''The White Ecstasy'' (German: ''Der weiße Rausch'') is a 1931 German

mountain film A mountain film is a film genre that focuses on mountaineering and especially the battle of human against nature. In addition to mere adventure, the protagonists who return from the mountain come back changed, usually gaining wisdom and enlighten ...

written and directed by

Arnold Fanck Arnold Fanck (6 March 1889 – 28 September 1974) was a German film director and pioneer of the mountain film genre. He is best known for the extraordinary alpine footage he captured in such films as '' The Holy Mountain'' (1926), '' The White He ...

and starring

Hannes Schneider Johann "Hannes" Schneider (24 June 1890 – 26 April 1955) was an Austrian ski instructor of the first half of the 20th century, famous for pioneering the Arlberg technique of instruction. Many consider him the Father of Modern Day Skiing. A ...

Leni Riefenstahl Helene Bertha Amalie "Leni" Riefenstahl (; 22 August 1902 – 8 September 2003) was a German film director, photographer and actress known for her role in producing Nazi propaganda. A talented swimmer and an artist, Riefenstahl also became in ...

, Guzzi Lantschner, and

Walter Riml Walter Riml (September 23, 1905 – June 21, 1994) was an Austrian cameraman and actor. Life Born in Innsbruck, the 2.05 m tall Tyrolean at first was trained as a carpenter and an interior designer. As a passionate sportsman and skier he contac ...

. The film is about the skiing exploits of a young village girl (played by Riefenstahl), and her attempts to master the sport of skiing and ski-jumping aided by the local ski expert (played by Schneider). Filmed on location in

Sankt Anton am Arlberg Sankt Anton am Arlberg, commonly referred to as St Anton, is a village and ski resort in the Austrian state of Tyrol. It lies in the Tyrolean Alps, with aerial tramways and chairlifts up to , yielding a vertical drop of . It is also a popular s ...

, the film was one of the first to use and develop outdoor film-making techniques and featured several innovative action-skiing scenes. Two Tyrolean skiing stars,

and Guzzi Lantschner, have important parts in this movie. They play two Hamburger carpenters in their traditional outfits. They come to the

Arlberg Arlberg () is a massif between Vorarlberg and Tyrol in Austria. The highest peak is the Valluga at . The name ''Arlberg'' derives from the tradition of the "Arlenburg", who are said to have once established themselves on the Tyrolean side of the A ...

and try to learn how to ski with the aid of two different skiing books. A Weisse Rausch downhill race, based on the film, is held every April in St. Anton.''Ski''
(Jun-Jul 2004) Vol. 68, No. 8:32

Cast

as Hannes *

as Leni * Rudi Matt as Rudi * Lothar Ebersberg as Der kleine Lothar * Guzzi Lantschner as Guzzi, the Hamburger carpenter *

as Walter, the Hamburger carpenter * Otto Lantschner * Harald Reinl *

David Zogg David Zogg (18 December 1902 – 26 July 1977) was a Swiss alpine and Nordic combined skier. He was raised in Arosa, Switzerland. At the 1928 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz he finished 16th in the Nordic combined event. In 1931, he won th ...

* Josef Gumboldt * Hans Kogler * Luggi Foeger * Benno Leubner * Hans Salcher * Kurt Reinl

References

;Notes ;Bibliography
''Filmwelt'' Nr. 51
(20 December 1931) Berlin * Sadoul, Georges; Morris, Peter (1972)
''Dictionary of Film Makers''
University of California Press pg 79 * Hinton, David B. (2000
''The Films of Leni Riefenstahl''
Scarecrow Press pg 9-10 * Richards, Jeffrey (2013) ''Visions of Yesterday'' pg 294

External links

* * *
Walter Riml website
1931 films German black-and-white films 1930s German-language films Films of the Weimar Republic Mountaineering films Skiing films Films directed by Arnold Fanck Films set in the Alps Films scored by Paul Dessau German comedy films 1931 comedy films 1930s German films {{1930s-Germany-film-stub