Le grand retour

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!!!

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.

Miracle of the White Stallions is a story set in the final days of World War II in Europe. Robert Taylor plays an Austrian Colonel in the German army. Back in his civilian days he was the head of the famous Spanish Riding School in Vienna which featured the famous Lippazaner breed of specially trained horses. The school had been operating in Vienna for four hundred years and its future in doubt with both the American and Russian armies closing in and the Lippazaner mares over in Czechoslovakia.

The performances of these horses had entertained Viennese natives and visitors for generations and they were and are considered a national treasure. The film concerns Robert Taylor's efforts to save the horses aided of course by Lilli Palmer playing his wife.

The criticism of this film is that Taylor's performance is too wooden. But I think the point is missed that he was a single minded man on a mission and apparently flunked out of diplomacy school. Fortunately he's married to Lilli Palmer who smooths a lot of rough edges out during the film. I think that's what was intended in this script.

As the German surrender and Taylor fortunately falls into the hands of the Americans instead of the Russians, he manages to interest an American major played by James Franciscus in his quest. Who then in turn interests the theater commander who is George S. Patton.

As we learned in the movie Patton, George was an old horse cavalry man and even rode in the 1912 Olympics for the United States. Good thing he was in charge instead of Montgomery. Patton is nicely played by character actor John Larch.

Others in the cast of this very nice family film are Eddie Albert as Taylor's aide and Curt Jurgens as a weary German general who helps Taylor in his hour of need.

Nice piece of family entertainment from the Walt Disney studio.

"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.

Despite a rather slow start, this film is absolutely classic Disney and well worth the time spent. Everyone should know the story of the Lipizzaner stallions and Col. Podhajsky, the man who risked everything to save them. The stallion's flight from Vienna at the tail end of WWII, and the fact that General Patton and the 3rd Army were heavily involved in their rescue, is exciting stuff and has achieved almost legendary proportions. It's to the film's credit that the viewer eventually gets wrapped up in the Colonel's crusade, and begins to feel a sense of wonder as random chance and pure luck conspire to save the Lipizzaner breed.

I would not have put Robert Taylor in the lead role of Col. Podhajsky, though. As he grew older he got stone-like in his acting, and this is one of his more granite-faced performances. Luckily for us they also cast Curt Jurgens, who plays a good Nazi for once. He is the standout in this production (human standout, that is; the horses are the real stars). He gives a bravura performance as a German General caught up in the atrocities of war with no idea how he could have ever gone along with the Nazis as long as he has. His eyes seem to bleed pain, and he gives the film a welcome dose of humanity as well as the viewpoint of a person who normally follows orders but who has had enough of doing what he doesn't believe in. Lilli Palmer plays the Colonel's wife, and she is more than adequate to the role.

Eddie Albert is used mostly for comic relief as a horse trainer, even singing a Richard M. and Robert B. Sherman song for us; fortunately he's good no matter what he does. And, an extremely young James Franciscus is an Army Major who plays a big role in interesting Patton in the horses, and also in liberating the mares and foals from a Russian onslaught in Czechoslovakia (and also a huge lot of American GI's being held prisoner in the same place); his 1000-watt smile is a welcome addition.

Bottom line, this is a wonderful film for the entire family, if you can get the kids to sit still through the slow beginning; the older they are the easier it will be. It's a film about a little-publicized event in WWII, and shows how the two sides worked side-by-side to save a treasured piece of Viennese history. The horses are gorgeous, and we don't see near enough of them, which is the only real detriment to this fine film about the marvelous White Stallions of Vienna and the Spanish Riding School.