Figure 1.--Many Austrian, German, and Scandinavian choirs had sailor suits for their choir uniforms. I think this is from "Der schönste Tag meines Lebens", but am not positive.

HBC will list choir movies alphabetically here for ease of access. If you do not know the title, you can peruse the various country lists which may make them easier to find as the individual country lists are shorter than the overall films. HBC is listing documentaries along with the major feature films. We are including films about choirs as well as movies in which choirs are featured. This appears to be a topic which was of greater interest before the 1970s. We have noted few recent films about choirs, the British made for TV serial The Choir being a notable exception.

Almost Angels (Austria/United States, 19??)

I'm not sure about the title of the film shown here. One HBC contributor reports that there is a Disney movie in which an "all-American" boy joins the Vienna Boys' Choir, albeit Austrian. The film was entitled Almost Angels (1962). It was filmed entirely on location in Austria. It is the story of two Vienna choir boys who become best friends. They try to cover up the fact that one of them is losing his golden tones. It starred two boys who were quite busy child actors. One was Vincent Winter, a British actor, and the other was Sean Scully (who was the one also in The Prince And The Pauper). 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. One reviewer reports, "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."

Angels with Dirty Faces (United States, 1938)

This is one of the better remembered films from the Dead End series. The Catholic priest in the film directs a church choir. It is, however, a very small part of the film.

(Le) cage aux rossignols (France, 19??)

The French movie la cage aux rossignols ("The cage with the nightingales") used choristers from the French boys choir Les petits chanteurs a la croix de bois (the Little Singers of the Wooden Cross). We have some information on the film or the story line. The scene here shows the choristers in an informal momment. It shows casual clothes commonly worn by French boys during the mid-1940s.

(The) Choir (England, 1998?)

One of the better productions about choirs was a recent BBC series called The Choir featured a noted young singer. This excellent production concerns the financial problem of maintaing a great cathedral. The dean of the cathedral decides the only way to save the cathedral is to close the choir. The choir master attemts to save the choir by opposing the dean before the choir's govenors. In the mean time he has one of the chorisers make a record which proves to be a popular success. There are several sub-plots to the film which diverge from the central story of the choir. The film provides information on formal choir costumes, English school uniforms, and English clothing styles in the 1990s. The Choir was shown in the United States as a multi-night mini-series, of course on PBS. The film introduced the world to the vocal talent of one young Anthony Way. Anthony is superb in voice and acting.

(The) Choir (Japan, 2000?)

An Australian reader writes, "The movie 'The Choir' was on our multi-cultural channel in 2002. Because all of the credits are in japanese, it is difficult to glean information about the movie. The movie is part of a series from the "Tales From The Orphange" range." The movie starts with Michio (stutters badly) sitting alongside his uncles sick bed. He his taking copius notes on his uncles health. Every time a nurse takes his uncles temperature or checks his heart beat, Michio writes it down and formulates it into a graph. The nurse comments on Michios uncle reaching the 'cross of death' and she rushes off to find a doctor. At this stage, Michio connects the graphs together and realises what the nurse meant when she spoke of the cross of death, all of the graphs cross over, obviously, this indicates a point of no return. His uncle then sits up in bed and talks to Michio before he collapses and dies. Michio has taken this very hard and runs from the hospital. Sometime later he is told that he will be enroled at a boarding school (unsure if Michio was living with uncle or not) and would be leaving straight away.

(Les) Chorists (France, 2004)

The French Film "Les Choristes" is a lovingly done remake of an acclaimed French film. The original title was "La cage aux Rossignols". It ran in Britain and the United States as "The Chorus"/"The Chour". The film is set in France during 1949. Clément Mathieu, a unremployed music teacher, is hired by Monsieur Rachin, the very strict principal of a correctional boarding school ( reformatory ) for boys. By introducing his pupils to music he changes their lives. The film features a choir from Lyons, les Petis Chanteurs de Saint-Marc. The reviews I have seen have been quite positive. A Dutch reader reports, "I was in Chartres (France) during the weekend and heard people speak well of ´Les Choristes´ by Christophe Barratier. The music in the film is stunning. The film is a competently told story of an inspirational teacher. There are several similar films. What makes this film rise above the other movies in this genre is the music. Viewers will take the haunting music with them and it lingers in the memory in a way that few film music tracts do.

