Walt Disney seems to have been a little ahead of the curve when it came to Austria. Just a few years before The Sound of Music captured the hearts of the world, Disney went on location in Austria to make a pair of films with plots built around two ancient and beloved Viennese institutions: the Vienna Boys’ Choir in Almost Angels (1962) and the Spanish Riding School in Miracle of the White Stallions (1963). Both of these movies are quite different from the typical live-action Disney film of the period, with their Old World setting, more leisurely pace and somewhat less familiar casts—in fact, quite a lot of the crew and supporting players are European. I’d love to know what it was that sparked Disney’s interest in Vienna, and led to the creation of these movies.
I hadn’t seen Miracle of the White Stallions for quite a while before watching it in preparation for writing this post, and I was more impressed with it than I remember being before. Not necessarily of the acting, or even the technical aspects of the film. I think it’s the nuances of the wartime setting that intrigued me more than they did years ago. This is a glimpse of a different Austria, one that came after the events of The Sound of Music, a glimpse of what it was like for some of the people who could not leave—or chose not to leave—before it was too late. The supporting character of General Tellheim (Curt Jurgens) is the direct opposite of Georg von Trapp: an officer who acquiesced to German authority in spite of not being a Nazi by ideology—musing, in a meditative scene midway through the film, on his own weakness of character in doing so.
The film begins with a voiceover narration from star Robert Taylor, telling a little about the history of the Spanish Riding School and the training of the horses. Some lovely shots of mares and foals running through the pastures of the Lipizzaner stud at Piber, and then of the young stallions frolicking and sparring as they gradually grow to maturity, accompany the opening credits. And as the scene changes to Vienna, there’s an overhead shot of the stallions being led through the streets from the stables to the Riding School—this scene always reminds me of Marguerite Henry’s book White Stallion of Lipizza.
The story opens in the closing days of World War II—the Allies are approaching, Vienna is increasingly subject to air-raids, and the Spanish Riding School’s director, Colonel Alois Podhajsky (Taylor), is growing desperate to evacuate the Lippizaner stallions to safety. But German commanders refuse permission, on the grounds that evacuating such a prominent cultural institution would signal to the people of Vienna that the forecast for the city is bleak. Eventually, the sympathetic General Tellheim is able to offer a loophole of escape, and the Riding School embarks on the risky evacuation.
Strangely enough, the scene where Podhajsky and his wife Verene (Lilli Palmer) bid farewell to the dark and empty riding hall at the beginning of the journey almost foreshadows similar scenes in The Sound of Music—the Captain and Maria’s farewell look around their house, and their walk from the concert spotlight in another riding hall, Salzburg’s Felsenreitschule.
I’ve always thought this early section to be one of the most interesting parts of the movie, as Podhajsky and his staff struggle to get the horses safely out of the bombed city and through a perilous railway journey fraught with official red tape, refugee-crowded stations and air-raid strikes. “Until a few days ago,” says Verene as they wait in a half-deserted railway station, between air-raid sirens, “the war was just radio reports, and a few inconveniences. And suddenly, now! And it still seems unreal to me.”
The final days of the war are spent at refugee-filled St. Martin in the Austrian countryside. Here, too, eventually, come the occupying American forces. With the encouragement of a young American officer (James Franciscus), Podhajsky arranges a short-notice performance of the stallions for Third Army commander General George Patton, hoping to convince him to take the Riding School under American protection—and to help rescue the Lipizzaner mares, which are across the border in Czechoslovakia and likely to fall into the hands of the less sympathetic Russians. (The real Alois Podhajsky was still head of the Riding School when Miracle of the White Stallions was made, and he directed their performances in the film.)
From here on out the film follows the progress of “Operation Cowboy,” the expedition by the U.S. army to rescue Allied prisoners and retrieve the horses. As with many true stories adapted for film, Miracle of the White Stallions took considerable liberties with the facts. Although the evacuation to St. Martin, the performance for Patton and the rescue of the mares all took place, the sequence of events and the things that brought them about were considerably rearranged and adapted for the movie. In real life, “Operation Cowboy” had actually already taken place before the performance staged for Patton! The commander of the expedition, Colonel Reed, was consulted by the filmmakers, but said that they went with the fictionalized version as more compelling. If you’re interested in learning more about the true story, here’s an interesting set of articles on how it all really happened.
And then comes the finale. Ten years after the end of the war, the Spanish Riding School finally returns from exile to perform again in Vienna. (According to IMDB, the elaborate red uniforms in this scene were another bit of movie fiction—Disney didn’t think the Spanish Riding School’s traditional brown dress uniforms were attractive enough.) Though the horses themselves are a presence throughout the whole film—the thing everyone is working so hard to save—they are not really characters in the story as often happens in an animal movie. But in this scene, they finally take center stage. Though the performance for Patton showed some of what they could do, this one is mesmerizing—almost ten minutes of beauty and precision, showcased in the splendor of the beautifully decorated Winter Riding School arena. Here is a clip with almost the whole performance (though it isn’t really complete without the entry into the hall—click here to see that):
This is where both Miracle of the White Stallions and Almost Angels succeed completely—beautifully capturing on film stunning performances by the groups that they spotlight.
