Movie Spotlight: First Love (1939)

Except... it wasn’t first love for me. I wept and gnashed my teeth over it (pretty image, is it not? :)). The teacher was too nasty (I said)… her family was odious… and that was the end of the matter for me. Or so I thought.

But then, months later, I saw it again and (what is that line from Tangled? “And it's like the sky is new”).. I know that’s a romance song, but that part is so true for this story. Because I fell totally in love.

So it’s through those new eyes that I present this review –
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First thought: Connie’s teacher is rather hard, but it’s the hardness of love that teaches what the world is like so that it won’t crush and then shows that love can be found even in the busiest, blindest of places.

But what is this place? The sparkly splendor of 30’s high society, complete with its crazy fur, dainty high-heels, and the swirling shimmer of the ladies’ shining skirts… It’s the stuff dreams are made of and, believe me, the perfect setting for a Cinderella story!

This movie has, I think, the funniest meeting between Cinderella and her “prince”, which gets only more comical as I think of the other versions. Ever After has him (ahem) borrowing her horse (such a little gentleman :)) and Cinderella 2015 has them both riding (love that scene so much!) But in this one Connie, obeying the order of her cousin to delay Ted Drake (i.e. The Prince) till she gets there, lures away his horse with some sugar cubes from the place where he tied it. And hence proceeds the most hysterical game of tag: with Connie in front and the horse galloping after, with Ted in hot pursuit. After which Ted very niftily pretty much saves her life. Totally adorable, I do assure you. :)

From there, the story only gets sweeter, from the interference of the “Nasty Stepsister” to the dreamiest ball sequence. Connie and Ted dance to a medley of Strauss waltzes thus instantly putting Strauss, and waltzing in general on my list of the Most Romantic Things Ever. The dance also includes the neatest fade-out effect with the other couples fading away, leaving them dancing in an empty ballroom and then having a lovely conversation on the terrace which overlooks New York City.

The entire story is entwined with songs that are variously joyful and as heartbreaking as they come. But the best moment? The end of course. (I’m skipping over the dividing part on purpose because second only to Slipper and the Rose it is the most heart-wrenching of the Cinderella partings.)

But I won’t tell you much of it… only that it is stirring, tugging your heartstrings, and utterly lovely with promises of a future all the brighter for dear Connie.

Aren't they the cutest ever?!!

Thus ends one of the loveliest (in both senses of the word) movies of all time, leaving you with a sigh of the dreamiest kind, a nice cozy feeling that glows to the tips of your fingers, and the feeling that love at first sight might just be possible after all.

Note: This review was first posted for Heidi's Cinderella Week and Miss Laurie's 2016 Period Drama Challenge!