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.