Heidi kehrt heim

A very nice production of the classic Swiss tale is sadly only remembered for an infamous gaffe that NBC made in not delaying the broadcast until the final quarter of a New York Jets-Oakland Raiders game was finished. I still remember from my youth the newspaper headlines and this game being referred to as Heidi Bowl. Today there is no network who would break from a sporting event the way NBC did.

This was a British production with Jennifer Edwards in the starring role of the little orphan Swiss girl come to live with her grandfather played here properly stern by Michael Redgrave. He can barely support himself so he sends her off to the home of Maximilian Schell whose daughter Zuleika Robson is paralyzed to be a companion. Schell's a busy guy and the doctor Peter Van Eyck thinks that the paralysis might be a psychological reaction from a lonely child.

Apparently the English countryside stood in for the Swiss Alps. It served the producers well because I really did think it was the Alps. The cast is uniformly fine and the presence of Walter Slezak as the village priest, Jean Simmons as Robson's governess and John Moulder- Brown as the village kid whom Heidi bonds with also must be noted.

Parents of today this is a classic you can share with your kids and they can see it for its own merits not it's unfortunate and unasked for history.

There have been plenty of on-screen adaptations of this story - it lends itself well to a screen. The eponymous lass (Jennifer Edwards) is palmed off on her reclusive grandfather (Sir Michael Redgrave) atop a mountain, with only him, some goats and the young "Peter" (John Moulder-Brown) for company. She is a charming young girl who soon manages to crack the erstwhile impervious shield of the old man before her wealthy uncle "Richard" (Maximilian Schell) sends word that he will care for her at his Frankfurt home. Once there she quickly befriends his housekeeper "Frauline Rottenmeir" (Jean Simmons) and his bedridden young daughter "Klara" (Zuleika Robson) and slowly a family starts to emerge and to thrive - culminating in a perfect holiday on their mountain. Simmons is gorgeous, Edwards has a charm and Redgrave a loving manner about him that sets this made for television (NBC) movie up nicely. A simple story, told with a sympathetic eye to the detail amidst some pretty (Californian as well as Alpine) scenery.

Heidi was one of my favorite books as a child, and I have been disappointed in all the filmed versions.

This one annoyed me in particular because it changed a key part of the plot. In the book, Heidi is miserable in Frankfurt not only because she misses Switzerland but because Fräulein Rottenmeier is so mean to her. One gets the impression from the book that this character is a bitter, uptight older woman who takes out her frustrations on the energetic and non-conforming Swiss child.

So who plays Fräulein Rottenmeier in this version? Jean Simmons, who was still in her thirties and quite glamorous looking. She was so not only portrayed as being really sweet and understanding, but also as being in love with Klara's widowed father.

In other respects, the TV movie follows the book quite faithfully and was well acted, especially by the girl who played Klara, so the addition of a love interest seems quite unnecessary.

I have yet to see the definitive version of Heidi, but none of the versions are bad at all(have yet though to see the Emma Bolger version). Personal favourite goes to the Shirley Temple film, not the truest to the book but it was funny, moving and with a lot of charm, the Jetlag animated film is beautifully done surprisingly and Noley Thornton's is handsomely rendered and well acted but is over-dramatic in places and some of the characters were too hostile(especially the grandfather, don't get me wrong I do like it still). This 1968 film is very good too, more could have been done with the grandfather with more of a character growth but thankfully he's not too one-dimensional and he is not too hostile either. In fact that the characters are more sympathetically treated than in the Noley Thornton version is most admirable, but a couple especially Fraulein Rottenmeier(from a truly beastly character to a love interest) are in some way too sympathetic and somewhat "sugar-coated". There is a fair bit of conflict in the book but in the film it's in the complex emotions of the grandfather and Clara being a brat at times. Despite all this, Heidi(1968) does deserve to stand on its own and stand on its own it does and very well. The Alps scenery is gorgeous and is photographed with care and love. John Williams' score is typically lush and beautiful, not overbearing the charming nature of the story in any way. The film is smartly and thoughtfully scripted and while the story is not always faithful in detail to the book it is in spirit(more so than the other three adaptations seen), maintaining a gentle heart-warming tone throughout without throwing in any dark or over-dramatic bits. The ending is as it should be, truly emotional. The direction is controlled but keeps the film moving in an engaging way, and the film is very well-acted throughout, especially by a radiant Jean Simmons and a crusty yet heartfelt Michael Redgrave. Jennifer Edwards' Heidi is not quite as interesting as Shirley Temple's(who brought more dimension to the character much more than one would expect) but is just as interesting, a very warm performance that sprinkles with strong-willfulness and charm. Clara could have been much more gentle and not so much a brat, but she is still very movingly and passionately played Zuleika Robson. Maximillian Schell is very memorable by how truly handsome he is here and he is a likable father figure here too. Peter and the grandmother are good too. To conclude, a charming and worthy if not definitive adaptation of one of the childhood classics. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Very good version of the familiar story of Heidi.Children will like it and so will parents.This version has Maximilian Shell as Heidi's uncle (father of the crippled girl Clara).Lovely Jean Simmons is Clara's governess who is (unknown to him) in love with Heidi's uncle.

The romance is sweet and so is the rest.The whole cast does a good job and it is VERY well done...scenery is beautiful.Jean Simmons is the great jewel here but it's all a fine version of Heidi.