This is my entry for the Classic Movie Horseathon, hosted by Page at My Love of Old Hollywood. Stop by to see what horse-themed films other bloggers are writing about! And I’m also taking part for the first time in the Tuesday’s Overlooked Movies meme, hosted by Todd Mason.
An excellent post on what sounds like a very interesting movie. Again, we see filmmakers taking liberties with the facts, but I wonder if that has never not been the case.
I loved this movie as a kid (I also chose a fondly remembered Disney film to write about for this event). The stirring and true story made a lasting impression on me. And those horses – so beautiful!
I really enjoyed your post, Elisabeth! The comparisons you made to THE SOUND OF MUSIC were intriguing as I love that film so much. I also love Robert Taylor and am looking forward to watching the copy I purchased not too long ago! Your post made me even more interested in seeing it.
Best wishes,
Laura
Elizabeth ~ may I begin by saying how nice it is to see you are part of the horseathon; this film is a great choice for a blogathon with horses as the focus. I commented, half jokingly, on another post that I was surprised to learn Disney had made a film about a horse (when in fact they excelled at films about all animals). I was astonished to discover, after reading the title and imagining it was entirely unfamiliar, that the photos and the video reawakened memories of watching this film as a child. I didn’t know who Robert Taylor was at the time, but the horses left a deep impression on me. Thank you for reintroducing me to a bit of my childhood, now I’m on the hunt to find a copy of this film. I think this will make the perfect double-feature with "The Sound Of Music" as the second film.
I haven't heard of this movie (though I'm familiar with the Lippizaner horses), so thanks very much for posting on it and for including that wonderful clip. I was also a Marguerite Henry fan as a kid, so it brings back memories!
Elisabeth,
From the way you've described the film I can not only see why you chose it for the Horseathon but why Flick Chick likes it so much.
Disney knew how to entertain kids and their parents! They certainly did do animal films well, perhaps better than any other company and then when you can get Robert Taylor to star in it.
Off topic a bit here! I have been trying to find a few Lilli Palmer films recently in preparation for a bio I plan to do so now that I know she's in White Stallions and it appears to be such an entertaining film, I plan to have a look for it.
I've been to Vienna so I had to laugh when you pondered why Disney would be interested in it! (Glad Hedy Lamarr isn't around to read that either!) Ha Ha A gorgeous city and my favorite country to travel to is Austria.
Thanks for contributing to the Horseathon with such a informative review of a film you really enjoy. It's obvious you put a lot of work into this review with all of the added behind the scenes info.
Page
Jacqueline – thanks! That's an interesting point—I've seen some pretty close book-to-film adaptations of fiction, but I'd have to think carefully to come up with a true-life story that wasn't touched up a bit for film. I wonder what the difference is?
FlickChick – yes, I noticed the mention of White Stallions in your post. My youngest sister is the horse-crazy one in our family now, so a few years ago she got a whole bunch of horse movies on DVD for a birthday or Christmas present—and all of them have been written about in this blogathon!
Laura – I suppose I can't help comparing any movie set in Austria to The Sound of Music. 🙂 I noticed lots of little similarities in the scenery, the architechture, etc., but especially the parallels in the wartime setting. (Another movie that came to mind during the bombing sequences was The Third Man—that one showed the aftermath of what the Riding School escaped.) I'm glad you enjoyed my post!
whistlinggypsy – oh, that's so neat! I picked this film partly because I thought it would be nice to highlight one that's not as well known, but I've been surprised how many people remember it!
Grand Old Movies – you're welcome! Isn't that last scene beautiful? White Stallion of Lipizza was actually one of the last Henry books I read—for some reason I had a hard time finding a copy for years. She did such a good job researching her subjects and working the details into her books—it's a great look at the Riding School from the inside. If I remember correctly, Colonel Podhajsky was a character in the book too.
Page – you've been to Austria? That's one of the places I've always wanted to visit! I can think of plenty of reasons to be interested in Vienna, too, but the difference between the subject and Disney's usual fare intrigued me. 🙂 I'm glad you liked the review! It gave me a few worries while I was working on it, since I don't really think I'm that good at writing movie reviews! But it's been a lot of fun too—thanks for hosting this blogathon!
Elisabeth, This is the first time I have ever heard of this wonderful movie. Lippizaner horses, are one of my favorites. Thank you for posting the clip. I can not wait to see this film.
Really enjoyable post! This sounds like an interesting movie. The great thing about this Horseathon is not only getting exposed to other nifty blogs for the first time, but in discovering films I've never seen or (in this case) heard of before. The cast for this sounds pretty good; I'll definitely try and search it out someday.
Dawn, Jeff, I'm so glad you liked the post! I hope you enjoy the film when you get to see it.
I remember vividly watching "Miracle of the White Stallions" when I was young. It had a sense of immediacy for me so that it didn't really feel historical at all.
Thank you for the background and for including the clips.
I was curious as to why I hadn't seen this Disney flick and then I came to the part about Robert Taylor's narration (I leave all matters Taylor to Laura). My Taylor bias aside, this was a splendid review…this movie is clearly a labor of love for you.