The Red Shoes (1948)

Directors:

Michael Powell
Emeric Pressburger

Writers:

Hans Christian Andersen (fairy tale)
Emeric Pressburger (original screenplay)

Release Date:

6 September 1948 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Music

Tagline:

Dance she did, and dance she must - between her two loves

Plot:

Under the authoritarian rule of charismatic ballet impressario Boris Lermontov, his proteges realize the full promise of their talents...

Plot Keywords:

Ballet | Ballerina | Shoe | Composer | Forced To Dance

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Marius Goring	...	Julian Craster
Jean Short	...	Terry
Gordon Littmann	...	Ike
Julia Lang	...	A Balletomane
Bill Shine	...	Her Mate
Léonide Massine	...	Ljubov (as Leonide Massine)
Anton Walbrook	...	Boris Lermontov
Austin Trevor	...	Professor Palmer
Esmond Knight	...	Livy
Eric Berry	...	Dimitri
Irene Browne	...	Lady Neston
Moira Shearer	...	Victoria Page
Ludmilla Tchérina	...	Boronskaja (as Ludmilla Tcherina)
Jerry Verno	...	Stage-Door Keeper
Robert Helpmann	...	Ivan Boleslawsky

Also Known As:

Die roten Schuhe (Austria) (West Germany) [de]
Las zapatillas rojas (Mexico) (Spain) [es]
Les chaussons rouges (Belgium: French title) (France) [fr]
Czerwone pantofelki (Poland) [pl]
Czerwone trzewiki (Poland) [pl]
De röda skorna (Sweden) [sv]
De røde sko (Denmark) [da]
De rode schoentjes (Netherlands) [nl]
De rode schoentjes (Belgium: Flemish title) [un]
Hong wu xie (China: Mandarin title) [zh]
Os sapatos Vermelhos (Portugal) [pt]
Punaiset kengät (Finland) [fi]
Sapatinhos Vermelhos (Brazil) [pt]
Scarpette rosse (Italy) [it]
Ta kokkina papoutsia (Greece) [el]

Runtime:

133 min | Japan:136 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

Iceland:L | South Korea:12 | Sweden:Btl | West Germany:12 | Australia:G | Finland:S | UK:U | Spain:T | Ireland:G

Filming Locations:

Royal Opera House, Bow Street, Covent Garden, London, England, UK

Company:

Archers, The

Trivia:

Much to his surprise, Michael Powell had great difficulty persuading Moira Shearer to be in the film. She held out for a year before giving in to him. Shearer herself, however, did not particularly care for Powell. In later years, she described the making of the film as being a terrible ordeal: Powell was distant and aloof and never really gave her much direction; and having to dance for hours on end on concrete floors also physically took its toll on all the dancers, making their legs swell up.

Goofs:

Continuity: The length of Julian's cigarette changes dramatically (gets longer and then gets much shorter than he could smoke it down to in the short time between shots) while he's playing the piano for Vicky in Lermontov's office.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[holding doors closed]
Doorman: They're going mad, sir. It's the students.
[From outside]
Julian Craster: Down with tyrants!
Manager, Covent Garden: All right, let them in.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Time After Time (1979)

Soundtrack:

Excerpt from 'Les Sylphides'

P&P's Masterpiece

I have seen this film about 30 times in 30 years and for me this film will always be special. Astonishingly, my wife, who is a Ballet Teacher, doesn't care at all for this film finding it too 'affected'. Perhaps as I am not involved with ballet at a professional level is a reason why I can enjoy this vibrant, colourful fantasy so much, but then our ballet friends adore the film, so who knows why this film affects some so profoundly (Spielberg&Scorsese!!) and not others. Anton Walbrook's authoritative performance is so memorable and Moira Shearer dances beautifully. Perhaps because the film is so highly charged with passion and emotion it will never please everyone, but I feel this is one of the great achievements of British Cinema and a film so rich and inspirational you will never wish to forget it.