I don't know how historically accurate Alfred Hitchcock's 1934 operetta biopic "Waltzes from Vienna" is, but the hypothesis that Johann Strauss' "Blue Danube" might never have existed because of a juvenile romance with the baker's daughter, adds a delightful little twist to its already iconic dimension. Indeed, it is like imagining that Leonardo Da Vinci wanted to paint a beautiful woman but she couldn't make it, so he picked Mona Lisa, sometimes, historical events come close to never exist, and if you have a hard time imagining what our universal musical heritage might have been had Johann Strauss traded his piano for a baker's hat, imagine what history might have been had Hitler been accepted in that Painting School.
Still, when the film starts, we know "The Blue Danube" will exist and will become the most universally known Waltz tune, immortalized by cartoons and by a certain movie directed by Stanley Kubrick, as to convey the poetic symbiosis between the space vessel, a man's creation, and the universe, waltzing in sheer harmony. We know but it doesn't affect the enjoyment either, because like everybody, I love the theme. I'm not a musical expert but I know by just evoking the words 'Blue Danube', the melody is already playing in your head. And the most entertaining aspect of "Waltzes from Vienna" is to tell the genesis of this iconic melody, regardless of historical accuracy, when reality becomes legend, print the legend.
So, Johann Strauss (Esmond Knight) tries to make a name for himself, a twice difficult task because his name also belongs to his father (Edmund Gwenn) who's one of the greatest composers of Vienna, famous for the "Lorelei" and the "Radetzky March", and because the paternal aura inevitably overshadows the son, and affect his self-confidence. Strauss Sr. himself considers his son a dull composer, good enough to play second violin in his orchestra. Junior has no more confidence in his talent, and his romance with the lovely but directive, Rasi (Jessie Matthews) doesn't help. As the baker's daughter, she can only marry him a man who'd take care of the bakery, one that belonged to her family for four generations. So even though Strauss can't equal his father's stature, in the worst case, he'll marry a beautiful woman, so much for self-motivation.
So a kick from fate was much needed and it finally came with Countess Helga Von Stahl (Fay Compton) who asks him to compose a melody out of a poem she dedicated to the Danube. We don't know if it's the love for the man or for his talent, but in both cases, as Strauss' love or muse, she'll have the same rival. From this point, there's a funny vaudeville aspect in that love triangle whose only 'tragic' aspect lies on the way it threatens the existence of a masterpiece to come, that and many other factors like Strauss Sr.' reluctance to play for such pointless lyrics, the Countess' husband jealousy (the film's comic-relief), and even Strauss is his own enemy, thinking of giving up if the price to pay is Rasi' love. In a way, the film questions the notion of ambition and the misguiding effect of love but I might give more credit to the film than needed to, it's less a character study than the fun and enjoyable chronicles of the making of a music, and I don't think it tries to do more than that.
Hitchcock himself considered it as one of the lowest points of his career and It's true there are some bits of overacting and under-acting, and the lead protagonist doesn't strike for his charisma, but it didn't bother me because the real star of the film is "The Blue Danube", and the movie is never as exciting as when you see the things that made its creation possible. There's one magnificent sequence where Strauss visits the bakery and the melody starts to evolve, men throwing bread back and forth or tossing croissants or the sound a dough mixing inspire the whole music. So, if there ever is a scene that makes the movie, it's this one, and it's the one that most reveals some early hints of the emerging Hitchcockian touch.
Indeed, ever since Hitch made films, music took an important place within the plots, illustrating a constant harmony between music and real life, from cymbals crashing during a gunshot in "The Man Who Knew Too Much" to the violin screeching notes for each knife shot in "Psycho" or the psychological leitmotiv in "Shadow of a Doubt". Hitchcock knows how to use music as an expressionist tool, especially in 1934, when the talkies were still young. Music used to accompany the plots, to serve the atmosphere, Hitchcock made music serve the plot, just like the whistled tune in the German expressionist masterpiece "M". "The Blue Danube" is the film's central piece and we only get little bits of this much loved melody, never completely sung or hummed, not until the climax finally features the whole thing and that's the emotional pay-off we all waited for.
And since cinema is a world of images, 'show and tell' you know, the ending was the perfect way to conclude Johann Strauss' journey without any words. The father is approached by a young girl, asking for an autograph, he writes his name and calls her back, so he can add "Senior", and his smile concludes the picture. Johann Strauss made a name for himself just by forcing his father to be called 'Senior'. So you see, "Waltzes from Vienna" might belong to Hitch' period as British Gaumont contract-director and not be consider as part of his canon (it was his last musical film) but it can be seen as an enchanting interlude before serious things start with his next-project "The Man Who Knew Too Much" and not the least, in terms of music's use. So Hitch might have learned one thing or two by making "Waltzes of Vienna".
