"The Good Shepherdess and the Evil Princess" is very similar to the Cinderella story, which Méliès explicitly adapted in a couple of his other surviving films. One, from 1899, was from early in his oeuvre and was one of the world's first multi-scene story films. The other, from 1912, was an ambitious film and one of his last that he made while working for his former rival Pathé.
This version was made in 1908, which seems to have been a turning point of a year for Méliès's Star Film Company. By now, he had two studios in Montreuil and was cranking out more nitrate than in any other year of his career. Besides trying to supply exhibition markets in France, he was also exporting these films to the United States. His brother ran operations in New York, where he would join Edison's Trust, with its high requirements of enough production per week to supply the booming Nickelodeon business. This seemingly thriving situation, however, proved to be Méliès's downfall. Reportedly, his brother was keeping American profits to himself, which in addition to monopolization by Edison's Trust in the U.S. and Pathé in Europe, led to Méliès ceasing production during 1909. His studio never recovered from this, and he eventually reneged on a contract making films for Pathé and retired from making movies.
Méliès's films from this time are uneven, and "The Good Shepherdess and the Evil Princess", in particular, seems rather directionless. Its six tableaux are haphazardly connected by the Cinderella theme. A fairy magically reverses the fortunes of the good shepherdess and the fat, evil princess without much in the way of plot.
