Video DVD

A light romance about a public school teacher who teaches singing and skiing instead of the regular curriculum against the advice of his superiors, and falls in love with the sister of one of his students. Featuring songs by the Vienna Boys Choir. Austria, 1930s, B&W, 75 minutes, German dialogue, English subtitles.

I obtained both WSK movies from the IHF (albeit in VHS/NTSC format) and can assure you that in both cases, there are gaps in what is left of each respective original film. Both are black/white with of course crude sound.

In the movie "Symphony in the Mountains" the choir does indeed play a major role, especially one charming soprano who fairly steals the show. The romantic plot line - such as it is - involves the choir director as the male lead.

As previously noted, there is also an hour's film called "Pursuit of Excellence" made for television by the WSK as an "response" to the romanticized excesses of the Disney movie, featuring Ferdinand Grossmann and a rather over-caffeinated Hans Gillesberger, who train a new boy named "Tony" who becomes a soloist (but in this version doesn't change voice). Unfortunately, all extant copies seem to be very faded with a strong reddish hue, since the original was apparently filmed on cheap stock and tragically hasn't survived intact.

Symphony in the Mountains - The Vienna Boys Choir