''Almost Angels'' (also known in some foreign markets as ''Born to Sing'') is a 1962 American

comedy-drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

about a group of boys in the Vienna Boys' Choir. The film centers around the chorister's recruitment process, the rehearsals and the life in the institution as well. The story also conveys the value of friendship, honesty and loyalty. The child actors were actual members of the Vienna Boys Choir who perform several traditional Austrian songs throughout the motion picture. The filming took place in the Augarten Palais, the surroundings of Vienna and some other places of the beautiful Austrian landscape. In the United States, the film was released as the second half of a double bill. The first feature on the double bill was the 1962 re-release of '' Lady and the Tramp''.

Plot

Tony Fiala (played by Vincent Winter) is a working-class boy whose greatest desire is to become a member of Vienna's most famous choir. His father, however, wants his son to follow in his own footsteps as an engine driver. Unlike his loving and supportive mother, he sees no future for the boy in music. Despite the objections, Tony manages to join the Vienna Boys' Choir. Once there, he meets Peter (played by

Sean Scully Sean Scully (born 30 June 1945) is an Irish-born American-based artist working as a painter, printmaker, sculptor and photographer. His work is held in museum collections worldwide and he has twice been named a Turner Prize nominee. Moving fro ...

), who is the leading chorister and the most experienced solo voice. When Peter finds out that Tony has a wonderful, clear treble voice, he feels threatened by the talented new boy. Peter's jealousy will prompt him to do everything in his power to ruin his rival's public performances and his good image as a boarder, to the point of endangering Tony's life. The sabotage will eventually end but the breaking of Peter's voice will change the events drastically.

Cast

* Vincent Winter as Tony Fiala *

as Peter Schaefer * Peter Weck as Max Heller *

Hans Holt Hans Holt (22 November 1909 – 3 August 2001) was an Austrian film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films between 1935 and 1990. Selected filmography * '' Hannerl and Her Lovers'' (1936) * ''Catherine the Last'' (1936) * '' Florentine' ...

as Director Eisinger *

Bruni Löbel Bruni Löbel (born ''Brunhilde Melitta Löbel''; 20 December 1920 – 27 September 2006) was a German stage, film and television actress.Palmer p.10 She was married to the composer Gerhard Bronner and the actor Holger Hagen. Löbel appeared in ...

as Frau Fiala *

Fritz Eckhardt Fritz Eckhardt (born Linz, 30 November 1907; died Klosterneuburg, 31 December 1995) was an Austrian actor, director, and writer. He is remembered for playing the lead role as ''chief inspector Marek'' in the Österreichischer Rundfunk versi ...

as Herr Fiala * Denis Gilmore as Friedel Schmidt * Hennie Scott as Ferdie * Gunther Philipp as Radio Announcer * Hans Christian as Choirmaster * Hermann Furthmosek as Choirmaster * Walter Regelsberger as Choirmaster

Songs and music

The film takes advantage of the story itself to present traditional Austrian and German songs performed by the children. Besides the

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er, there are some international scores and instrumental music: # "

Kaiser-Walzer ''Kaiser-Walzer'', Op. 437 (''Emperor Waltz'') is a waltz composed by Johann Strauss II in 1889. The waltz was originally titled ''Hand in Hand'' and was intended as a toast made in August of that year by Emperor of Austria Franz Joseph I on the ...

" (Emperor Waltz by Johann Strauss Jr.) # "Willkommen" # "Heidenröslein" (Little Rose of the Heath) by Heinrich Werner /

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

# Unidentified piece for piano and oboe by

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

# "Der Kuckuck" # "Wohlan, die Zeit ist kommen" from Ludwig Schubart # "Der Lindenbaum" (Am Brunnen vor dem Tore) by

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 ...

/ Wilhelm Müller # "Kindersinfonie" ( Toy Symphony by

Leopold Mozart Johann Georg Leopold Mozart (November 14, 1719 – May 28, 1787) was a German composer, violinist and theorist. He is best known today as the father and teacher of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and for his violin textbook '' Versuch einer gründliche ...

) # "Tra la la, der Post ist da" (The Postman) by Rudolf Löwenstein # "Omnes de Saba Venient" (Graduale by Joseph Eybler) # "Lustig ist das Zigeunerleben" # "Das Hennlein Weiss" # "Guten Abend, Gute Nacht" (Good Evening, Good Night) by

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

# "

Greensleeves "Greensleeves" is a traditional English folk song. A broadside ballad by the name "A Newe Northen Dittye of ye Ladye Greene Sleves" was registered by Richard Jones at the London Stationer's Company in September 1580,Frank Kidson, ''English Fo ...

" (Traditional English Song) # "''

Ländler The Ländler () is a folk dance in time which was popular in Austria, Bavaria, German Switzerland, and Slovenia at the end of the 18th century. It is a partner dance which strongly features hopping and stamping. It might be purely instrume ...

''" # "An Der Schönen Blauen Donau" ( Blue Danube Waltz by Johann Strauss Jr.)

Home media

The film was released on DVD as part of the Disney Movie Club. In addition, the title was also made available for streaming in the

digital format Digital data, in information theory and information systems, is information represented as a string of discrete symbols each of which can take on one of only a finite number of values from some alphabet, such as letters or digit (unit), digits. ...

.Amazon: Almost Angels 1962
Retrieved 07-19-17

Popular culture

Produced and released more than two years before ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

'' and six years after ''

Sissi - The Young Empress Sissi or Sisi may refer to: People * Empress Elisabeth of Austria, known as "Sisi" or "Sissi"; spouse of Franz Joseph I of Austria :Works about Sissi :* ''The King Steps Out'' (1936), light comedy directed by Josef von Sternberg :* Sissi trilogy ( ...

'', ''Almost Angels'' uses the same formula of combining a family story, beautiful scenery, beloved music and Austrian local customs and traditions. Although it had limited distribution in theatres, the movie aroused the interest in choral institutions and in the Vienna Boys' Choir itself. ''Almost Angels'' was telecast broken up into two parts on the Disney anthology television series.

References

External links

* * * {{tcmdb title, id=67127, title=Almost Angels
Almost Angels film fan review website
1962 films American comedy films 1960s English-language films 1962 comedy films Films about classical music and musicians Walt Disney Pictures films Films produced by Walt Disney Films set in Vienna Films set in schools 1960s American films