Helpmann, Shearer and Massine in The Red Shoes.

Image File history File links Helpmann, Shearer and Massine in The Red Shoes This work is copyrighted. ... Image File history File links Helpmann, Shearer and Massine in The Red Shoes This work is copyrighted. ... Robert Helpmann Sir Robert Helpmann (April 9, 1909 – September 28, 1986), Australian dancer, actor and choreographer, was born in Mount Gambier, South Australia. ... Moira, Lady Kennedy (born 17 January 1926), known as Moira Shearer, is an internationally-famous ballet dancer and actress. ... Leonid Fyodorovich Myasin (August 9, 1896–March 15, 1979) was a Russian choreographer and ballet dancer. ...

Film

The Red Shoes (1948) is a film by the British-based director-writer team of Powell & Pressburger. 1948 (MCMXLVIII) is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... Powell and Pressburger were a British film-making partnership of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, also known as The Archers. ...

The inventive, self-referential plot of this film tells the story of a young ballerina forced to perform in a ballet called The Red Shoes, based on a story by Hans Christian Andersen about a woman who cannot stop dancing. The film stars Anton Walbrook, Marius Goring and Moira Shearer. It was adapted by Powell and Pressburger, with additions by Keith Winter and (uncredited) Marius Goring. The script by Pressburger was originally written for Alexander Korda as a vehicle for Korda's future wife Merle Oberon. After some years had passed with no film having been made, Powell and Pressburger bought the script back, rewrote it to make it a more heavyweight affair and include more dancing, and made it themselves. Hans Christian Andersen. ... Anton Walbrook as Theo Kretschmar-Schuldorff, in the duel scene from The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp. ... Marius Goring (May 23, 1912 - September 30, 1998) was a British stage and cinema actor. ... Moira, Lady Kennedy (born 17 January 1926), known as Moira Shearer, is an internationally-famous ballet dancer and actress. ... Marius Goring (May 23, 1912 - September 30, 1998) was a British stage and cinema actor. ... Sir Alexander Korda (September 16, 1893 - January 23, 1956) was a film director and producer, a leading figure in the British film industry and the founder of London Films. ... Actress Merle Oberon in Berlin Express (1948) Merle Oberon (February 19, 1911 – November 23, 1979), born Estelle Merle OBrien Thompson, was a film actress, known for her sultry looks. ...

The plot revolves around Victoria (Vicki) Page, a young dancer from a rich aristocratic background. At a party, she meets Boris Lermontov, the single-minded and ruthless manager of the Ballet Lermontov, who recruits her as a student, where she is taught by, amongst others, Grisha Lubov (Massine). When the company moves to Paris and then to Monte Carlo, she goes with them as a member of the company. Lermontov realises her potential, and invites her to create the title role in a new ballet, The Red Shoes. The music is to be written by Julian Craster (Goring) a young composer just engaged as orchestral coach. The Eiffel Tower has become a symbol of Paris throughout the world. ... Monte Carlo is a very wealthy section of the city-state of Monaco known for its casino, gambling, beaches, glamour, and sightings of famous people. ...

As the premiere of the ballet approaches, Page and Craster fall in love. The ballet is a success, but when Lermontov learns of their affair, he demands that it cease. Craster refuses and resigns. Page later also resigns and marries Craster.

In due course, Vicki is tempted to leave Craster and travel to Monte Carlo to dance a revival of the ballet, which a furious Lermontov has removed from the repertoire. As she is preparing for the opening night, Craster appears and demands that she leave with him. Torn between her love for Craster and her love of ballet, she commits suicide.

The heartbroken company perform The Red Shoes, with a spotlight on the empty space that Vicki would have occupied.

Production

To create such a realistic idea of a ballet company at work and to be able to include a 15 minute ballet as the high point of the film, Powell & Pressburger decided to create a ballet company of over 50 dancers. They decided early on that they had to use dancers who could act rather than actors who could dance a bit. Powell and Pressburger were a British film-making partnership of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, also known as The Archers. ...

