Miracle of the White Stallions

Miracle of the White Stallions is a 1963 film released by Walt Disney starring Robert Taylor (playing Alois Podhajsky), Lilli Palmer, and Eddie Albert. It is the story of the evacuation of the Lipizzaner horses from the Spanish Riding School in Vienna during World War II. Major parts of the movie were shot in the Hermesvilla in Vienna.
The screenplay was written by A.J. Carothers and features a song by the Sherman Brothers called, "Just Say Auf Weidersehen".
==Plot==
During the final critical months of World War II, Colonel Alois Podhajsky, the director of the Spanish Riding School in Vienna, is denied permission by General Stryker to evacuate the school's prized Lipizzan horses, endangered by the bombardment of the city. Desperate, he enlists the aid of General Tellheim, a sympathetic German who permits Podhajsky and his chief rider, Otto, to smuggle the white stallions to the safety of an old castle belonging to the Countess Arco-Valley. However, the mares had earlier been transferred to Czechoslovakia, and Podhajsky is now faced with the possibility of the rare breed becoming extinct. When an American advance guard arrives at the castle, Podhajsky stages a performance in order to persuade General Patton to include the Lipizzan mares as part of the Allied prisoner liberation program, and the Spanish Riding School becomes officially protected by the United States Army. Under the command of Colonel Reed, the Lipizzan mares are rounded up from Czechoslovakia before the arrival of the Russian force and returned to Podhajsky, thus insuring the continuation of the breed. Ten years later, on the 212th anniversary of the Riding Hall, the Lipizzans are once more performing at the Imperial Court in Vienna.
==Cast==
*Robert Taylor as Col. Alois Podhajsky
*Lilli Palmer as Vedena Podhajsky
*Curd Jürgens as Gen. Tellheim
*Eddie Albert as Rider Otto
*James Franciscus as Maj. Hoffman
*John Larch as Gen. Patton
*Brigitte Horney as Countess Arco-Valley
*Philip Abbott as Col. Reed
*Douglas Fowley as U.S. General
*Charles Régnier as Gen. Stryker
*Fritz Wepper as Rider Hans
*Guenther Haenel as Groom Sascha
*Hans Habietinek as Innkeeper Hager
*Philo Hauser as Dispatcher
*Michael Janisch as Refugee Leader
*Max Haufler as Engineer
*Robert Dietl as German MP Captain
*Erik Schumann as German Capt. Danhoff
*Helmuth Janatsch as Intruder
*Michael Tellering as Stryker's Adjutant
==Gallery==
Miracle of white stallions france poster.jpg|Poster from the release in France on December 2, 1964
Miracle of white stallions germany poster.jpg|Poster from the release in Germany on October 30, 1964
Miracle of white stallions japan poster.jpg|Poster from the release in Japan on April 29, 1964
Miracle of white stallions mexico lobby card.jpg|Lobby card from the release in Mexico on July 6, 1967
Flight of the white stallions uk poster.jpg|Poster from the release in the United Kingdom as Flight of the White Stallions on August 9, 1963
Walt Disney Productions France 1963-4 program 3.jpg|Promo for the release in France
==Copyright info==
The film's copyright was renewed on October 3, 1991.Online Copyright Catalog search (form autofilled, pressing "begin search" brings up the entry)
==References==
Category:Disney films
Category:Live-action films
Category:1963 films
Category:Films
Category:Films about animals
Category:World War II films