''Miracle of the White Stallions'' is a 1963 American

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extreme spo ...

war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about naval, air, or land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20th century. The fateful nature of battle scenes means that war fi ...

released by

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

starring Robert Taylor (playing

Alois Podhajsky Alois Podhajsky (24 February 1898 – 23 May 1973) was the director of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, Austria as well as an Olympic medal-winner in dressage, riding instructor, and writer. He competed at the 1936 Summer Olympics a ...

Lilli Palmer Lilli Palmer (; born Lilli Marie Peiser; 24 May 1914 – 27 January 1986) was a German actress and writer. After beginning her career in British films in the 1930s, she would later transition to major Hollywood productions, earning a Golden Glob ...

, and

Eddie Albert Edward Albert Heimberger (April 22, 1906 – May 26, 2005) was an American actor and activist. He was twice nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor; the first nomination came in 1954 for his performance in ''Roman Holiday'', ...

. It is the story of the evacuation of the

Lipizzaner The Lipizzan or Lipizzaner ( hr, Lipicanac, cz, Lipicán, hu, Lipicai, it, Lipizzano, sr, Lipicaner, sl, Lipicanec), is a European breed of riding horse developed in the Habsburg Empire in the sixteenth century. It is of Baroque type, and i ...

horses from the

Spanish Riding School The Spanish Riding School (german: Spanische Hofreitschule) is an Austrian institution dedicated to the preservation of classical dressage and the training of Lipizzaner horses, based in Vienna, Austria, whose performances in the Hofburg are also ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

during

World War II 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 ...

. Major parts of the movie were shot at the

Hermesvilla Hermesvilla is a palace in the Lainzer Tiergarten in Vienna, a former hunting area for the Habsburg nobility. Emperor Franz Joseph I gave it to his wife Empress Elisabeth (nicknamed "Sisi"), and he called it the "castle of dreams.“ The name o ...

palace in the

Lainzer Tiergarten The Lainzer Tiergarten is a 24.50 km² (6,054-acre) wildlife preserve in the southwest corner of Vienna, Austria, 80% of it being covered in woodland. It dates back to 1561, when Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor, Ferdinand I created it as a ...

of Vienna, a former hunting area for the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

nobility. The music for the soundtrack was based on the first movement of

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

's Marche Militaire no 1, D733.

Plot

In 1945 World War II Austria, Col. Alois Podhajsky sets out to protect his beloved Lipizzaner stallions - purebred white show horses with centuries of tradition - from starving refugees and the advancing

Soviet Army uk, Радянська армія , image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg , alt = , caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army , start_date ...

, which might also view them as a food source. Hoping to surrender them into safekeeping, he seeks out U.S. General

George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

, a noted horse fancier.

Cast

* Robert Taylor - Col. Alois Podhajsky *

- Vedena Podhajsky *

Curd Jürgens Curd Gustav Andreas Gottlieb Franz Jürgens (13 December 191518 June 1982) was a German-Austrian stage and film actor. He was usually billed in English-speaking films as Curt Jurgens. He was well known for playing Ernst Udet in '' Des Teufels Gene ...

- Gen. Tellheim *

- Rider Otto *

James Franciscus James Grover Franciscus (January 31, 1934 – July 8, 1991) was an American actor, known for his roles in feature films and in six television series: '' Mr. Novak'', '' The Naked City'', '' The Investigators'', '' Longstreet'', '' Doc Elliot'', ...

- Maj. Hoffman *

John Larch John Larch (born Harold Aronin; October 4, 1914 – October 16, 2005; also credited Harry Larch) was an American radio, film, and television actor. Early life and military service John Larch was born Harold Aronin to Jewish parents in Sale ...

- Gen.

* Brigitte Horney - Countess Arco-Valley *

Philip Abbott Philip Abbott (March 20, 1924 – February 23, 1998) was an American character actor. He appeared in several films and numerous television series, including a lead role as Arthur Ward in the crime series ''The F.B.I.'' Abbott was also the founde ...

- Col. Reed *

Douglas Fowley Douglas Fowley (born Daniel Vincent Fowley, May 30, 1911 – May 21, 1998) was an American movie and television actor in more than 240 films and dozens of television programs, He is probably best remembered for his role as the frustrated m ...

- U.S. General *

Charles Régnier Karl Friedrich Anton Hermann 'Charles' Regnier (Régnier)"Wedekind aus Horst Kreis Neustadt am Rübenberge in Niedersachsen". In: ''Niedersächsisches Geschlechterbuch''. (Genealogical studies). Limburg an der Lahn: Verlag C. A. Starke Volume 1 ...

- SS-''

Brigadeführer ''Brigadeführer'' (, ) was a paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) that was used between the years of 1932 to 1945. It was mainly known for its use as an SS rank. As an SA rank, it was used after briefly being known as ''Untergruppenf ...

'' Streicher *

Fritz Wepper Fritz Wepper (born 17 August 1941, Munich, Germany) is a German film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Inspector Harry Klein in the long-running crime series ''Derrick'' (1974–1998). Wepper is also remembered for his roles ...

- Rider Hans * Guenther Haenel - Groom Sascha *

Hans Habietinek Hans may refer to: __NOTOC__ People * Hans (name), a masculine given name * Hans Raj Hans, Indian singer and politician ** Navraj Hans, Indian singer, actor, entrepreneur, cricket player and performer, son of Hans Raj Hans ** Yuvraj Hans, Punjabi ...

- Innkeeper Hager *

Philo Hauser Philo of Alexandria (; grc, Φίλων, Phílōn; he, יְדִידְיָה, Yəḏīḏyāh (Jedediah); ), also called Philo Judaeus, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. Philo's depl ...

- Dispatcher * Michael Janisch - Refugee Leader *

Max Haufler Max Haufler (4 June 1910 – 25 June 1965) was a Swiss actor and film director. Partial filmography * ''Le règne de l'esprit malin'' (1938) - Criblet * ''Farinet ou l'or dans la montagne'' (1939) - Gendarm * ''Steibruch'' (1942) - Näppi * '' ...

- Engineer *

Robert Dietl The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

- German MP Captain *

Erik Schumann Erik Schumann (15 February 1925 – 9 February 2007) was a German actor. He appeared in 100 films and television shows between 1942 and 1997. He was most successful during the 1950s and 1960s, when he played leading roles in several German f ...

- German Capt. Danhoff * Helmuth Janatsch - Intruder * Michael Tellering - Stryker's Adjutant *

James Dobson James Clayton Dobson Jr. (born April 21, 1936) is an American evangelical Christian author, psychologist, and founder of Focus on the Family (FOTF), which he led from 1977 until 2010. In the 1980s he was ranked as one of the most influentia ...

- Southern GI

Comic book adaption

* Gold Key: ''Miracle of the White Stallions'' (June 1963)

Notes

References

External links