Stürme über dem Montblanc

Leni Riefenstahl's fourth film with director Arnold Fanck was the first sound film for them both (note that although most versions of Die weiße Hölle vom Piz Palü currently available on video are sound, this is the 1935 remake of the film, not the 1929 original, which was silent). Fanck's photography of mountains and clouds is perhaps more stunning and beautiful in this film than in all his previous films, and the addition of sound and music only amplifies that. More importantly for Leni's career, however, was the fact that it proved that she could make the transition from silent to sound, since many actors and actresses had their careers cut short in those early days of cinema when it was discovered that their voices simply weren't well-suited for sound film.

Synopsis

The film begins at a weather station high atop Mont Blanc, where the meteorologist Hannes [Sepp Rist] lives alone collecting data, sending his daily reports down by telegraph. On clear days, he can see the town far below in the valley between the mountains, but usually his view is little more than a sea of clouds, and thus his only contact with the world is through his telegraph, through his friend Ernst Udet [as himself] who flies by in his plane once in a while shouting some news, or in hearing his friend Walter [Mathias Wiemann] play the organ through the radio. A serene, solitary, quiet life indeed, but not one which leaves Hannes unhappy with the magnificent, heavenly view that he enjoys.

As night falls, we are brought further down the mountain to a rather ominous interior scene of an astronomical observatory, where we are introduced to Hella Armstrong [Leni Riefenstahl] and her father [Friedrich Kayßler], who both work there.

The next day begins with a "fox hunt" on skis (where one skier plays the "fox," leaving a trail as they go along, and it's the task of a dozen or two other skiers to catch them). As young Hella looks out the window of her and her father's home, she sees them going by and can't resist joining in on the fun. She manages to catch up to the skier playing the fox [Ernst Petersen], they exchange clothes (with her wearing his "fox" outfit and him wearing her skirt!) in order to deceive those who had been chasing him. She manages to trick her pursuers into going in the wrong direction, just as Udet is landing his plane some distance away. She makes a dash for the plane with the other skiers in hot pursuit, taking off just in time to escape from them.

Now in flight, Hella goes with Udet over Hannes' weather station, where they toss out a Christmas tree as a gift to brighten up his sparse home, with Hella including a card with her name on it as well. Night falls, there are Christmas celebrations both in the valley below at the Armstrong household and high up on the mountain-top above, and the next day Hella and her father fly with Udet to go visit Hannes on top of Mont Blanc. Hella is quite enthused with the humble little home that Hannes has made for himself up there, and after a night of getting acquainted, the next morning her father approvingly hugs and kisses her as she goes off alone with Hannes to see his meteorological instruments and get a little more acquainted. As the young couple become more and more enamoured with each other, back at the mountain hut, Hella's father remains alone. He, too, then goes off on his own explorations, but suddenly he slips and falls off a cliff to his death. The young couple return and discover what has happened, they share a very despondent night together, and the next day they build a grave for Hella's father, as she makes her way back down the mountain.

Hannes is alone once again at his weather station, and now Hella is alone, too, at the obervatory, but they are able to continue to talk with each other by telegraph. On Hannes' advice, she goes to visit his friend Walter who has been sick at home, and whose company might help to console her in her grief. Hella visits and takes care of him, and then sends Hannes a message saying wonderful things about his dear old friend, but Hannes misinterprets her words and believes he has lost Hella's heart to Walter, and in a fit of jealousy he decides to stay on at the weather station for another year.

As Hella and Walter begin to realize the misunderstanding that has occurred, high up on the mountain Hannes finds himself in the midst of a terrible winter storm. While performing his duties outside, he loses his mittens, and with the wind and cold growing stronger by the moment, his hands quickly begin to become frostbitten and he is unable to start a fire for his woodstove. Desperate, he attempts to ski down the mountain (without the ability to use ski poles), but avalanches and other impassable hazards force him to climb back up to his mountain hut — but it has now been largely destroyed by the mountain-top blizzard he has been enduring.

Will Hannes escape his nightmare on the mountain?
(Click for a pop-up window with the plot spoiler)

Image Galleries

• None (at this time)
• For downloadable video clips, please see Leni Riefenstahl Video Downloads (Part One: The Arnold Fanck Bergfilms)

Historical Notes

• Forthcoming!

Analysis & Criticism (On-Site)

• None (at this time)

Web Links

Below are selected external links (to other sites) with information and/or articles about this film. External links to information about other Leni Riefenstahl films can be found in the Web Links section on the main pages for each of those films, or for more general information please see the Selected Leni Riefenstahl Links section of this site.

• The Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
• Production Stills from Stürme über dem Montblanc (plus Das blaue Licht and Der weiße Rausch)

  Part of the Leni Riefenstahl und der deutsche Bergfilm section of the Virtuelles Filmmuseum of the Universität zu Köln.

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