Top 5 - Famous Movie Shoes

Over the years there have been a great number of films that feature some pretty memorable footwear! Whether these shoes were an integral part of the plot, or not, we will be having a quick look over some of the most famous big screen soles!

Wizard of Oz
There's no place like home! The red Ruby slippers featured in the 1939 classic 'The Wizard of Oz' are perhaps the most famous pair of movie-shoes out there. In the film the slippers, given to Dorothy by 'Glinda' the Good Witch of the North, have magical powers. It's not until the end of the film however that it is revealed to Dorothy that by clicking her heels three times and chanting "there's no place like home", that she can in fact travel back to Kansas.

It's perhaps interesting to know that in the original novel the slippers were in fact silver. Due to the recent advances in cinema technology the film was being filmed with the new process available known as 'Technicolor'. As a result the creators of The Wizard of Oz decided to make the slippers a brilliant Ruby colour so as to take full advantage of all that Technicolor had to offer.

Cinderella
Cinderella has a long and varied history, being first published in a recognisable form to the modern version in 1697. I'll quickly skip the main bulk of the story and get to the slipper. Having attended the ball, Cinderella meets the Prince and as expected they hit it off. As midnight approaches, Cinderella realises that the spell cast upon her by the Fairy Godmother will soon run out. In her haste to leave before the prince sees her in her true form, Cinderella loses one of her glass slippers.

The Prince was obviously a little confused as to why Cinderella had just took off and left! So after finding the slipper she lost, he starts a mission to find her. The prince searches all over his Kingdom to find the owner of the slipper. Upon arriving at Cinderella's house, her ugly step sisters try very hard to fit the slipper, attempting to win the Prince over. Of course Cinderella fits the slipper perfectly, she then marries the Prince, and they all lived happily ever after.

Saturday Night Fever
Although this one isn't strictly about specific shoes, I can't help but stare at the high heeled platforms in Saturday Night Fever. These iconic shoes certainly deserve to be in the list of famous movie footwear. John Travolta's style rounds up '70s disco fashion perfectly, with bell-bottom jumpsuits, large collars, and high heeled platforms. Even with all this gear he still manages to gracefully dance around the stage with clockwork precision. Apparently the only scene that doesn't actually feature John Travolta's feet and his iconic footwear is one where he is comparing his shoe, to a shoe in a shop window.

Back to the Future
A famous shoe from Back to the Future 2 is the 'Nike Air Mag'. Worn by Marty McFly when he arrives in 2015, the shoe incorporates power laces, laces which automatically tighten when the wearer puts their foot in. In addition to this feature the shoe also has light up elements to its design. Whilst wearing the shoes in 2015 Marty McFly has a run in with Biff and his gang, another famous accessory of this scene is the Mattel branded hover-board which McFly uses to escape.

As part of a drive to raise money for Parkinson's disease research and treatment, Nike released a limited run of the trainer, called the Air Max 2015. This didn't feature an auto-lacing feature but did contain the light up elements of the shoe. Owning one a pair of these trainers would truly be a great addition to any Back to the Future fan's memorabilia collection.

Austin Powers - International Man of Mystery
This is only a brief appearance of a shoe admittedly, but a funny one so it had to be included! Right at the end of the first Austin Powers film, the 'International Man of Mystery', a deadly assassin enters the room. In a scene parodying the appearance of 'OddJob' in James Bond Goldfinger, the assassin takes a shoe (instead of a hat!) and throws it at Austin, doing very little damage. This action only makes Austin a little disgruntled! It's an excellent parody and scene, and for that reason deserves to be included in the top 5 movie shoes.

Citations:

• Photograph of Dorothy's Slippers by dbking

With '70s fashion making a return, high heeled platforms are back!  Head over to Peppermint for a fabulous selection of high heeled platforms.