Young Girls of Vienna

Forst's beautiful color film was made at the end of the war and was a representative color contribution to Wien-Film. Along with other locations, it was produced at Barrandov in parallel with the color Prag-Film Shiva und die Galgenblume, which unfortunately remained unfinished. Willi Forst, this likable and ambitious Austrian, got involved in film in the 1920s and as an actor, he made some great films. To name but a few, they include the biblical epic Sodom and Gomorrah and two wonderful films with Marlene Dietrich, Café Elektric and Nights of Love. In the 1930s he also worked his way up to film directing, screenwriting and production work. His name has automatically become a symbol of romantic Austrian culture, referring to a time full of waltz tunes. In fact, he maintained this position even after the Anschluss. In the 1940s he was allowed to work on apolitical musical films, of which Operetta and Vienna Blood form the imaginary first chapters of the Vienna Trilogy, culminating in the biography of Carl Michael Ziehrer. And yet, the film was almost lost after the war. Fortunately, this was not the case and Viennese Girls became one of the last Überläufer films, i.e., productions that were still being made in the last months of the Third Reich, but whose apolitical content could not in any way threaten the post-liberation audience. Simply put, it's a joyful film that will delight lovers of operetta, cute humor, pretty girls, and Hans Moser's direction. Willi Forst himself in the lead role is just the perfect cherry on top of the entire charming Viennese experience. (04/05/2021)