Le grand retour

"Miracle of the White Stallions" is a most unusual film...one I'd never heard of until I stumbled upon it on YouTube. Think about it....a movie about the Nazis in Austria who work with the famed Lipizzaner stallions and saved them during the war! And, to top it off...it was made by Disney!! I can only imagine that the company hasn't put it on Disney+ because the company is probably worried about showing these Third Reich soldiers in a more politically correct age...though these men are decidedly anti-Nazi in their sentiments. It could also be that they have 'forgotten' about the film because it is a war film...something that doesn't exactly fit in with the Disney+ image.

The story is about a real life incident. Col. Podhajsky (Robert Taylor) is in charge of the famed Spanish Riding School in Vienna. When the movie begins, the war is going badly for the Nazis and Podhajsky is having great difficulty protecting this very special breed of horses...an Austrian national treasure in many ways. To make it worse, the higher ups won't allow him to evacuate the horses to the countryside as they don't want to acknowledge in any way how badly the war is going. This film is about his efforts to save the animals and preserve this tradition...and, fortunately, the real life Podajsky was on hand to make sure the film got the story right.

This film is blessed with a very impressive cast, including: Robert Taylor (Podajsky), Eddie Albert, Curd Jürgens, Lili Palmer and James Franciscus. It also is a story that offers a bit for everyone...especially horse lovers. The story is well written, based on true events and is quite inspiring....a film Disney should be proud to have produced.

Bearing in mind the box-office appeal of Austria as depicted in 'Sissi', 'The von Trapp Family' and his own studio's 'Almost Angels', Uncle Walt Disney, acknowledged king of the feel good/family movie, must have felt he was on to a winner with this one but the film fared badly both critically and commercially.

Capably directed by Arthur Hiller in his only film for Disney, it is loosely based upon the memoirs of Alois Podhajsky, Olympic medallist, one of the greatest dressage riders of all time and director of Vienna's Spanish Riding School whose single-mindedness and determination in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds secured the survival and future breeding of the famed Lippizan breed whilst maintaining the glorious tradition of the haute école that had been established in the Renaissance.

Nebraskan Robert Taylor, back on the big screen after a spell in television, would seem an odd choice to play Podhajsky and is obviously cast with a view to North American distribution but his appealing personality and undoubted star quality enable him to carry it off. He also has the great good fortune to be playing opposite the wondrous Lili Palmer who enriches every film in which she appears and who provides a perfect balance.

Mention must be made of Curt Jurgens who once again plays the role that suits him to a tee, that of the good German who happens to be a Nazi. As cultured General Tellheim his melancholic monologue at the piano whilst playing 'forbidden' Jewish composer Mendelssohn is one of the film's highlights. Great support as always from Eddie Albert and as a bonus the classy Brigitte Horney is perfectly cast as an Austrian aristocrat. Charles Regnier is the dyed-in-the wool 'I am only obeying orders' Nazi, the refugees are portrayed as thieves and scavengers and apart from the one-dimensional General Patton of John Larch, most of the American soldiers are good natured hicks.

The final scene of the performing Lippizaners in the arena of the Spanish Riding School after ten years in exile is of course magnificent, with Taylor, Palmer, Horney and James Franciscus looking not a day older than they did in 1945!

There are those who proudly declare that they have no interest in equine activity and they have my deepest sympathy whilst those of us who have seen these noble creatures in action owe Podhajsky an immeasurable debt.

This film tugs at the heartstrings with its memorable music, beautiful and talented animals, and compelling history. Though it opens like a war movie with tankers and soldiers filling the screen, it soon shifts into a moving story about the historic preservation of the famous Lippizaner stallions during the Second World War. This is family-friendly fare and safe for elementary school-age children (approx. third grade and above), to watch and enjoy. Those who love horses will be in awe of the impressive, precise performances these intelligent stallions present. Indeed, this film has so stayed with me since childhood, I leapt at the opportunity to see the Lippizaner stallions of today perform in real-life several years ago. They still "dance" to the same famous song! :)

It was very interesting and moving to learn about the events, while it is a Disney movie with expected artistic license type dialogues and side stories such as romance and dinner scenes etc., and not a 100% historic "documentary" it is highly accurate and a google search does find there really was a riding school In Budapest that was destroyed.

Just think, that the entire act of saving the historic school building and the horses came down to just one or two men's decisions, and that had circumstances been ever so slightly different than it happened- we could very well now be reading books and articles about a historic riding school in Vienna that was completely destroyed and the horses wiped out, and be seeing only pictures of what it once looked like!

Key things just happened to come into play to save both in the face of almost impossible odds!

The actibg was great, the whole film was well doneand considering it was filmed less than 20 years after the war is amazing!

The horses are the ONLY reason to watch this otherwise pathetic movie. The American soldiers and their incredibly STUPID comments and jokes are really cringe-worthy!!!