User Reviews

Tomboy Cindy hasn't got an invitation to a party, so she pretends she doesn't enjoy them. Her mother assures her the invitation is probably stuck in the mail. Cindy goes to sleep and dreams that her fairy godmother appears to make sure she gets there and offer her advice on how to behave.

It's good advice, but it's offered in the sort of stentorian manner that this sort of short subject used. Director Herk Harvey directs efficiently, as he always does; he directed literally hundreds of these movies for Centron and his sole independent feature at an empty amusement park during a summer vacation.

Tomboy Cindy is playing basketball with Dennis. She suggests picking it back up tomorrow but he tells her that Mary is throwing a party. Cindy never got an invitation. She is visited by her fairy godmother.

I'm not sure what to make of this especially the fairy godmother. She seems to take the place of a hovering mother. You know what would be better... a cool older sister. The short's main saving grace is that these kids are pre-teens. The party is lame but at least, these are not teens. It's a kiddie party. There is no way this short would touch a spin the bottle scene. It's fine, but the fairy godmother is really odd.

In this real drop down corker of a movie, Cindy, real tom-girl that she is who plays basketball and fishes all day, wonders why she's not invited to Mary's party. She weeps to her mother (who is very strange looking and has no eyebrows) before she goes to bed. That night, her fairy godmother wakes her up and tells her that she's invited to the party, and takes Cindy to the party, while trotting out conformitive hints and tips with her wand like "leave on time" and "be a good loser". Soon, the fairy godmother leaves, Cindy cries for her not to leave as she is woken up by her mother, who says that Mary's sister, who's in the bedroom as well, forgot to bring the invitiation over. What do you know, she LOOKS like the fairy godmother... Yeah yeah, that's interesting, but what I wanna know is why on earth was she invited to her sleeping child's bedroom? A truly astounding movie, a MUST SEE!

I had no idea what to expect, as most of these instructional films are dreary, boring, or both. Not this one! The special effects" were unexpected, and, to misquote Philip Dick, "they were, well..... special."

I only knew of Herk Harvey from his masterwork Carnival of Souls, a movie I like more and more every time I see it. Its a shame that such a talented guy didn't do more "real" work in the film medium because of his unique style. Watching the handheld camera quickly move in for a closeup of the half sleeping girl's face as she goes to bed, you just KNOW that something unexpected is about to happen.

Later, we see the female model in the iconic Whistler's Mother's painting (a fine art reproduction that surely would not have been on someone's living room wall during that time, it would have been something by Norman Rockwell) ) magically turn into the fairy godmother, wow, that was genius. Later, the fairy godmother turns into the big sister of the girl who had the party.

In this short, as in Carnival of Souls, Harvey's perfectly chosen, untrained actors were exactly right for their roles, and Cindy does a great switchover from tomboy to cute little girl all in a wink. The fairy godmother also deserves praise, in that dress and her little tiara, she is actually pretty darned hot. How come she never paid me a visit? I guess I was too young, when this was made I was all of 3 years old. But if she had come by 10 years later, oh boy.

This is just a wonderfully made short film. Shorts are probably harder to make than the longer films because, just like a short story, every word has to count.

Cindy Goes to a Party (1955)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Herk Harvey will always be remembered for CARNIVAL OF SOULS but he made a lot of education shorts as well. This one here has Cindy and her best guy friend going to a party but they are visited by a Fairy Godmother who tells them the appropriate way to act at a party. This nine- minute short has gained some popularity over the years due to its rather campy structure and some hilarious old-fashioned "rules" that should be followed at parties. This includes using good manors, showing up on time and leaving on time. CINDY GOES TO A PARTY is certainly campy and if you're a fan of these old educational films then you can certainly have some good laughs with it. The performances are pretty much what you'd expect but it's the rules that are going to get the majority of the laughs.