A young poet named Hoffman broods over his failed romances. First, his affair with the beautiful Olympia is shattered when he realizes that she is really a mechanical woman designed by a scientist. Next, he believes that a striking prostitute loves him, only to find out she was hired to fake her affections by the dastardly Dapertutto. Lastly, a magic spell claims the life of his final lover.
Moira Shearer
as Stella / Olympia
Ludmilla Tchérina
as Giulietta
Pamela Brown
as Niklaus
Léonide Massine
as Spalanzani / Schlemil / Franz
Ann Ayars
as Antonia
Robert Helpmann
as Lindorf / Coppelius / Dapertutto / Dr. Miracle
Frederick Ashton
as Kleinsach / Cochenille
Robert Rounseville
as Hoffmann
Mogens Wieth
as Crespel
Lionel Harris
as Pitichinaccio
CinemaSerf
Though I really enjoyed watching this, it isn't really a film at all. Messrs. Powell and Pressburger have elicited the help of the supremely talented Christopher Challis and of the late Jacques Offenbach and basically filmed an augmented theatrical production of his eponymous, uncompleted, opera. Th...