The principal dancers were Robert Helpmann (who also choreographed the main ballet), Léonide Massine, Ludmilla Tchérina and Moira Shearer. Robert Helpmann Sir Robert Helpmann (April 9, 1909 – September 28, 1986), Australian dancer, actor and choreographer, was born in Mount Gambier, South Australia. ... Leonid Fyodorovich Myasin (August 9, 1896–March 15, 1979) was a Russian choreographer and ballet dancer. ... Ludmilla Tchérina in Oh. ... Moira, Lady Kennedy (born 17 January 1926), known as Moira Shearer, is an internationally-famous ballet dancer and actress. ...

Subsequent history

The film didn't do very well at first in the UK, not because it wasn't liked, more because the Rank Organisation had severe financial problems exacerbated by the expense of Caesar and Cleopatra (1945) by Gabriel Pascal so they couldn't afford to promote it very well. The financial directors also didn't understand a film about the importance of art such as The Red Shoes. It did reasonable business in the UK and was liked by the public. But when it was released in the USA it was only after an independent US distributor showed it for an unbroken 110 week run in an off Broadway theater (The Bijou) that Universal realised that it was a worthwhile film after all. Universal took over the US distribution in 1951. Since then it has continued to be one of the highest earning British films of all time. The Rank Organisation, a British entertainment company formed in 1937 and absorbed in 1996 by The Rank Group Plc. ... Universal Studios is a Hollywood film production and distribution company, controlled by General Electric Corporation. ...

When it was first previewed a lot of ballet critics (in the UK and in the USA) wrote very good reviews about it, pleased to see ballet portrayed so well on screen. But when they realised that it was universally popular their reviews suddenly became quite dismissive of the film.

The Red Shoes led to quite a few other films being able to treat ballet and dance seriously. It was only after he made the studio executives watch The Red Shoes a few times that Gene Kelly was able to include the ballet in An American in Paris. Gene Kelly (1912-1996) Eugene Curran Kelly, August 23, 1912 - February 2, 1996 Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was an American dancer, actor, singer, director, producer, and choreographer. ... An American in Paris is a symphonic composition by American composer George Gershwin which debuted in 1928. ...

Song and album

There is also a song and an album called The Red Shoes by Kate Bush, inspired by this film. The music from that album was subsequently used in a film The Line, the Cross and the Curve (1993) made by Kate Bush, starring Miranda Richardson and Lindsay Kemp which references the 1948 film. The Red Shoes is Kate Bushs 7th studio album. ... Kate Bush (born Catherine Bush on 30 July 1958 in Bexleyheath, Kent, now part of Greater London) is a British singer-songwriter known for her expressive three-octave voice, idiosyncratic and literary lyrics, and eclectic and meticulous musical and production style. ... The Line, the Cross, and the Curve is a musical short film directed by and starring pop singer Kate Bush. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) is a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ... Miranda Richardson at the 1992 Golden Globe Awards, where she won Best Actress for her role in Enchanted April Miranda Richardson (Born 3 March 1958, in Southport, Lancashire) is a British actress, commonly regarded as one of the finest acting talents of her generation, and noted for her distinctive ability...

Musical

There was also a Broadway musical The Red Shoes by Jule Styne, author of classics like Funny Girl and Gypsy. The Gershwin Theatre, New York City, showed this musical. Steve Barton played the main role of the ballet impresario Boris Lermontov. Margaret Illmann played the role of Victoria Page, the dance star in this great piece. The choreography was given the Astaire Award of the Theatre Development Fund. The premiere was on Thursday, December 16th, 1993. The musical, after 51 previews, closed after 5 performances. Broadway theatre is often considered the highest professional form of theatre in the United States. ... Jule Styne (December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was a British born United States songwriter. ... Steve Barton (June 26, 1954 - July 21, 2001) was an actor, singer, dancer, choreographer, stage director and teacher. ... Margaret L. Illmann is an Australian prima ballerina with an international career. ...

External links

• The Red Shoes at the Internet Movie Database
• The Red Shoes at screenonline
• Reviews and articles at the Powell & Pressburger Pages

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