Put Your Dancing Slippers On-The Red Shoes (1948)-A Film Review

DVD Review

By Sam Lowell

The Red Shoes, starring Moira Shearer, Anton Walbrook, Marius Goring, 1948 

Usually this reviewer would not find time or inclination to view a film that was centered on the ballet, or ballerinas. Nothing against ballet, ballet in the flesh which he has seen on many occasions. The film under review though, The Red Shoes, intrigued him in two ways since he had actually read the Hans Christian Andersen story as a kid (as a kid before he realized that a lot of fairy-tale type stories should perhaps not be told to children, not told because they are too scary or tragic as here making one wonder about the personalities of the fairy-tale writers) and because he was interested in the story within a story idea that animated the film (The Red Shoes Ballet based on the Andersen’s story).

In a way the story line is simplicity itself for those who know that in the Andersen tale the latest possessor of the red shoes is made to dance until death by the demonic shoemaker, the devil himself of you thing about it, after enticing the female victim with desire for them. There is a rough parallel to that theme in the film although it starts out as a more conventional Svengali –like piece. Vicky, played by Moira Shearer, is an up and coming ballet dancer who is looking for a break like many other young dancers with a famous ballet company run by Boris, played by Anton Walbrook, who alternates between ruthless tyrant and benevolent despot. He lets Vicky in to see what she is made of and after viewing an afternoon local production of her in Swan Lake he decides to keep her in his company as they travel to Monte Carlo for the season.      

Vicky was kind of left stalling around until the prima ballerina was with child and that was her big opening. Along the way Boris had also hired Julian, play by Marius Goring, to write scores for his ballets. In this way Vicky and Julian meet and at first are adversaries but through their collaboration as main dancer and score writer in the production of the Red Shoes Ballet they turn into lovers. Boris who sees the next best thing for his company in Vicky is initially furious because of the dashing of his artistic reasons for wanting her single once the young pair get married. Boris realized though that he loves Vicky, or at least has strong romantic feelings for her although he was a bit short on showing that side of himself-ever. To get even, to break the pair up after the huge success of The Red Shoes Ballet, Boris fired Julian and in his train Vicky followed.

Vicky had her own agenda as well since she was as struck by stardom as any other promising dancer and although she followed Julian back to London while he was working on his first opera the bright lights got to her. She went back to Boris’ company in Monte Carlo after he promised her a revival of the Red Shoe Ballet. On opening night Julian showed up from London on the night his own opera was opening to bring his wife home. Vicky initially balked since she was torn between Boris and Julian’s visions for her, and her own as well. At first Boris won out but then Vicky turned tail and ran after the departing dejected Julian. But as she ran down the steps with her red shoes on to rejoin Julian she either tripped or jumps over a balustrade and into an on-coming train. Near death she asked Julian to take the damn red shoes off of her feet. Yeah, damn those red shoes that did in Andersen’s dancer and poor Vicky too. Watch this one as well for all the then very famous dancers the producers brought in to make this a very realistic ballet film-in early version Technicolor too.