Miracle of the White Stallions Movie Review (1963)

In this next film, take a trip from Berlin to St. Martins in the midst of World War II. For this project, I’m focusing on the story itself, including dialogue, character development, any subplots, how a story presents itself, the speed at which it moves, if it slows down unnecessarily, etc.

A Brief Summary

(Taken from D23)

True story of how Colonel Alois Podhajsky, director of Vienna’s world-famous Spanish Riding School, saves the school and its beautiful Lipizzan white horses during World War II. When the bombs start falling on Vienna near the end of the war, Podhajsky secretly defies the Nazis and smuggles the marvelous performing white stallions into rural St. Martin. Meanwhile, the Lipizzan mares, on which the future of the breed depends, are in Czechoslovakia in the path of the advancing Russians who are slaughtering all livestock coming into their hands. Under the direct order of General Patton, an expert horseman, the mares are rescued, reunited with the stallions, and both the Lipizzans and the Spanish Riding School are saved for posterity. 

What works

• It’s based on a true story with voice-over narration periodically throughout the film, similar to 20,000 leagues or Ten Who Dared.
• The WWII setting/escape was giving me some ‘The Great Escape’ and ‘The Sound of Music’ vibes (two totally different types of movies but there it is)
• Even though it was slow at the beginning, the timing is pretty well-paced throughout. 
• The dialogue is clean and effective, which made following along with the story that much easier.
• I wasn’t sure at first how much Podhajsky’s wife would figure into the overall story, but by the end I absolutely loved her. True story or not, her presence in the movie added so much.
• It was cool seeing an escape/adventure type of story set during WWII where the protagonists are on the Nazi-side (without really being sympathetic to the Nazi cause) so it takes away that obstacle.
• The story is pretty cleanly divided into 3 parts
  • The escape to St martins
  • Convincing the newly arrived Americans w/a show to protect the school/rescue the mares
  • The rescue of the Lipizzan mares
• I love that it shows the train station dispatcher with his children and the conductor with his family at the final performance at the end of the movie when the school returned to Austria. A full circle kind of moment.

What may or may not work

• Gen. Stryker is a bit of a pill
  • For how persnickety Stryker was, he really was only in the movie for a couple of scenes. I was surprised at how little screen-time he had, he seemed to be a more prominent figure when you are first introduced to him.

Honorable Mentions

• The opening credits stated that the Spanish riding school performed under the direction of real-life main character: Col. Alois Podhajsky 
• Sherman bros wrote ‘Just say Auf Wiedersehen’
• “You go into a town after so many sad towns. You walk into a stable and you see something beautiful. you don’t expect it. helps you forget some of the not so beautiful things you’ve been seeing – Major Hoffman
• “What I said before, I was upset.”
  • “You asked about the General’s health, nothing wrong with that.”

Side Questions

• What all did they take when they left Berlin for St. Martin’s? They talked about taking treasures to safety (because that was the order given that allowed them to leave) but I’m curious what kind of treasures (other than the horses) they took with them.

Would I watch this movie again?

• I definitely would. Sure, it was a little slow to start but I did enjoy the story. Adding that it was also based on a true story and showcased horses (which I love movies about horses), I would definitely give it another watch.

If you’ve seen Miracle of the White Stallions, what are some of your thoughts? Share in the comments below!

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