Still, when the film starts, we know "The Blue Danube" will exist and will become the most universally known Waltz tune, immortalized by cartoons and by a certain movie directed by Stanley Kubrick, as to convey the poetic symbiosis between the space vessel, a man's creation, and the universe, waltzing in sheer harmony. We know but it doesn't affect the enjoyment either, because like everybody, I love the theme. I'm not a musical expert but I know by just evoking the words 'Blue Danube', the melody is already playing in your head. And the most entertaining aspect of "Waltzes from Vienna" is to tell the genesis of this iconic melody, regardless of historical accuracy, when reality becomes legend, print the legend.
So, Johann Strauss (Esmond Knight) tries to make a name for himself, a twice difficult task because his name also belongs to his father (Edmund Gwenn) who's one of the greatest composers of Vienna, famous for the "Lorelei" and the "Radetzky March", and because the paternal aura inevitably overshadows the son, and affect his self-confidence. Strauss Sr. himself considers his son a dull composer, good enough to play second violin in his orchestra. Junior has no more confidence in his talent, and his romance with the lovely but directive, Rasi (Jessie Matthews) doesn't help. As the baker's daughter, she can only marry him a man who'd take care of the bakery, one that belonged to her family for four generations. So even though Strauss can't equal his father's stature, in the worst case, he'll marry a beautiful woman, so much for self-motivation.
So a kick from fate was much needed and it finally came with Countess Helga Von Stahl (Fay Compton) who asks him to compose a melody out of a poem she dedicated to the Danube. We don't know if it's the love for the man or for his talent, but in both cases, as Strauss' love or muse, she'll have the same rival. From this point, there's a funny vaudeville aspect in that love triangle whose only 'tragic' aspect lies on the way it threatens the existence of a masterpiece to come, that and many other factors like Strauss Sr.' reluctance to play for such pointless lyrics, the Countess' husband jealousy (the film's comic-relief), and even Strauss is his own enemy, thinking of giving up if the price to pay is Rasi' love. In a way, the film questions the notion of ambition and the misguiding effect of love but I might give more credit to the film than needed to, it's less a character study than the fun and enjoyable chronicles of the making of a music, and I don't think it tries to do more than that.
Hitchcock himself considered it as one of the lowest points of his career and It's true there are some bits of overacting and under-acting, and the lead protagonist doesn't strike for his charisma, but it didn't bother me because the real star of the film is "The Blue Danube", and the movie is never as exciting as when you see the things that made its creation possible. There's one magnificent sequence where Strauss visits the bakery and the melody starts to evolve, men throwing bread back and forth or tossing croissants or the sound a dough mixing inspire the whole music. So, if there ever is a scene that makes the movie, it's this one, and it's the one that most reveals some early hints of the emerging Hitchcockian touch.
Indeed, ever since Hitch made films, music took an important place within the plots, illustrating a constant harmony between music and real life, from cymbals crashing during a gunshot in "The Man Who Knew Too Much" to the violin screeching notes for each knife shot in "Psycho" or the psychological leitmotiv in "Shadow of a Doubt". Hitchcock knows how to use music as an expressionist tool, especially in 1934, when the talkies were still young. Music used to accompany the plots, to serve the atmosphere, Hitchcock made music serve the plot, just like the whistled tune in the German expressionist masterpiece "M". "The Blue Danube" is the film's central piece and we only get little bits of this much loved melody, never completely sung or hummed, not until the climax finally features the whole thing and that's the emotional pay-off we all waited for.
And since cinema is a world of images, 'show and tell' you know, the ending was the perfect way to conclude Johann Strauss' journey without any words. The father is approached by a young girl, asking for an autograph, he writes his name and calls her back, so he can add "Senior", and his smile concludes the picture. Johann Strauss made a name for himself just by forcing his father to be called 'Senior'. So you see, "Waltzes from Vienna" might belong to Hitch' period as British Gaumont contract-director and not be consider as part of his canon (it was his last musical film) but it can be seen as an enchanting interlude before serious things start with his next-project "The Man Who Knew Too Much" and not the least, in terms of music's use. So Hitch might have learned one thing or two by making "Waltzes of Vienna".