This wonderful piece of light entertainment has just been re-released with English subtitles and it makes the perfect companion piece to the Wunschkonzert CDs already available from various sources.
The movie revolves around a simple theme: the handsome young air force officer Herbert (Carl Raddatz) meets the beautiful young woman Inge (Ilse Werner) at the opening of the Berlin Olympics, but on the eve of their marriage he is sent incognito to Spain as part of the Condor Legion. No time for adequate farewells.
And the years slip by without any news. Has he forsaken her? Then by chance, while listening (with countless other millions) to Sunday's request concert, she hears his name Major Koch. His adoring men have put in a request on his behalf to hear the Olympic Fanfare over the radio waves. Of course! He's alive and he hasn't forgotten! And just as the Olympic torch ignited the flame in Berlin, so this request ignites again the feeling of hope in our young Inge. There must have been a reason for his silence. The road to reunion is not an easy one however and both circumstance and misunderstandings conspire to keep them apart until the very (happy) end.
Interwoven with this light melodrama is some rousingly patriotic newsreel footage of both the Olympic opening ceremony, and the Condor Legion in action, but there is also a second important theme: the significance of the actual Wunschkonzert performances themselves as necessary morale boosters for both the serving troops and their families at home. Goebbels understood this perfectly and apparently provided the inspiration for director Eduard von Borsody.
There are moments of comedy as we follow the escapades of two enlisted men (who were also a noted comedy due of the period) bringing a captured pig to Berlin, and great pathos as a mother sitting alone at home listens to the powerfully moving voice of Wilhelm Streinz singing "Gute Nacht Mutter". Her young son had recently saved his unit, but in the process had sacrificed his own life.
For me, it was worth the price of admission simply to see not only the stunningly beautiful Ilse Werner, but also the actual musicians and performers who had hitherto been merely voices.
The movie and associated music CDs are highly recommended.
The movie revolves around a simple theme: the handsome young air force officer Herbert (Carl Raddatz) meets the beautiful young woman Inge (Ilse Werner) at the opening of the Berlin Olympics, but on the eve of their marriage he is sent incognito to Spain as part of the Condor Legion. No time for adequate farewells.
And the years slip by without any news. Has he forsaken her? Then by chance, while listening (with countless other millions) to Sunday's request concert, she hears his name Major Koch. His adoring men have put in a request on his behalf to hear the Olympic Fanfare over the radio waves. Of course! He's alive and he hasn't forgotten! And just as the Olympic torch ignited the flame in Berlin, so this request ignites again the feeling of hope in our young Inge. There must have been a reason for his silence. The road to reunion is not an easy one however and both circumstance and misunderstandings conspire to keep them apart until the very (happy) end.
Interwoven with this light melodrama is some rousingly patriotic newsreel footage of both the Olympic opening ceremony, and the Condor Legion in action, but there is also a second important theme: the significance of the actual Wunschkonzert performances themselves as necessary morale boosters for both the serving troops and their families at home. Goebbels understood this perfectly and apparently provided the inspiration for director Eduard von Borsody.
There are moments of comedy as we follow the escapades of two enlisted men (who were also a noted comedy due of the period) bringing a captured pig to Berlin, and great pathos as a mother sitting alone at home listens to the powerfully moving voice of Wilhelm Streinz singing "Gute Nacht Mutter". Her young son had recently saved his unit, but in the process had sacrificed his own life.
For me, it was worth the price of admission simply to see not only the stunningly beautiful Ilse Werner, but also the actual musicians and performers who had hitherto been merely voices.
The movie and associated music CDs are highly recommended.