I'm no ballet expert, but even to my untrained eye, this is the worst ballet dancing I have ever seen. Coppelia can barely remain upright in her turns and spins.
shareThere are two versions of this film. You were watching the radically edited 1976 version of this film, shown on TCM on June 24, 2012. The edited 1976 version is known as "The Mysterious House of Dr. C."
Claudia Corday, in her dual role of Swanhilda-Coppelia, was an excellent ballet dancer with the New York Harkness ballet. Unfortunately, many of her dances were cut short in "The Mysterious House of Dr. C" (1976). (In her role as Coppelia in the pink dress, Corday plays a mechanical doll, so there is some stiffness in her movements.)
In addition, the beautiful Delibes music was edited, and replaced with non-stop voice narration and mediocre songs. Some other beautiful dances were also cut short or even eliminated, and replaced with nonsense cartoon animation.
Try to watch the original unedited ballet film "Dr. Coppelius" (1968). It has the complete ballets, Delibes music, and pantomime only.
Original Poster is correct: she is no ballet expert. The dancers in this film were all excellent. Even Slezak capered gracefully. I'm referring to the original "Dr. Coppelius", not the later butchered version.
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