April 5, 2022 --

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While this magnificent film opened in Britain in September 1948, and in New York the following month, principal photography (the technicolor is simply gorgeous) began in June 1947 and continued for 24 weeks.   

It is fair to say, then, that this June marks the 75 anniversary of this movie, starring Anton Walbrook, as  Boris  Lermontov, a tyrannical impresario, Marius Goring as Jul the composer Julian Craster composer of The Red Shoe ballet, and Moira Shearer as Vicki Page the principal ballerina.   

The film featured Leonid Massine as choreagrapher of the Ballet Lermontov, Robert Helpmann, as Lermontov's lead male ballet danger,  Albert Bassermann as the set and costume designer and Esmond Knight as Lermontov's lead conductor. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger were co-writers, producers, and directors. 

Knight lost an eye serving as a lieutenant on the Prince of Wales, in battle with the Bismarck, Goring rose to the rank of colonel in the British army.   Pressburger left Germany as a Jewish refugee from the Nazis and Basserman left Germany rather than divorce his Jewish wife as instructed by the Nazis.

On the forthcoming 75th anniversary of The Red Shoes, this youtube offering certainly deserves viral treatment.  LPR particularly enjoyed Walbrook as the head of the Ballet Lermontov.  (And in LPR's view, the technicolor process has never been so awesome on screen.