Young Meg Merlin, who hero-worships a dancer at her elite ballet school, is heartbroken when prima ballerina La Darina arrives to rival her idol. So Meg devises a plan. One little tug on a light switch while La Darina dances Swan Lake will ruin the performance. But Meg pulls the wrong switch -- the one that opens a stage trapdoor -- and sends the prima ballerina into a career-ending plunge to the floor below.

Margaret O'Brien and Cyd Charisse play two generations of dancers in this lavish Technicolor film that combines a tragic story of guilt and broken dreams with the opulence of ballet (among the elegant visuals: the mirrored floor that emulates the swans' watery domain). A must-see for fans of dance films.

An aspiring ballerina begins following a prima ballerina hoping that she will become her replacement. Unfortunately, another dancer is chosen, causing the determined twinkle-toes to cause a little accident to destroy the usurper's career. It works and the hapless ballerina's career is destroyed. In the end, the conniving one atones for her treachery and the two become fast friends. Danny Thomas makes his feature film debut in this musical.