The Red Shoes

The Red Shoes (1948) is a British film directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. 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, Pressburger. Keith Winter[?] and Marius Goring (uncredited).

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.

There is also a song and an album called The Red Shoes by Kate Bush, in reference to the film.