For Luis Trenker fans, it'll come as no surprise that this is another Bergfilm: A movie about the Alps, skiing and the lifestyle of those who were wrapped up in the sports and affairs of mountain life. And, as always, Luis is the scriptwriter, director and, of course, star of his own work. The seemingly self-centered writer-director-star with apparent control issues was pretty much a one-trick-pony, too: In the film, he plays (surprise, surprise) a ski instructor at a Swiss resort named Toni, who (of course) is a hit with the ladies. The hotel director at this resort has come up with an idea to cash in on the unrequited lust of these female tourists all hot to have Toni "teach" them: let's send out spam mail to all of Toni's former pupils, asking them to come back to Switzerland and, while we're at it, to donate $ 5,000 towards a new bobsled track. Of course, while scriptwriter-director-star Luis Trenker thinks he's the 1930s version of woman-slayer Donald Trump, even he has to conclude he's not so hot that the ladies are going to cough up the dough just because a PennySaver flyer in their mailbox tells them to. So, Luis' alter ego (the hotel director) sweetens the scam by sending out the invitations as love letters.
One of the maroons receiving this letter is Constance, the young widow of a rich American (a constant theme in Luis' films ... a Freudian wish there?) who's just about to marry an equally rich lord in London, but breaks it off when she hears the snooty Englishman is broke and wants the American only for her money. So, she dumps the insolvent Englishman to go on a ski trip with her British friend Dorothy to Engadin (to take up with an insolvent Swiss cheese ... or in Luis' case, 'ham'). When she arrives, she's flabbergasted to find women from London, Paris and Rome there, all of whom seem to have gotten love letters from Toni. Of course, the simple, loveable, handsome and modest ski instructor hasn't a clue what's going on. He's puzzled as to why all his pupils are looking at him like Bernie Sanders supporters looking at future free tuition scholarships to state colleges. Constance's friend Dorothy, however, is oblivious to all the howling cats around her and promptly falls in love with Toni (and he in her!). Soon, however, the truth behind the love letters is revealed. A warrant is issued for the ski instructor's arrest on the grounds of marriage fraud (huh?) and now, even Dorothy isn't stupid-in-love enough to ignore the scam. Outraged and feeling abused, she intends to leave Switzerland for the comfort of foggy and damp England, where you may not be able to ski, but you can certainly count on excellent dental care. Toni, of course, has no intention of letting his little English turtle dove fly the coop.
Lots of mountain climbing; Alpine scenery; questionable living standards in mountain cabins; falls into glacier crevices; rescue teams on torchlight search and rescue missions; malfunctioning funiculars; train chases ... you get the idea.
It should be noted that neither Adolf Hitler nor Josef Goebbels (as head-guru for all film production in the Reich) found Trenker's works to be worth the light of day. That doesn't mean his films were good and had artistic value simply because the Nazis turned their noses up at them; oh, no ... they just thought Trenker the dumb jock, who told the same stories over and over again and was about as entertaining as watching a grapefruit rot in the sun. In fact, for all you fans of skiing and Adolf Hitler, take note that the Fuehrer despised the sport, considering it to be a dangerous activity which should be outlawed. He threw quite the (rare, I'm sure) temper tantrum, when, in the middle of trying to conquer Russia, his ski troops took time out to climb Mt. Elbrus in the Caucasus to plant the swastika flag on Europe's highest peak. I'm sure Luis Trenker would've applauded the accomplishment(?), but that enthusiasm might also have explained why, years earlier, he spent some time in Italy away from Papa Adolf and Uncle Joe.
(P.S.: There may not have been much love lost between Luis Trenker and his Nazi overlords, but the song heard at film's end concluding with a hearty "Sieg Heil!" should leave no doubt as to where Luis' loyalties could be found).
And now that I've insulted Luis Trenker fans; skiers; Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders supporters; women; Englishmen; English dentists; Nazis; and, perhaps, rotting grapefruits ... if there's anyone left among our (former) fans, feel free to buy the film!
Constance, die junge Witwe eines reichen Amerikaners, bekommt einen Liebesbrief aus dem Engadin. Unterschrieben ist er vom berühmten, überaus feschen und schneidigen Bergführer und Skilehrer Toni Anewater, den sie beim Urlaub im vorigen Jahr kennengelernt hatte. Constance und ihre Freundin Dorothy fahren also kurz entschlossen in die winterliche Schweiz. Aber gleichlautende Liebesbriefe waren auch an andere vermögende Damen in London, Paris und Rom gegangen, verfasst von einem geschäftstüchtigen Hotelbesitzer. Bergführer Toni weiß nichts von dieser Machenschaft. Er wundert sich nur über die verliebten Blicke, die ihm seine Schülerinnen im Skilehrgang gleich reihenweise zuwerfen. Ganz ernsthaft aber verguckt sich Dorothy in Toni – und er sich in sie. Doch dann kommt die Geschichte mit den Liebesbriefen heraus, es wird gar ein Haftbefehl wegen Heiratsschwindel gegen Toni ausgeschrieben. Empört und verzweifelt fährt Dorothy ob dieses Verrates ab. Aber ein Mann wie Toni lässt sich nicht so leicht abschütteln.
DVD-R is in German with no subtitles. Approx. 93 mins. See film samples for quality!
