Figure 1.--This is the one of the few images from the film available at this time. The choir in this scene all wear white "T" shirts--except Toni who sneaks into the group. They are wearing "T" shirts because they have been called together after playing football.

Enjoyable film about an orphaned Austrian boy. The Austrian title was "Singende Jugend" ("Singing Boys"). It was marketed in America as "An Orphan Boy of Vienna". The main character is abused as an apprentice and taken in by a poor musician who manages to get him accepted by the Vienna Choir Boys. The movie has many boy characters. The boys all wear shorts, except in their school/choir uniform--a sailor suit with long trousers. It features the famous Vienna Choir Boys. The boys' roles are taken by the actual choir boys themselves with no names given but the first names of the characters they play. The orphan boy is called Toni. The choir school is run by the Catholic church. There is a scene with the boys on a outing in Tyrol wearing shorts. This is one of the few films in wich the Vienna Choirs Boys are involved. It is a warm, if somewhat soappy, little film that has been compared to "The Sound of Music" and is full of some great music if you appreciate boy choirs. The film is a bit sentimental but the singing is lovely and the boys very lovable.In German with English subtitles.

Filmography

Orphan Boy of Vienna will be of interest mainly to boy choir historians and serious film collectors. It was produced in 1936, a year before the NAZI Anchhluss, by a company operating in Vienna and Amsterdam. This early musical was directed by Max Neufeld and features songs by the Vienna Boys Choir. The film was directed by Max Neufeld with a script written by Jermann H. Ortner. The surviving copies of the film is in rather fuzzy black and white. The Austrian title was "Singende Jugend"--"Singing Boys" (1936). It was released in America as "An Orphan Boy of Vienna" (1937).

Characters

The boy actors in the film are actual Vienna Choir Boy choristers. Ecen Toni, the main character, was a chorister. He is about 12-13 years old and has a lovely soprano voice. No names are given but the first names of the characters they play. Blümell is played by Hans Olden. Sister Maria is played by Julia Janssen.

Plot

"An Orphan Boy of Vienna" is really a boarding school film. The difference is that Toni, the main charcter, is not from a well-to-do family, but is an abused orphan with a stereotypical wicked step father. Toni who does not remember his mother is aprenticed to a mean cobbler whonused him as unpaid labor. The film once the action shidts to the Choir contains the sorts of conflicts (jealousy, friendship, rivalry) that are the staples of boarding school films. At one point Toni is suspected of theft, but the missing money turns out to be a harmless accident, and there is no dishonesty involved at all.And the boarding school is the famed Vienna Choir Boys school. Thus the film contains the added feature of wonderful choral music as well as beautiful scenery. The fil is set in both Vienna and the Tyrolean mountains in the years just before the NAZI Anschluss (1938).

Figure 2.--Toni is this clip from the film wears a suit jacket. Here he meets Sister Maria, the Choir school matron.

Location

There are majestic scenes in the Austrian mountains where the boys have a summer camp.

Language

The film is in German. The American release has subtitles in white, making them difficult to read at times.

Assessment

Some readers have commented on the film. One reader writes, "As one watches this film, one cant help but wonder if some of them wound up in German military after Hitler absorbed Austria in 1937. The boys look to be younger teenagers, so most would have been eligible for conscription by 1940-41. -- G Another reader tells us, "Altogether, this film remains a very likable feature. "An Orphan Boy" captures a time and place long gone. Its innocence and gentility bring to mind how impoverished for warmth and heart so much entertainment is today. -- JB

Costuming

Toni and the other boys in "An Orphan Boy of Vienna" are costumed in a variety of outfits. Actually we are not sure just how much costuming is involved. As the boys were choristets at the school, they probably mostly wore their choir uniform and other clothes. It was not uncommon in low-budget films for the actors, especially children, to wear their own clothes rather than costumes which the producers would have to purchase. This worked well in films with contemporary settings. The boys wear white "T"-shirts and short pants in one scene wear they are playing football. This was presumably the choir gym suit. Toni's poor clothes at the beginning of the film were presumably a costume. We are less sure about their Tyrolean outfits. he choir sings and travels in their blue sailor suits, very similar to today's uniform of the Vienna Choir Boys. Toni is the only boy who wears shorts in the film, except for the soccer and Tyrolean scenes. This is in part because the boys at school wear their long pants sailor suit uniforms.

Other Austrian Choir Movies

"Der schönste Tag meines Lebens" (Austria, 1957) like "Orphan boy of Vienna" this film tells a very similar story (coming to the Vienna Boys Choir, being an orphan, brougt to the choir be Mr Bluemel, the nun caring for him, the sum of money missing, the story with the misplaced money and Tony suspected, Tony saved from drowning, etc.)? Even the names are the same! Well, Max Neufeld is connected to both films. Along with "The Sound of Music" this film is also similar to a Walt Disney production, Almost Angels.