Hans Holt Movies

Disney's Almost Angels utilizes the legendary Vienna Boys' Choir as a backdrop for a corny but effective fictional yarn. Vincent Winter plays a train conductor's son, who aspire to join the choir. Upon joining the group, he runs afoul of fellow member Sean Scully, but the two eventually become friends. When Scully begins growing out of his soprano voice, Winter arranges for another boy in the choir to "cover" for his lyp-synching pal. Feeling guilty about the deception, Scully is about to quit the group, when he appointed assistant conductor thanks to his faithful service over the past few seasons. During an international tour, both Scully and new soloist Winter receive standing ovations. To remove the "sissy" onus from the Vienna Boys' Choir, the Disney staff goes to great length to show how the boys are regular, trouble-prone kids; even so, there's a scene wherein several of the boys are required to dress as girls for a public performance! Almost Angels performed adequately at the box office, but fared better as a two-parter on Walt Disney's Sunday night TV series. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Curt Jurgens was still spelling his name "Curd Jurgens" when he was featured in the Austrian musical romance Das Kuckucksei. The story begins when a groom-to-be expresses unwillingness to marry the girl of his dreams until he ascertains the identity of her mother. When mom turns out to be a showgirl of some notoriety the stiff-necked Romeo withdraws his proposal of marriage. The girl, played by Kaethe Dorsch, settles for a much more liberal-minded hubby, who helps her clear her mother's name. Peter Wehle's musical score is easily the best aspect of this by-the-numbers effort. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Set during WWI, Der Engel Mit der Posaune is the melancholy tale of a woman (Paula Wesseley) who bows to family pressure and marries a man she does not love. In consequence, her actual sweetheart commits suicide. The woman elects to join him in death years later when the Gestapo decides to persecute her because of her Jewish forbears. Newsreel footage from both World Wars helps to inflate the film's running time to 135 minutes. An English-language version of Der Engel mit der Posaune, titled Angel With the Trumpet, was filmed in 1948 with Eileen Herlie in the lead. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Reportedly the first postwar Austrian production, Der Welte Weg (The Long Way) was filmed in the Soviet sector of occupied Vienna. The story concerns a group of POWs in the waning days of WWII. Despite the plight of these unfortunates, certain of the male and female prisoners manage to find romance. Most of the film deals with a triangle involving Rudolf Prack, Maria Anderson and Willi Danek. Having been conceived and filmed by pro-Soviets, Der Welte Weg is top-heavy with anti-German sentiments, which severely limited the film's salability in certain portions of Europe. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

A free-spirited nun is sent to work as the nanny for an Austrian baron's seven children and helps them to become a renowned singing group. The Baron is a good man, but he runs his family with the discipline of a drill sergeant. The former novitiate feels that children should be allowed to have fun and so teaches them to start enjoying life. She also encourages the talented septet to sing. When the Baron discovers his children acting frivolously, he is enraged. He is just about to fire her when he hears the sweet singing of his children. He keeps her on a little longer and even begins falling in love with her. But then she must return to her convent to renounce her vows. Later they are reunited and the family begins traveling and singing until the Nazis take over and the Trapp family is forced to flee to the U.S. Based on a true story, it was later reworked and remade as the classic musical The Sound of Music. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

A German language movie--a comedy about an ice skating troupe worried about the devious actions of their manager. No subtitles. ~ All Movie Guide

A bold knight who takes on the evil members of Emperor Maximilian's service becomes a wanted man. (In German with English subtitles) ~ All Movie Guide

Heimatland (Homeland) is based on Krambambuli, a novel by Maria von Ebner-Eschenbachs. Krambambuli is the name of the pet dog owned by hero Thomas Helmberg (Rudolf Frack). As Thomas pursues his romance with Helga Sonnleithner (Marianne Hold), he is thwarted at every turn by his rival for Helga's hand, Hans Bachinger (Adrian Hoven). In a parallel development, Krambambuli likewise battles for the affections of a female pooch. So important is the dog to the proceedings that the animal portraying Krambambuli--whose name, believe it or not, was Hatti von Fernstein--is given special billing. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Per the title of this Austrian melodrama, much of the action takes place in Satan's domain. The devil, played by Hans Holt, decides to make life a living you-know-what for a nightclub singer. This he does by trying to sabotage the singer's romance with an artist. The cast is wildly variable, with relative newcomer Vera Molnar coming off best, at least in the eyes of the critics in 1949. It is remotely possible that Hoellische Liebe served as one of the influences for the much-later Disney comedy/fantasy The Devil and Max Devlin. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide