Dr. Coppelius on AllMovie

The grand ballet Coppelia is familiar to most dedicated dance aficionados. This film uses the music and some of the story of the ballet but focuses on the inventor of the marvelous mechanical doll of the story, Dr. Coppelius (played by actor Walter Slezak), rather than on the doll itself, Coppelia. However, a substantial portion of the original ballet is incorporated into the story, most notably by Claudia Corday of the Harkness Ballet as Coppelia, and Caj Selling of the Royal Swedish Ballet as Franz. The orchestra and corps de ballet of the Gran Teatro del Liceo de Barcelona provides the essential musical and dance support. If reports are correct, this film adapts the original ballet into something approaching a musical comedy format.