Heidi

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.

This is a good dramatization of Johanna Spyri's "Heidi." It stays closer to the original plot line than some others (i.e.--Shirley Temple's). All of the actors and actresses (young and old) do a very good job with the material. Of course, one must expect a certain amount of one-sidedness of characters such as Grandfather. His character is too deep to explore in such a short movie, but his characterization is certainly adequate. This is doubtlessly a movie for kids. If you're looking for something deeper, go elsewhere. It is fun: the kids enjoyed it, and mom did too. (Maximilian Schell is VERY handsome as Herr Sessemann). I borrowed this movie but will definitely buy a copy for our family.

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.

Again, I'd never read the favorite children's book or watched any of the various film versions of this one (though the 1937 Shirley Temple vehicle directed by Allan Dwan is scheduled to screen on Italian TV this very week), so I wasn't familiar with the plot line – other than that it had a mountain setting.

As it turned out, HEIDI proved surprisingly tolerable if hardly exciting fare – sentimental but undeniably moving, generally pleasant (despite the generous 110-minute length), and well acted by a stalwart cast: the heroine was played by Blake Edwards' daughter, Jennifer, and she was supported by Maximilian Schell, Jean Simmons, Michael Redgrave, Walter Slezak, Peter van Eyck, and John Moulder-Brown as Heidi's young shepherd-boy friend.

The story deals with an orphaned girl who finds herself torn between living with her gruff and hermit-like grandfather (Redgrave) and a wealthy uncle (Schell), who has a crippled daughter resenting the intrusion. Needless to say, Heidi's influence softens everyone towards a happy ending – subplots involve Schell's muted relationship with governess Simmons, Redgrave's religious conflicts (benevolent clergyman Slezak, then, wants him to pick up his organ-playing activity at the church) and the crippled girl's recovery (she's entrusted in the care of doctor van Eyck, but it's Redgrave's unorthodox 'treatment' which finally reaps results).

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.