Spring on the ice

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Movie
Original title Spring on the ice
Country of production Austria
original language German
Publishing year 1951
length 91 minutes
Rod
Director Georg Jacoby
script Johannes Mario Simmel
production Nova film, Vienna
music Nico Dostal
Hanns Elin
occupation

Spring on the ice (working title: Die Zukunft tanzt ) is an Austrian ice revue film by Johannes Mario Simmel from 1950 (film premiere 1951). It is the only feature film in which an Austrian figure skater of international renown played a leading role.

action

Director Gordon throws the talented ice dancer Eva out of his ice revue because her audience success is greater than that of his wife, the jealous star Alida. Colleagues who stand up for Eva are also fired. Radio reporter Thomas Haller tries to give Eva and her colleagues other opportunities to perform with an open-air program. However, a downpour caused the ice cover of the lake to melt during the preparations. Only when the entire ensemble of the revue organizer goes on strike to help their colleagues can the new revue spring start on the ice . This is a great success, and Thomas wins Eva's heart.

music

Nico Dostal and Hanns Elin were hired as composers . Behind the pseudonym Elin hid the twelve-tone player Hanns Jelinek , who did not want to be officially associated with light music .

Production notes

The film was shot in the Rosenhügel film studios. The exterior shots were taken at Vienna International Airport .

The Wiener Eisrevue used its tour break in the summer of 1950 to film its first feature film. The main aim was to bring the dance performances of the ensemble with Eva Pawlik at the helm (Olympic runner-up in 1948 and European champion in 1949) closer to an even larger audience than was possible through the European tours of the Wiener Eisrevue with around 300 performances per year. Spring on the ice is the first of 7 films that were to be made with the Wiener Eisrevue.

During the occupation of Austria, the Rosenhügel studios were in the Soviet sector, which is why the film was dubbed in many languages ​​but not in English. Due to certain parallels in the plot and setting, the film Spring on the Ice, albeit shot in summer, - in terms of plot and type of sport - was considered the winter twin of the film Das Kind der Donau with Marika Rökk (also directed by Georg Jacobys ) . Spring on the Ice was the second color film in Austrian film history after Das Kind der Donau .

The premiere took place on February 10, 1951 in Vienna, the German premiere on March 6, 1951 in East Berlin. In the Federal Republic of Germany, the film was released in Munich on May 25, 1951, but was withdrawn shortly afterwards due to the lack of an import license. It was not used here again until December 1952.

criticism

The framework (book: Johannes Mario Simmel) was mostly rated as colorless and unimaginative in the reviews, while the performance of the Wiener Eisrevue under the artistic direction of Will Petter consistently received the greatest praise. Some commentators considered Eva Pawlik, who mastered her role without ever having taken acting lessons, to be a promising acting talent. Therefore, the European champion received a few more film offers, which she turned down because she wanted to stay true to figure skating. Her decision turned out to be the right one: At the Wiener Eisrevue and the German Scala Eisrevue, according to Morris Chalfen, the boss of the rival company Holiday On Ice , she developed into the greatest show runner that Europe had produced since the three-time Olympic champion Sonja Henie .

Die Presse , February 7, 1951: "Eva Pawlik's ice-skating skills are world-famous, but she doesn't seem weaker than her opponent Herta Mayen in terms of acting either."

Neues Österreich , February 7, 1951: “There is no need to tell the framework of this first film with the Wiener Eisrevue. It's so banal, so unimaginative, so transparent. (...) The win of the film is - in addition to a series of revue scenes so full of music in the blood and a wealth of ideas that could never be enjoyed on the real ice floor - especially Eva Pawlik. In addition to the technical ability, which has long been beyond discussion, our ice queen shows us in front of the camera an enchanting human child who with the charm of natural grace easily overcomes the hurdles of a lack of routine. Finally a face and not the product of a makeup artist on canvas. That is why, out of politeness, one should have omitted some other close-ups, because with such competition one can only take it in the medium long shot. "

Hamburger Abendblatt , February 14, 1952: “The reflective parquet of the half-frozen artificial ice rink on Vienna's Rosenhügel is the venue, sparkling in subtle colors. (...) And who will be the winner? Eva Pawlik, the Pavlikova of the ice skate. We assume that the experts in ice dancing will also take off their hats to this Viennese ice queen. In front of her and in front of her revue staged by Dia Luca with great taste in color. It really is dance on the ice, choreographically and technically so safely mastered that one sometimes forgets the ice skates on which the ballet glides. The plot is thin, the characters are colorless. "

Oberösterreichische Nachrichten , March 19, 1951: “Viennese grace, playful lightness, and solid skill give the film, whose plot, on the other hand, is difficult to lose, momentum. Eva Pawlik, our greatest master on the ice, takes center stage and does her job justice not only on the reflective floor, but also as an actress. This film is a piece of Austrian cultural history. "

Die Presse , February 17, 1951 “Eva Pawlik and the Wiener Eisrevue show that one can also start a successful revue in this country. The standard of Hollywood is not to be applied, after all, the strip, which is also turned in very beautiful colors, stands towering above everything that has been passed off as a 'revue' in Central Europe in recent years. Skill prevails here too and achieves good effects. We have seen quite a few films with Sonja Henie who looked paler. "

Wiener Tageszeitung , February 8, 1951 “A single take captures the ballet from above, otherwise the camera always looks at the colorful picture as if on the stage. Eva Pawlik's accomplished ice skating art is complemented by her sympathetic naturalness as the lady of the heart of the young journalist Hans Holt, who helps her to succeed against the intrigues of the seductive Herta Mayen and the fat Oskar Sima. Skraup as a councilor is one of his quirky characters. "