Empire of the Sun (United States, 1987)

This is an American film set in Shanghai. However the main character is an English choir boy. The film begins with the choirm a dramatic device to stress the boy's inosence in contrast to what lies before him. The nusic is also an important aspect of this film. This is Steven Spielberg's film about 11-year-old Jim Graham, who sings at a British school in Shanghai and is somewhat bored with "The Good Life"-- until he is separated from his parents when the Japanese invade on December 8, 1941. Christian Bale does not do his own singing. (The real soloist is James Rainbird, and "Suo Gan" is performed by The Ambrosian Junior Choir, directed by John McCarthy.) But Bale displays profound ranges of emotion, and through his eyes we see both the fascination and the horror of war. If you have not seen Empire of the Sun, you must. Watch the picture from the Saturday Evening Post as it travels with Jim through his ordeals! Have you ever had a time in your life when you finally "lost it", as Jim did when the P-51 fighters attacked the Japanese camp? For me this was the climax of the film, the lightening appearnce of the sleak American fighter meant that the calvery was comingh. If you have seen the movie, did you know right away what the "bright light" was which seemed to go up from the woman's body? What DID it mean when Jim was trying to bring his young Japanese friend back to life--and suddenly he seemed to be doing CPR on himself? -- Be sure to let the video run until it fades to black-- so you can hear the wonderful theme chorus ("Exsultate Justi") by John Williams! The interesting costuming is at the beginning of the film. The blazers the boys wear with red piping look authentic enough, but I doubt if they would preform in them on Sunday--especially with grey shirts.

Going My Way - (US, 194?)

This wonderful film starring Bing Crosby included several scenes weith a boy's choir of course led by Bing. Again we do not know if the boys were actuaslly in a choir or if the producer just recrited talkented boys.

(The) Great Caruso (US, 1951)

While films actually about choirs are relatively rare, quite a number of films include scenes whih in one way or abother include choirs. This film about the great Italian singer includes a lot of music, including one scene with a boys' choir. We are not sure if the boys came from a specific choir.

Lord of the Flies (England, 1963)

This is surely one of the most provocative films about boys ever made. It is not a choir movie as such as it does not get involved in the iner workings of the choir. However it is the choir boys that lead the discent to barbarity among a group pf British school boys marooned on a desert island after a plane crash. It is in the same genre as The War of the Buttons, but much more powerful. The choir wears a very destinctive uniform at the beginning if the movie.

(An) Orphan Boy of Vienna (Austria, 1936)

An Orphan Boy of Vienna is the touching story of an orphan boy who meets a street singer who gets him accepted by the Vienna Boys Choir. It is one of the few films in wich the Vienna Choirs Boys are involved. Orphan Boy of Vienna will be of interest mainly to boy choir historians and serious film collectors. It was produced in 1936, a year before the NAZI Anchhluss, by a company operating in Vienna and Amsterdam. This early musical was directed by Max Neufeld and features songs by the actual Vienna Boys Choir.

Perfect Harmony (United States, 1959)

The setting for this Disney production is 1959 South Carolina at Blanton Boys Academy. What is special about this school? Are you sitting down? Choir is considered to be as important as any other school activity! Bigots will not appreciate this film, because it shows how the love for each other's music-- brings together two boys of different race--during the dark days of racial prejudice. The academy boys do a great job of singing the classics. To really enjoy this film, you must try your best to forget Peter Scolari's role in "Newhart" and even more important-- forget the character of the boy in "Married With Children" which I rate as quite possibly the worst TV show ever produced in this country, and most certainly the worst show ever exported to other countries as an example of U.S. culture! "Perfect Harmony" seems to be currently out-of-print. - Length: 93 minutes.

Figure 2.--This is the Hungarian boy who becomes a Vienna Choir Boy with his sister Maria in "Der schönste Tag meines Lebens".

(Der) schönste Tag meines Lebens (Austria, 1957)

Der schönste Tag meines Lebens is about a Hungarian orphan, who becomes in the end a Choirboy at Vienna. [Note: There is a historical association between Austria and Hungary as they were for a long time unified under Hapsburg rule.] The film feature Michael Ande, who was a well-known star at that time, as main character.

Songs of Praise (England, 1961- )

A HBC reader writes, "I have been watching "Songs of Praise" for some time now and I am wondering why some of the boys in the Cathedral Choirs wear white vestments over their coloured robes and others do not. Could you please explain the reason for this." HBC does not know the answer to this question and would be interested in any readers can provide any insights for us. A HBC reader writes, "I have been watching "Songs of Praise" for some time now and I am wondering why some of the boys in the Cathedral Choirs wear white vestments over their coloured robes and others do not. Could you please explain the reason for this." HBC does not know the answer to this question and would be interested in any readers can provide any insights for us. A British reader responds, "Well, first of all it is not a movie. It is a programme of hymns which has been shown in Britain on Sunday evenings on BBC 1 television since 1961. It comes from a different church each week, so many different varieties of choir vestments have appeared on it. The BBC has a program page. And the answer to the question is that in many church and cathedral choirs Probationers only receive the white surplice to wear over the coloured cassock when they achieve the status of full Choristers."

