''Viennese Girls'' (German: ''Wiener Mädeln'') is a 1945
historical
History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...
musical film
Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...
directed by
Willi Forst
Willi Forst, born Wilhelm Anton Frohs (7 April 1903 – 11 August 1980) was an Austrian actor, screenwriter, film director, film producer and singer. As a debonair actor he was a darling of the German-speaking film audiences, as a director, one ...
and starring Forst,
Anton Edthofer
Anton Franz Edthofer (18 September 1883 – 21 February 1971) was an Austrian actor.
Partial filmography
* '' The Sacrifice'' (1918)
* ''Freier Dienst'' (1918) - Landovsky
* ''Maria Magdalena'' (1919)
* '' The Eyes of the World'' (1920) - Heinz ...
and
Judith Holzmeister
Judith Maria Holzmeister (14 February 1920 – 23 June 2008) was an Austrian actress. Her performances included ''Kunigunde'' opposite Ewald Balser in Franz Grillparzer's ''König Ottokars Glück und Ende'' at the reopening of the famed Vienna ...
. The film was made by
Wien-Film
Wien-Film GmbH ("Vienna Film Limited") was a large Austrian film company, which in 1938 succeeded the Tobis-Sascha-Filmindustrie AG (Sascha Film Company) and lasted until 1985. Until 1945 the business was owned by the Cautio Trust Company (''Cauti ...
, a Vienna-based company set up after Austria had been incorporated into
Greater Germany
Pan-Germanism (german: Pangermanismus or '), also occasionally known as Pan-Germanicism, is a pan-nationalist political idea. Pan-Germanists originally sought to unify all the German-speaking people – and possibly also Germanic-speaking ...
following the 1938
Anschluss
The (, or , ), also known as the (, en, Annexation of Austria), was the annexation of the Federal State of Austria into the German Reich on 13 March 1938.
The idea of an (a united Austria and Germany that would form a " Greater Germany ...
. It was the third film in Forst's "Viennese Trilogy" which also included ''
Operetta
Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...
'' (1940) and ''
Vienna Blood'' (1942). The film was finished in 1945, during the closing days of the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. This led to severe delays in its release, which eventually took place in 1949 in two separate versions. One was released by the Soviet-backed Sovexport in the
Eastern Bloc
The Eastern Bloc, also known as the Communist Bloc and the Soviet Bloc, was the group of socialist states of Central and Eastern Europe, East Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin America under the influence of the Soviet Union that existed du ...
and the other by Forst.
Plot
The composer
Carl Michael Ziehrer
Carl Michael Ziehrer (more rarely spelled Karl Michael Ziehrer) (2 May 1843 – 14 November 1922) In the 8th edition the article title changed without comment to Ziehrer, Carl Michael. was an Austrian composer. In his lifetime, he was one of the ...
produces twenty two
operettas
Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...
during his career, although he is overshadowed by the more successful Strauss Family (
Johann Strauss I
Johann Baptist Strauss I (; also Johann Strauss Sr., the Elder, the Father; 14 March 1804 – 25 September 1849) was an Austrian composer of the Romantic music, Romantic Period. He was famous for his light music, namely waltzes, polkas, and galo ...
and his son
Johann Strauss II
Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ov ...
).
Cast
See also
*
Überläufer
In German film history, an Überläufer (literally '' defector'') is a film that was in production under the Third Reich but only completed and premiered after the end of the Second World War. The vast majority of such films are romantic comedies ...
References
External links
*
''Wiener Mädeln''Full movie with English subtitles at Deutsche Filmothek
Films of Nazi Germany
East German films
German biographical films
Austrian biographical films
1940s biographical films
Operetta films
Films set in Vienna
Films set in the 19th century
Films directed by Willi Forst
Films about classical music and musicians
Films about composers
Wiener Film
Cultural depictions of Johann Strauss II
Austrian historical musical films
German historical musical films
1940s historical musical films
1940s German-language films
{{historic-musical-film-stub