Beautiful locations, fabulous horses, decent acting (though no really outstanding performances by anyone other than the horses); what more could a horse-loving afficionado ask for? As usual for a historical film, the studio took some liberties with the "facts" concerning the history of the Spanish Riding School during WWII and in particular, with the sequence of some events, but I found it to be a thoroughly enjoyable movie. The two scenes of the stallions actually performing (especially the final one in the Riding School itself) make this movie worth every penny I spent to purchase it.
Captures the spirit of this extraordinary event
The Spanish Riding School of Vienna has been around for hundreds of years, but was nearly lost in WW2 when the Lipizzaner breeding herd was separated from the stud farm of Piber and moved into Czechoslovakia, and then faced with possible destruction at the hands of the Russians.
Alois Podhajsky, the Director of the school, made a bold request of the Americans, especially General Patton who himself had ridden in the 1912 Olympics, to save the horses. Patton appreciated the tradition of the Spanish Riding School and was able to effect the rescue of the breeding mares along with allied prisoners of war, effectively saving the Lipizzaners and the tradition of the School.
This Disney movie was made in 1963 and has some of the typical Disney characteristics of the time such as blunting the visual depiction of violence and war, but beyond the technical shortcomings, the movie accurately captures the desperate situation facing those who would save a longstanding tradition bound in living beings -- both the horses and the riders -- and how many individuals through both minor and grand gestures worked toward a common cause and saved an institution.
The movie was filmed largely on location, and to watch it is to see a real piece of living history. I highly recommend it.
A True Master
This is a wonderful movie, one that I can remember being shown - and begging for - when I was a small child.
Some Interesting 'Backstage' Information: The main character, Colonel Alois Podhajsky, is a bronze medal winner and famous dressage performer/trainer around the world. He was famous even before his debut with the Lippizzans. In his book, My Horses, My Teachers (highly reccomended for someone who knows something of horses), he recalls his experiences filming the movie. Obviously, Taylor wasn't the horseman that Podhajsky was, so the Colonel actually rode his parts. The horse he needed to ride (the horse he rode in history, Neapolitano Africa, was deceased) was a young stallion, who only recently had taken the place of Maestoso Alea in leading the quadrille and doing the solo during performances. (I can't remember the stallions name, and I don't have my book handy...sorry) He had a 'bad' habit of "singing" whenever another stallion entered the arena, and Podhajsky was unable to break him of it without implementing methods he saw as too harsh for such an intelligent horse. So, the stallion performed, "singing" along with the motions of his body. When Taylor mounted him, the horse started neighing. Podhajsky tried to convince him that the horse was only talking and that he would soon quiet, but was unable to settle the rider. The great scene, in performing for General Patton, was ridden by not only two riders (Podhajsky performing and Taylor doing the walking parts) but two HORSES, the young stallion who still had a black mane, and a old longe horse that they had dug up for Taylor. Kinda interesting! Anyway, this guy is a master!!! I just wish that Neapolitano Africa had been alive to perform the part himself.
In another scene, when the horses are being led from the Riding Hall to the bunker during an air raid, there were firecrackers bursting and all sorts of things near the horses to make the scene appear real. Of course, they also frightened the stallions and they reared and tugged and performed just like they should have, as a result of their fear. Podhajsky says that the "American producers" enjoyed running many takes, and doing lots of rehearsals. As a result of this, the stallions learned after the second shoot that there was nothing to be afraid of, and walked into the next acting pacified and calm.
Anyway, for more "behind-the-scene stuff, the book My Horses, My Teachers offers something, and I'm sure the book the movie was based on will give more information, as well.
Dean Jones has a typical '60s occupation: ad man. Widower Fred Bolton is in need of a fantastic campaign to promote the stomach pill Aspercel. And in typical Disney get-a-kid-and-animal-in-there fashion, he makes the contrived decision to accommodate his sweet teen daughter Helen's longing for a horse, and advance the elusive ad campaign. Fred figures if he and Helen (Ellen Janov, in her only film role) can make a champion of the horse (now named, you guessed it, Aspercel), the name will get in the papers and Helen will have her horse. Complications arise when Helen reveals she hates riding in shows. Fortunately, her riding teacher, the beautiful Suzie Clemens (underrated Diane Baker), agrees to take up the cause, and sparks a little romance with the ambitious dad. The trio have a... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Norman Tokar DVD Release Date: Released the 14 January 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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In the mountainous high country above the Australian bush, wild horses run free: Australians call them wild "brumbies." Author Elyne Mitchell's book, The Silver Brumby, on which this movie is based, is about a magnificent silver stallion, Thowra. The story opens on a dark and stormy night in the high country. Elyne (Caroline Goodall), spins a tale to comfort her daughter, Indi (Ami Daemion). The beautiful mare, Bell-Bell, gives birth to Thowra, an exceptional cream-colored foal, with a mane and tail that gleam silver in the moonlight. We see Thowra grow up through several seasons. Winter has its hardships; the herds of horses find survival difficult in the snow-packed mountains. But summer may be even more dangerous, for that's when men return to the high country to try to catch... More Info about this DVD Director(s): John Tatoulis DVD Release Date: Released the 20 April 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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A beloved tabby cat becomes the catalyst for healing and hope between a young girl and her widowed father in Disney's 1964 classic, based on the enchanting fable by Paul Gallico. Set in the Scottish highlands in 1912, the story focuses on Andrew MacDhui (Patrick McGoohan) a veterinarian who, after the death of his wife, has closed his heart to goodness and empathy-- toward his animal patients and his only child. Left essentially an orphan, Mary (Karen Dotrice) finds love from her cat, Thomasina, until a tragedy injures the cat and her father orders it to be killed. A tenderhearted maiden (Susan Hampshire) finds Thomasina, detects a heartbeat, and nurses the feline back to health. Her healing powers eventually move beyond the animal kingdom into the lives of MacDhui and Mary. The stellar... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Don Chaffey DVD Release Date: Released the 06 July 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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This video was given as a gift to a "horse crazy" 5 year old who watches it constantly. She learns something new each time....and very seriously told me yesterday that you couldn't speak to your horse during a "Pressage" test. Excellent learning video for kids! More Info about this DVD DVD Release Date: Released the 02 June 2003 Usually ships in 24 hours
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When a Great Dane puppy is raised with a litter of Dachshunds, it naturally thinks it's a Dachshund too--even when it grows to 10 times the size. Dean Jones and Suzanne Pleshette star as the hapless couple who took in the galumphing dog, which wreaks havoc on their house and home. The Ugly Dachshund is mostly a series of spectacular disasters (the doggy demolition of Jones's art studio will delight kids and reduce adults to nervous wrecks), but it's held together by the convincing domestic banter of Jones and Pleshette (who was quite a dish in 1965); the pair went on to star in a couple of other Disney live-action flicks, Bluebeard's Ghost and The Shaggy D.A.. Despite some racial and gender stereotypes, it's a good-natured and amusing movie in the Disney... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Dean Jones - Suzanne Pleshette Director(s): Norman Tokar DVD Release Date: Released the 06 July 2004 Usually ships in 24 hours
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