A Friendship in Vienna (1988) (TV)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Arthur Allan Seidelman

Writers (WGA):

Doris Orgel (book)
Richard Alfieri (teleplay)

Release Date:

27 August 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | History

Plot:

Inge Dournenvald and Lise Mueller are best friends in pre-WW2 Austria, despite the fact that Inge is...

Plot Keywords:

Nazi | Historical | Based On Book

Awards:

Nominated for Primetime Emmy. Another 1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

Jane Alexander	...	Hannah Dournenvald
Edward Asner	...	Opah Oskar Reikman
Natasha Bell	...	Anni
Helen Bourne	...	Marianne Lowberg
Luisa Bradshaw-White	...	Herte
Jeremy Cagan	...	Herbert Lowberg
Magdi Darvas	...	Frau Vollmer
László Dózsa	...	Man in Church
Rosemary Forsyth
Zoltán Gera	...	Building Manager
Kamie Harper	...	Lise Mueller
John Hartley	...	Mueller
Richard Jaromy	...	Heinz
Kenna Kendall	...	Mitzi
Péter Kertész	...	Second SA Officer
Jeff Kizer	...	Gustl
Jenny Lewis	...	Inge Dournenvald
Stephen Macht	...	Franz Dournenvald
Robert Mackey	...	SA Officer (as Robert Jay Mackey)
Zsuzsa Mányai	...	Princess Jasmine
András Márton	...	Yugoslav Consul
Kati Marton	...	Frau Mueller (as Katalin Marton)
Ferdy Mayne	...	Father Bernard (as Ferdinand Mayne)
John Cameron Mitchell	...	Tommi Lowberg
Ildiko Pesci	...	Frau Krausse
Csaba Pethes	...	Assistant to Pricess Jasmine
Robert Revesz	...	Heinz's Friend
Anikó Sáfár	...	Frau Werner
Claire Sawyer	...	Gerda
Jean Simmons	...	Narrator (voice)
Zoe Tahir	...	Susi

Runtime:

100 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Budapest, Hungary

Company:

Finnegan/Pinchuk Productions

Quotes:

Inge Dournenvald: What's that song?
Lise Mueller: I don't know. My brother taught it to me.
Inge Dournenvald: I like it.

A Moving Story, Very Nicely Done

This movie is based on the novel 'The Devil in Vienna' by Doris Orgel. The book was written for young adults, and in diary format as told by Inge a young Jewish girl of 13 living in Vienna just before the Nazi takeover of Austria.

The movie is true to the story and the spirit of the book, and tells how these events impact Inge and her best friend Lisette (who is Catholic) and their families. The girls vow to maintain their friendship no matter what happens -- even though Lisette's father and brother are ardent Austrian Nazi's.

The girls are believable in their roles, and Ed Asner stands out as Inge's grandfather. This movie should be enjoyed by girls, as well as people interested in this time period. It especially gives interesting details on how early Nazi laws impacted schools and day to day Jewish lives in Vienna.