picture would have helped but the cameo is quite bizarre but interesting if you're a fan of his. Apparently Sidney Poitier is also somewhere in the cast as an extra but I was unable to see him.

SEPIA Cinderella isn't a masterpiece or even a good movie but it's a mildly entertaining picture.