Michael's Movie Grade:B+
Year Released:1963
History
The Disney studio had great success in 1962 with Almost Angles. That film had been shot in Austria, and so it seemed natural that when the next year the studio was making a film based off another true story that took place there they would return to Austria. This movie would be Miracle of the White Stallions. The true story was about the Lipizzan stallions and how the whole breed was threatened by the Nazis during World War 2 and how they were saved from extinction. Actually it was based off a book written by Alois Podhajsky, the actual director of the horse riding school this film centers around, and the main character of the film. Podhajsky also supervised the horse performance scenes in this movie.
This marks the only film Arthur Hiller ever directed for Disney. At this time most of his work was dedicated to TV. Also by this time he had had a very prolific career on TV directing episodes of such shows as Perry Mason, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Gunsmoke, and The Rifleman. He would later direct such theatrical features as Silver Streak, Love Story and W.C. Fields and Me. This is the first feature film to be written by A.J. Carothers. Previously he had written episodes of TV shows like My Three Sons and The DuPont Show with June Allyson. He would later write Emile and the Detectives and The Happiest Millionaire for the Disney studio.
A review in the New York Times stated that the film was mostly for those who love horses, later stating though "The only trouble is that those who love horses will also have to put up with a none-too-eventful or dramatic jumble of narrative. The war-time adventures of the colonel are exhaustingly routine, and they are played in a stiff, perfunctory fashion by Robert Taylor and his supporting cast". Likewise Variety called the film "inept..." Most critics found the film quite boring. Audiences didn't go out and see it either nd it was a box office failure. Because of this it became one of the few Disney films of this time to never have a theatrical rerelease.
Review
This film definitely requires patience and close attention from its audience, but if you give it that you will find that it is an excellent film.
What really makes this film so great is its sense of maturity and respect for the subject matter. While I have stated this about other Disney films, this is definitely the one that it is most true with, this film will be a complete shocker to those who view Disney movies as cute little films for kids. In fact many Disney fans, who know better will still be surprised by just how in-Disney like this movie actually is. This is a completely serious war drama and a very well done one too.
The characters are very relatable and well thought out. These could have been movie stereotypes easily, but they are so much more. They are not treated as your typical heroes or villains, but rather as fully human characters, who managed to do extraordinary things. This is shown extremely effectively during the scene after General Patton sees the horses perform. Alois Podhajsky becomes very upset thinking that Patton isn't going to do anything about this. This fully shows the complexity of the characters as Podhajsky immediately jumps to a pessimistic conclusion and because of this and then loses his temper because of this, and by Patton not directly stating whether or not he was going to help the horses. This is also shown perfectly in an early scene in which Podhajsky unfairly loses his temper at a young student, because he received some bad news earlier. These characters are also very much helped out by great performances from the whole cast.
The biggest fault with this film is that it takes a while for anything visually interesting to happen. Though the sets are extravagant and a joy to look at, for quite a while after the beginning the film is nearly all tell and little show. Because of this it can lose the interest of a first time viewer causing them to get lost and confused. However if you give this talk enough attention, you may find it fascinating and enjoyable, but it definitely requires a lot of attention. However later in this film there are some true visual feasts, worthy of the name Disney. These include the horse performances, which are breathtaking to watch (especially if you are a horse lover like me), and a very exciting battle scene involving the US army troops. These are well worth waiting for.
Film Credits
Director: Arthur Hiller
Writer: AJ Carothers
Based on a book by Alois Podhajsky
Cast: Robert Taylor (Alois Podhajsky), Lilli Palmer (Vedena Podhajsky), Curd Jürgens (General Tellheim), Eddie Albert (Rider Otto), James Franciscus (Major Hoffman), John Lurch (General George S. Patton), Bridgette Horney (Countess Arco-Valley), Phillip Abbott (Colonel Reed), Charles Regnier (General Stryker), Erik Schumann (Captain Ranhoff), Douglas Fowley (General Walton H. Walker), Philo Hauser (Dispatcher), Max Haufler (Engineer), Michael Janisch (Refugee Leader), Fritz Wepper ( Rider Hans), Helmut Janatsch (Intruder), Günther Haenel (Groom Sascha), Peter Jost (Kreisleiter), Robert Deitl (German MP Captain), James Dobson (Southern GI), Margarethe Dux (Woman Railroad Official), Hal Galili (Brooklyn GI), Harry Hornisch (First Rider), Kurt Jager (Rider), Josef Krastel (Carl), Herbert Prikopa (Orderly Tellheim), Michael Tellering (Adjutant), Olaf Tschierschke (Rider)
Producers: Walt Disney, Peter V. Herald
Music: Paul J. Smith
Cinematographer: Günther Anders
Editors: Alfred Srp, Cotton Warburton
Production Designers: Isabella Schlichting, Werner Schlichting
Costume Designer: Leo Bei
Makeup Artists: Leopold Kuhnert, Rudolf Ohlschimdt
Assistant Director: Laci Ronay
Sound Artist: Robert O. Cook, Kurt Schwartz
Special Effects Artist: Paul Waldherr
Production Managers: Robert Russ, Walter Tjaden
Second Unit Photographer: Peter Pochlatko
Horse Performances Choreographer: Alois Podhajsky
Resources Used
The Disney Films by Leonard Maltin
-Michael J. Ruhland
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