I saw this when I was a child and even today I can remember the title track and "Was Kann Des Sigismund Dafür, Daß Er so Schön Ist ?" which was translated into French as "On A Le Béguin Pour Célestin" .I can remember Josepha the inn's owner and her butler ,Leopold ,in love with her.Then the guests' arrival and love is around the corner;the plot is made of lovers' to-ings and fro-ings.Everything can happen in that inn ,even the emperor Frances -Josef can come ;this chocolate box Austria with its Agfacolor (like in the Sissi saga ,another dear memory) is as kitsch and as charming as the old Christmas cards.I wish I could see it again!
4 Reviews
An ill-judged adaptation
JasonTomes9 October 2012
The original stage musical "Im weissen Rössl" was a huge international hit in the early 1930s. It probably enjoyed success beyond its merits, but it did have certain factors in its favour. First, amid the turmoil of the Great Depression, it harked back nostalgically to the 'good old days' of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Secondly, it was a spectacle, with fancy stage effects, a large chorus, and elaborate choreography. Thirdly, its music appealed to a wide audience by mixing traditional Viennese operetta with Broadway styles.
Strangely, the makers of this 1960 film adaptation, while basically retaining the original plot, dispensed with most of the show's advantages. For a start, they opted for a modern setting: the girls wear bikinis, and Sigismund arrives by helicopter. The Emperor Franz Josef does not appear in this production! True, the natural scenery of the Wolfgangsee is more spectacular than any stage set, but there is little ensemble singing and dancing. As for the music, they simply ditched the majority of it and appointed a largely non-singing cast. Only six or seven songs remain, and they are nearly all shortened and assigned to Leopold (Peter Alexander). The leading lady (Josefa), with nothing to sing, makes very little impression. In the absence of songs, the backing track keeps repeating a couple of the main melodies in jazzy re-arrangements under the dialogue.
Take the music out of a musical, and you are left with very thin fare. The main substitute here is slapstick in the style of Norman Wisdom, e.g., the accidental water-skiing scene and the business with the fire-hose and the toupée. Peter Alexander, apparently a star in Austria, clowns his way through the film energetically, but it isn't enough.
Visually, the film is striking. The very bright colours are those of picture postcards and holiday brochures, which is apt for a story set in the tourism industry. Of course, IMDb's inclusion of 'Kitsch' as a keyword is absolutely justified. Unfortunately, "The White Horse Inn" (1960) lacks the charm that might have redeemed it.
Strangely, the makers of this 1960 film adaptation, while basically retaining the original plot, dispensed with most of the show's advantages. For a start, they opted for a modern setting: the girls wear bikinis, and Sigismund arrives by helicopter. The Emperor Franz Josef does not appear in this production! True, the natural scenery of the Wolfgangsee is more spectacular than any stage set, but there is little ensemble singing and dancing. As for the music, they simply ditched the majority of it and appointed a largely non-singing cast. Only six or seven songs remain, and they are nearly all shortened and assigned to Leopold (Peter Alexander). The leading lady (Josefa), with nothing to sing, makes very little impression. In the absence of songs, the backing track keeps repeating a couple of the main melodies in jazzy re-arrangements under the dialogue.
Take the music out of a musical, and you are left with very thin fare. The main substitute here is slapstick in the style of Norman Wisdom, e.g., the accidental water-skiing scene and the business with the fire-hose and the toupée. Peter Alexander, apparently a star in Austria, clowns his way through the film energetically, but it isn't enough.
Visually, the film is striking. The very bright colours are those of picture postcards and holiday brochures, which is apt for a story set in the tourism industry. Of course, IMDb's inclusion of 'Kitsch' as a keyword is absolutely justified. Unfortunately, "The White Horse Inn" (1960) lacks the charm that might have redeemed it.
Boring and far too long
Horst_In_Translation9 July 2016
Warning: Spoilers
"Im weißen Rößl" or "The White Horse Inn" is an Austrian / West German German-language co-production from 1960, so this 100-minute film had its 55th anniversary last year. The director is Werner Jacobs and he was quite successful back then. Same can be said about some of the cast members such as lead actor Peter Alexander and Adrian Hoven as well as Karin Dor from the supporting cast. The latter two you usually find in serious, sometimes scary, films, but the fact that Alexander is in here tells us that this is a comedy and one with lots of romance too. In the end basically everybody has fallen in love. And one of the worst aspects about this film is how predictable it all was and how uninspired it was in moving towards the happy endings for everybody, something you could already predict very early in the film. And when they simply weren't able anymore pretty early on already to elaborate on the two protagonists, they kept including more and more characters and just revolved the story around them. A pretty bad example of quantity over quality. This is also true looking at how many writers worked on this garbage film. I must say the first 30-45 minutes were still somewhat okay as Alexander carried the film nicely, but the longer it went the messier and messier it became. I personally cared for almost none of the characters in this movie and that's always a deal-breaker. This may partially have to do with my lack of interest, but partially also with the filmmaker's failure to get the audience involved emotionally. 4/10 is still very generous here. The second half was even weaker, but Alexander saved it from becoming a massive failure. But he alone also can not make it a good watch. Stay away, I say.
A great example of cinematic
themis-626 August 2007
A great film which I love to see over and over again. It trumps with great actors, a nice scenery and beautiful songs.
Some may think them to be out of date but if you give this film a chance - by not expecting a film where violence and sex scenes alternate, but good, solid acting and great songs - you won't be disappointed. Of course, it is slight fare but it doesn't pretend otherwise and provides good entertainment.
It is always nice to see films with Peter Alexander, Waltraut Haas and Gunter Philipp (etc); the quality in acting is great. One can't help but like these actors and believe what the stories they're 'telling'.
Personally, I can't resist the voice of Peter Alexander and love his songs.
Some may think them to be out of date but if you give this film a chance - by not expecting a film where violence and sex scenes alternate, but good, solid acting and great songs - you won't be disappointed. Of course, it is slight fare but it doesn't pretend otherwise and provides good entertainment.
It is always nice to see films with Peter Alexander, Waltraut Haas and Gunter Philipp (etc); the quality in acting is great. One can't help but like these actors and believe what the stories they're 'telling'.
Personally, I can't resist the voice of Peter Alexander and love his songs.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