Arbeiter-Zeitung , March 11, 1951 “Spring on the ice brings the Viennese ice revue to the screen and for that reason alone is really worth seeing. They are admirable experts who show the highest art of ice dancing in tasteful and original costumes. The other good points of this film are the particularly pretty discreet colors and the acquaintance with our former European champion Eva Pawlik as a fresh, natural actress. The thin frame story is neither better nor worse than in other revue films. "

Salzburger Volkszeitung , April 16, 1951 “The unique performances of the popular and world-famous Wiener Eisrevue, the lively music by Nico Dostal and Hanns Elin and the masterful direction by Georg Jacoby make the color film the top productions of this kind such as B. appear equivalent to the earlier strip 'The White Dream'. Eva Pawlik in the lead role also turns out to be a talented and lovely young actress this time. Well-known audience favorites such as Hans Holt, Herta Mayen, Oskar Sima and Karl Skraup also help make the film a resounding success. "

Democratic Volksblatt Salzburg, April 16, 1951: “To complete it, of course, there is no sparking plot, the sparkling spirit. (...) Eva Pawlik not only proves her brilliant ice skating skills, but also pleases with her natural game. Hans Holt's charm enchants the female visitors, while Karl Skraup, in the role of a bureaucratic yet compassionate official, delivers a showpiece. "

The Truth Graz, March 31, 1951: “The Wiener Eisrevue is the real star of this color film shot on the Rosenhügel. If, in view of the Wiener Eisrevue, one can say of this film that it is in a good sense international level, then the cohesive plot is much thinner. (...) Eva Pawlik was a discovery, not as a virtuoso of the ice skate, in this role she has long been world-famous, but as an extremely charming, fresh natural talent for acting. "

Specialist literature

(in order of appearance)

  • Roman Seeliger, The Wiener Eisrevue. A dream faded away. hpt Vienna 1993 ISBN 3-7004-0680-0
  • Ingrid Wendl, My big bow. Böhlau Vienna 2002
  • Rudolf Ulrich, Austrian in Hollywood. Extended edition 2004. Page 605. ISBN 3-901932-29-1
  • pirouette (international magazine for ice sports and roller sports) July / August 2007 issue, memories of Eva Pawlik. Pages 37-38
  • Roman Seeliger, The Wiener Eisrevue. Once Austria's ambassador - today a legend. District Museum Vienna-Meidling, 2008
  • Isabella Lechner, Die Wiener Eisrevue. Diploma thesis University of Vienna, 2008
  • Eva Pawlik and Rudi Seeliger (detailed article by Susan D. Russel about the life stories and careers of Pawlik and Seeliger). In: International Figure Skating Magazine. USA January / February 2009.
  • Kelli Lawrence, Skating On Air. Sub-Chapter: Eva Pawlik - More Than An Overseas Footnote. P. 22f Mc Farland & Company. Jefferson, North Carolina, and London 2011. ISBN 978-0-7864-4608-7
  • Isabella Lechner, Viennese women who read, are dangerous. Chapter "Eva Pawlik". Elisabeth Sandmann, Munich 2012
  • The Wiener Eisrevue and its biggest star Eva Pawlik (article by Manuela Buyny) In: Pirouette (international magazine for ice sports and roller sports) July / August 2013 issue.
  • Bernhard Hachleitner / Isabella Lechner (eds.), Dream factory on the ice. From Wiener Eisrevue to Holiday On Ice. Chapter 'Great revue scenes and shallow stories ", p. 110 ff. Metroverlag Vienna 2014. ISBN 978-3-99300-194-0

Novels

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Script Spring on the Ice from Eva Pawlik's estate
  2. ^ Isabella Lechner, Die Wiener Eisrevue. Diploma thesis University of Vienna, 2008. Chapter III.4.2: 'Spring on the ice', page 111
  3. ^ Roman Seeliger, Die Wiener Eisrevue. Once Austria's ambassador - today a legend. District Museum Vienna Meidling 2008, page 45
  4. ^ Alfred Bauer : German feature film Almanach. Volume 2: 1946-1955 , p. 186
  5. ^ Roman Seeliger, Die Wiener Eisrevue. A dream faded away. Chapter 'Spring on the Ice'. Hölder-Pichler-Tempsky 1993 ISBN 3-7004-0680-0
  6. ↑ See quotations from newspapers quoted below
  7. ↑ Bernhard Hachleitner / Isabella Lechner (eds.), Traumfabrik on ice. From Wiener Eisrevue to Holiday On Ice. Chapter 'Celebrities double celebrities ", p. 119 ff. Metroverlag Vienna 2014. ISBN 978-3-99300-194-0
  8. ^ Roman Seeliger, Die Wiener Eisrevue. A dream that has faded away, page 48. hpt Vienna 1993 ISBN 3-7004-0680-0
  9. ↑ Kelli Lawrence, Skating On Air. 2011. Pages 23 f. ISBN 978-0-7864-4608-7
  10. ↑ Bernhard Hachleitner / Isabella Lechner (eds.), Traumfabrik on ice. From Wiener Eisrevue to Holiday On Ice. Chapter 'Eva Pawlik and Rudi Seeliger - The dream couple of the Wiener Eisrevue', p. 148 ff. Metroverlag Vienna 2014. ISBN 978-3-99300-194-0
  11. ^ "In the mirror of the day", In: Der Tagesspiegel Berlin, July 25, 1961