Editing The Red Shoes (1948 film) (section)

===Screenplay===
Producer [[Alexander Korda]] had conceived a ballet-themed film in 1934, which he intended to be a biopic about [[Vaslav Nijinsky]].{{sfn|Connelly|2005|p=4}} The project never came to fruition, but in 1937, Korda found himself again inspired to write a ballet-themed film as a vehicle for [[Merle Oberon]], his future wife.{{sfn|Connelly|2005|p=4}} Korda, along with filmmaker [[Michael Powell]], fashioned a film based on Oberon's looks, but, because she was not a skilled dancer, Korda knew he would need to use a double for any dance sequences.{{sfn|Connelly|2005|p=4}} Korda eventually abandoned the project, instead shifting his focus to ''[[The Thief of Bagdad (1940 film)|The Thief of Bagdad]]'' (1940).{{sfn|Connelly|2005|p=4}}

In 1946, Powell and his filmmaking partner [[Emeric Pressburger]] bought the rights to the screenplay Powell had co-written with Korda for £9,000.{{sfn|Connelly|2005|p=4}} According to Powell, the original screenplay contained significantly more dialogue and less story.{{sfn|McLean|2008|p=33}}

The character of Boris Lermontov was inspired in part by [[Sergei Diaghilev]], the impresario who founded the [[Ballets Russes]],<ref>{{cite news |last=Macaulay |first=Alastair |author-link=Alastair Macaulay |title=Love and Dance: Two Obsessions, One Classic Film |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=31 August 2008 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/31/arts/dance/31maca.html}}</ref> although there are also aspects about him drawn from the personalities of producer [[J. Arthur Rank]] and even director Powell himself.{{sfn|Powell|1986|pages=650–651}} The particular episode in Diaghilev's life that is said to have inspired the characterisation is his seeing the 14-year-old [[Diana Gould (dancer)|Diana Gould]] partnering [[Frederick Ashton]] in the première of his first ballet, ''Leda and the Swan''. On the basis of this, Diaghilev invited her to join his company, but he died before that plan could come about.<ref>{{cite ODNB|last=Pritchard|first=Jane|title=Menuhin, Diana Rosamond Constance Grace Irene (nee Gould), Lady Menuhin (1912–2003)|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/88750|access-date=12 November 2012|date=January 2011|doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/88750}} {{subscription required}}</ref>

====Basis====
The [[The Red Shoes (fairy tale)|Hans Christian Andersen story]] tells how the orphan Karen's [[Color blindness|colour blind]] guardian buys her an inappropriate pair of red shoes for her church confirmation ceremony, but, when the mistake is discovered, forbids her to wear them. She disobeys. A crippled "old soldier" at the church door tells Karen they are dancing shoes. Later, she wears them to a ball, and cannot stop dancing. She dances day and night until an executioner, at her request, amputates her feet; the shoes dance away with them. She lives with a parson's family after that, and she dies with a vision of finally being able to join the Sunday congregation. In this story, the shoes represent "her sin", the vanity and worldly pleasures which distracted her from a life of generosity, piety, and community.

The ballet has three characters: the Girl, the Boy and the Shoemaker. The Boy, danced by [[Robert Helpmann]], is at first the girl's boyfriend; as she dances, he turns into a sketch on transparent cellophane. Later he appears as the living counterpart of the Press, with "Le Jour" written on his forehead ("The Daily") and an alter ego made of folded newspapers, then as the prince in a triumphant [[Pas de deux]]/six. Finally, the Boy appears as the village parson; when he unties the red shoes, the girl dies in his arms. The Shoemaker, danced by [[Léonide Massine]], is a diabolical figure far beyond the scope of the "old soldier". Always dancing, he tempts the girl with the shoes, installs them by "movie magic" on her feet, partners her briefly, and generally gloats over her confusion and despair. At one point he leads a mob of "primitive" monsters who surround her, but they elevate her high in a triumphant ballerina pose. At the end, the shoemaker picks up the discarded shoes and offers them to the audience. In the context of the movie, the shoes represent the choice offered by Lermontov to become a great dancer, at the expense of normal human relationships.