Born to Sing (1962)
"Almost Angels" (original title)

Supported avidly by his mother and more reluctantly at first by his father, a working-class Austrian boy joins the Vienna Choirboys, where he proves to be unusually talented. The standard ... See full summary »

Director:

Steve Previn

Writers:

Vernon Harris, Robert A. Stemmle (original story)

Stars:

Vincent Winter, Sean Scully, Peter Weck

Cast

Credited cast:
Vincent Winter	...	Tony Fiala
Sean Scully	...	Peter Schaefer
Peter Weck	...	Max Heller
Hans Holt	...	Director Eisinger
Bruni Löbel	...	Mother Fiala
Fritz Eckhardt	...	Father Fiala
Denis Gilmore	...	Friedel Schmidt
Hennie Scott	...	Ferdie
Gunther Philipp	...	Radio Announcer
Hermann Furthmosek	...	Choirmaster
Hans Christian	...	Choirmaster
Walter Regelsberger	...	Choirmaster
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Heinz Grohmann	...	Music Teacher
Heidi Grübl	...	Seamstress
Bernard Hindinger	...	Felix Meinl

Storyline

Supported avidly by his mother and more reluctantly at first by his father, a working-class Austrian boy joins the Vienna Choirboys, where he proves to be unusually talented. The standard initiation ordeals which new boys must endure at the hands of their seniors are intensified in his case because he has aroused the jealousy of Peter, the head chorister, by singing a solo which Peter had long sung himself. The fact is that Peter's voice is breaking, and with a broken voice often comes a broken heart. But, encouraged by the director and all the boys, Peter begins to develop in a new role as composer and conductor.

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Plot Keywords:

boy | austrian | singing | conductor | father son relationship | 

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Taglines:

BOYSterous DOGS and the DOGgondest BOYS ...together they spell FUN! [double bill with re-release of "Lady and the Tramp"]

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Genres:

Family | Comedy | Music

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 September 1962 (USA)

Also Known As:

Akár az angyalok

Filming Locations:

Vienna, Austria

Company Credits

Production Co:

Walt Disney Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.75 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

On its first (and possibly only) theatrical run, this film was shown as the second feature on a double bill with the 1962 re-release of Lady and the Tramp.

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Goofs

The program for the Sydney, Australia concert misspells Sydney as Sidney.

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Quotes

Tony Fiala: He'll just have to keep his mouth shut till we leave, that's all.
Friedel Schmidt: That'll take some doing.

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Connections

Featured in The Barefoot Executive (1971)

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Soundtracks

"Der Lindenbaum"
Music by Franz Schubert
Lyrics by Wilhelm Mueller

User Reviews

A Boy's Life as a Vienna Choirboy

This is one of the best films I've seen that makes me like the Vienna Boys Choir even more.

The story centers around Tony Fiala, who wanted to become a Vienna Choirboy, and Peter, one of the senior Choirboy. At first Peter does not like Tony because it seems like the choirmaster takes a liking to Tony and pushes Peter to the background. However, after an incident in which Tony takes the blame for himself rather than blame Peter, the two become fast friends.

Overall, it is a wonderful movie that gets you behind the scenes of what it is like being a Vienna Choirboy. I highly recommend it.