Robert Helpmann Archives

The Red Shoes (1948)

Rating: ★★★★

Nov 8, 2004Ballet Drama/Fairytale Magic Shoes

Sumptuous, beautifully made ballet fantasy from Michael Powell based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale. A Technicolor spectacle at a time when most films were still made in black-and-white

Director: Michael Powell

Actors: Moira Shearer, Anton Walbrook, Marius Goring, Leonide Massine, …

Category: Fantasy

8 November 200429 June 2021 by Roog

The Tales of Hoffmann (1951)

Rating: ★★★★

Apr 6, 2015Anthology of Fantasy Tales/Ballet

One of the greatest of all fantasy films. A reasonable percentage of you are going to switch off when I use the word ballet but I urge you to bear with me and discover this stunningly cinematic Technicolor epic that uses sets in extraordinary ways that no other film ever has

Director: Emeric Pressburger, Michael Powell

Actors: Robert Rounseville, Robert Helpmann, Moira Shearer, Philip Leaver, …

Category: Fantasy

6 April 201529 June 2021 by Roog

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)

Rating: ★★

Sep 7, 2000Fantastical Flying Car/Musical

Adaptation of a children's book by James Bond creator Ian Fleming concerning a magical flying car. This is clearly trying to be another Mary Poppins and has been mounted as a lavish musical

Director: Kenneth Hughes

Actors: Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Gert Frobe, Lionel Jeffries, …

Category: Fantasy

7 September 200029 September 2025 by Roog

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1972)

Rating: ★★½

May 6, 1999Alice in Wonderland Adaptation

A live-action film adaptation of Alice in Wonderland that conducts a passable run through of Lewis Carroll with the supporting characters populated by an all-star British cast

Director: William Sterling

Actors: Fiona Fullerton, Michael Crawford, Peter Sellers, Dudley Moore, …

Category: Fantasy

6 May 199915 February 2026 by Roog

Patrick (1978)

Rating: ★★★

Oct 9, 2003Psychic Coma Patient

Fine Australian from Richard Franklin that jumps aboard the popularity of Carrie concerning a coma patient who demonstrates psychic powers

Director: Richard Franklin

Actors: Susan Penhaligon, Robert Helpmann, Rod Mullnar, Julia Blake

Category: Horror

9 October 200331 January 2025 by Roog

Second Time Lucky (1984)

Rating: ★

Jan 25, 2003Adam and Eve Comedy

One of the most excruciatingly painful films ever made - a softcore comedy in which God and The Devil make a bet to replay the Garden of Eden by reincarnating Adam and Eve throughout history. Filled with ghastly over-the-top performances and much eye-rolling innuendo

Director: Michael Anderson

Actors: Diane Franklin, Robert Morley, Roger Wilson, Robert Helpmann, …

Category: Fantasy

25 January 200323 September 2025 by Roog