(A) Swarm in May (England, 1983)

A Swarm in May was filmed at Rochester Cathedral and released in 1983. It was based on a child's book published in 1955 by William Mayne, one of the first he wrote. The boy's school story at the time was declining in popularity, despite this remarkable work. A 1982 edition was Illustrated by CW Hodges. The title comes from a rhyme about bee keeping: "A swarm in May is worth a load of hay; A swarm in June is worth a silver spoon; A swarm in July ain't worth a fly!" Unfortunately at this time I have no information on the actual film.

This Is Cinerama (United States, 19??)

The Vienna Boys Choir were featured in a segment of the first Cinerama film "This Is Cinerama". A few of the boys sang "Tales from the Vienna Woods", if I'm not mistaken, and the boys wore their regular clothes which included knickers, lederhosen, regular shorts and button up shirts. The segment had a silly staged look, but the boys sang beautifully. It was short on the grounds of the school, I believe.

Unsere Schoensten Weihnachtslieder (Germany, 19??)

Finding U.S. Standard (NTSC) video of European boy choirs has been almost impossible until now-- but here is a NTSC Release of the famous TOELZER KNABENCHOR of Germany! This delightful video was taped in Munich and has HI-FI Stereo sound. There are eight selections and each one has the boys performing in a different 'formation' with colorful religious paintings in the background. The native costumes worn by the boys are unique. You will also find their manner of singing different, in that on some selections, the boys turn and smile at each other while singing--as if they were around a campfire. Some short solos are featured, and one piece features a duet with a second-camera shot of the featured boys being superimposed above-left of the other singers. The selections are Christmas-- HOWEVER, since they are traditional European songs (instead of "Deck the Halls With Rudolph's Shiny Nose", and are sung in German.

Wenn die Glocken hell erklingen (Austria, 1959)

Wenn die Glocken hell erklingen is about a choirboy, who visits is grandfather who doesn't know that he's got a grandson. He had banned his daughter from his home because she who went off with a friend he did not like. The film feature Michael Ande, who was a well known star at that time, as main character.

Unknown English film

An HBC contributor an recalls seeing the following on British television some time ago (probably in the late 70s/early 80s). It was a movie about a boys choir, in which the young singers were aged about 12 or possibly 13. They were standing in a row in front of their Choirmaster. What was particularly striking was that every second boy in the row was wearing black shorts and white kneesocks. Every other boy was wearing black long trousers, so the row of boys was made to resemble the keys of a piano. More precisely, the row of boys legs looked like piano keys--the legs of the boys in long pants were the black keys, while the bare legs of the boys in shorts were the white keys. The effect was really quite interesting, and it was obviously deliberately done. The boys shorts were in the very short style. The contributor wonders just how the boys were selected to wear long or short pants. They were all around the same age, so there was no question of only juniors being put into shorts. HBC notes that this may not have been an English film even though it was on English television. English boys did normally wear white kneesocks. It may have been French or German film. Sounds kike the choir had quite an interesting visual effect. I've never seen a choir do this before, although many choirs devote quite a bit of attention to the visual appearance of the boys like combing hair and neatly pressed costumes. Some have quite striking costumes, such as the Polish and Bulgarian choirs discussed in the expanded HBC site. What a shame no one remembers the movie or program or any specific details about the choir. I am a little skeptical about it being English. I know of no English choir where boys wore white kneesocks, or schools for that matter. The only time I have seen Engluish boys wearing white kneesocks is some of the Cubs who used to participate in Scout band competitions. Another British contributor to HBC also remembers seeing the television show, although she does not think it was a film. "From what I remember it certainly wasn't from a film. It was from a news magazine program that usually ended with a child soloist or children's group, band or choir performing. It is true that it is very rare for boys to wear white socks in Britain. Boys usually wear grey socks. White socks are usually for girls. Perhaps the white socks were just for performing. The program was definitely British. If is possible the choir could have been from elsewhere."

Unknown French film

I do not know what film the color images on the French choir movie page came from.

Unknown German Film

everal European choirs have been used in movies. The Vienna Choir Boys have been most frequently fearured in films. Several other choirs, gowever, have also been featured. Although there are quite a number of American choirs, they have not been used in films to our knowledge. The The Schoeneberger Saengerknaben has been featured in at least one film. It was a German film, although we do not yet know the title. We have little information about the film. The film does not appear to be about the choir itself, the choir only appeared in the film. There may have been only one scene and we do not know the context in which they were introduced in the film. We do not know if the The Schoeneberger Saengerknaben made any other films. The boys wear open collar white shirts with shirt black jackets and matching short pants. Notice the famous Berlin bear crest on the jackets. Also notice the boys' short hair cuts.

Unknown Polish film

An HBC contributor has provided some information on a Polish boys' choir film, but as it was in the Polish language, few details about the plot. HBC believes that the choir costumes portayed are authentic.