Ella Cinders
Encyclopedia
Ella Cinders was a syndicated comic strip
created by writer Bill Conselman and artist Charles Plumb
. Distributed by United Feature Syndicate
, the daily version was launched June 1, 1925, and a Sunday page
followed two years later. It was discontinued in 1961.
story, but then it diverged into other plotlines, as noted by comics historian Don Markstein
:
) works for her stepmother and two stepsisters, Prissy Pill (Emily Gerdes) and Lotta Pill (Doris Baker), finding support from the local iceman, Waite Lifter (Lloyd Hughes
). The Gem Film Company has a contest in which the winner gets an all-expense paid trip to Hollywood and a movie role. A photograph is needed to enter, so Ella spends three nights babysitting to raise $3 for the photo session. However, the photographer unwittingly take a picture of her looking cross-eyed at a fly on her nose which turns out to be the photo entered in the contest. Entrants must go to a Town Hall ball, but Ella's stepmother and stepsisters won't allow her to go. Waite sees her crying on the front steps and tells her he will take her to the ball. She says she has nothing to wear, so he convinces her to use one of her stepsisters' dresses. At the judges' table, her stepsisters react violently when they see the dress. The embarrassed Ella flees the ball, losing one of her slippers. Later, the judges come to the house and tell Ella that she is the winner because they were amused by the cross-eyed photo. Ella heads for Hollywood, where she is disappointed to discover the contest was a fraud. She nevertheless manages to land a movie contract. Waite turns out to be football hero George Waite, and the two are reunited.
and comic books, including early issues of Tip Top and Sparkler Comics, plus her own title in 1948-49. The comic strip had numerous ghost writers and ghost artists, including children's book author Hardie Gramatky
, Morton Traylor
, Henry Formhals
(of Freckles and His Friends
) and Jack W. McGuire (of The Red Knight). After Plumb retired, Fred Fox took over the strip in the 1950s, and he was later replaced by Roger Armstrong (of Scamp).
Comic strip
A comic strip is a sequence of drawings arranged in interrelated panels to display brief humor or form a narrative, often serialized, with text in balloons and captions....
created by writer Bill Conselman and artist Charles Plumb
Charles Plumb (cartoonist)
Charles Plumb was an American cartoonist best known for maintaining a high quality of artwork on the comic strip Ella Cinders over three decades. He usually signed his work with the signature Charlie Plumb or Chas. Plumb....
. Distributed by United Feature Syndicate
United Media
United Media is a large editorial column and comic strip newspaper syndication service based in the United States, owned by The E.W. Scripps Company. It syndicates 150 comics and editorial columns worldwide. Its core business is the United Feature Syndicate and the Newspaper Enterprise Association...
, the daily version was launched June 1, 1925, and a Sunday page
Sunday strip
A Sunday strip is a newspaper comic strip format, where comic strips are printed in the Sunday newspaper, usually in a special section called the Sunday comics, and virtually always in color. Some readers called these sections the Sunday funnies...
followed two years later. It was discontinued in 1961.
Characters and story
Initially, as the name implies, the strip presented a variation on the classic CinderellaCinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
story, but then it diverged into other plotlines, as noted by comics historian Don Markstein
Don Markstein's Toonopedia
Don Markstein's Toonopedia was a web encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation. Don D...
:
- Ella was the stepdaughter of Myrtle "Ma" Cinders, a formidable woman who assigned Ella to the household drudge work while her own daughters, Prissie ("pinched and acid", to quote Conselman's description of his character) and Lotta ("fat and foolish") Pill spent their copious free time tormenting Ella. But Ella wasn't the sort to let that get her down. With her kid brother Blackie as an ally, she wisecracked her way through the most depressing of situations, finding solace in sarcasm. Outside the house, she had a boyfriend with the improbable name of Waite Lifter. She was pretty enough, in a 1920s sort of way, with straight, black hair and as big and bright a pair of eyes as you'll find anywhere in comics. But she wasn't a raving beauty, and tended to dress down, especially in the early years. Her "fairy godmother" moment did come in the form of winning a beauty contest, but that was only because the guy judging it picked her photo at random. The prize was relocation to Hollywood and a glamorous job at a movie studio. When she got there she found the studio defunct, but at least she was out of the "Cinderella" situation. For the next few years, Ella and Blackie kicked around Hollywood, doing melodramatic continuity in the dailies and one-episode gags on Sundays. She never really prospered, but did okay for herself—in fact, she even got married, though her husband, Patches, spent a lot of time away, having adventures.
Film adaptation
The prolific Alfred E. Green directed the film adaptation, Ella Cinders, produced by John McCormick and released by First National on June 6, 1926. In the house of late father, Ella Cinders (Colleen MooreColleen Moore
Colleen Moore was an American film actress, and one of the most fashionable stars of the silent film era.-Early life:...
) works for her stepmother and two stepsisters, Prissy Pill (Emily Gerdes) and Lotta Pill (Doris Baker), finding support from the local iceman, Waite Lifter (Lloyd Hughes
Lloyd Hughes
Lloyd Hughes was an American silent film actor.-Life and career:Born in Bisbee, Arizona, Hughes received his education at the Los Angeles Polytechnic School. He sought a career as an actor early in life, and his clean-cut appearance and ability soon gained him recognition...
). The Gem Film Company has a contest in which the winner gets an all-expense paid trip to Hollywood and a movie role. A photograph is needed to enter, so Ella spends three nights babysitting to raise $3 for the photo session. However, the photographer unwittingly take a picture of her looking cross-eyed at a fly on her nose which turns out to be the photo entered in the contest. Entrants must go to a Town Hall ball, but Ella's stepmother and stepsisters won't allow her to go. Waite sees her crying on the front steps and tells her he will take her to the ball. She says she has nothing to wear, so he convinces her to use one of her stepsisters' dresses. At the judges' table, her stepsisters react violently when they see the dress. The embarrassed Ella flees the ball, losing one of her slippers. Later, the judges come to the house and tell Ella that she is the winner because they were amused by the cross-eyed photo. Ella heads for Hollywood, where she is disappointed to discover the contest was a fraud. She nevertheless manages to land a movie contract. Waite turns out to be football hero George Waite, and the two are reunited.
Books
Ella also turned up in Big Little BooksBig Little Books
The Big Little Books, first published during 1932 by the Whitman Publishing Company of Racine, Wisconsin, were small, compact books designed with a captioned illustration opposite each page of text...
and comic books, including early issues of Tip Top and Sparkler Comics, plus her own title in 1948-49. The comic strip had numerous ghost writers and ghost artists, including children's book author Hardie Gramatky
Hardie Gramatky
Bernhard August "Hardie" Gramatky, Jr. was an American painter, author, and illustrator. In a 2006 article in Watercolor Magazine, Andrew Wyeth named him as one of America's 20 greatest watercolorists...
, Morton Traylor
Morton Traylor
Morton Patrick Traylor was an American fine artist, designer, serigrapher and founder of the Virginia Art Institute in Charlottesville, Virginia.-Biography:...
, Henry Formhals
Henry Formhals
Henry Martin Formhals was an American cartoonist best known for his work on the comic strip Freckles and His Friends....
(of Freckles and His Friends
Freckles and His Friends
Freckles and his Friends was a popular American comic strip set in the peaceful small town of Shadyside where young Freckles McGoosey and his friends live...
) and Jack W. McGuire (of The Red Knight). After Plumb retired, Fred Fox took over the strip in the 1950s, and he was later replaced by Roger Armstrong (of Scamp).