"A Gift for Heidi"
(1958/1962, U.S./West Germany) color 74 minutes
"filmed at Geiselgasteig-Munich, Germany and the Bavarian Alps"
With: Sandy Descher (Heidi), Douglas Fowley (Alm-uncle), Van Dyke Parks (Peter), Peter Capell (Doc/Dr. Paul Berne), Erik Jelde (Ernst), Rolf Wanka (Binder), Oswald Ursteins (Carlo), Susan Saino (Clara), Karin Rose (Louise), Harold Benedict (Don), Clancy Cooper (Dr. Roth), Paul McClintock (General Manby), "Hap" Hanson (Colonel Porter), C. Fowler (Captain McBee), Edwin Anderson (Lt. Williams), Wadsworth Likely (Sgt. Corey), Lt. Ted Mitchell (Pilot), Dean Jackson (Radio Operator), Osman Ragheb (Hotel Clerk), Tommy Hanson (Page Boy)
***
Plot Outline: Way up in the mountains, Peter the goatherd likes to sing his songs, as his good friend Heidi listens. Carlo the mailman comes by in his bus, and compliments Peter on his talent; he thinks Peter should sing at the local song festival tomorrow! Carlo gives Heidi a package, a gift from her good friend Clara, for today is Heidi's birthday!
Back at the cabin, Heidi's grandfather, whom everyone calls "Alm-uncle", has baked a nice birthday cake for the birthday girl. Heidi opens her gifts. First from Peter is a warm pair of woolen mittens. The gift from Clara is a beautiful holiday dress. But the nicest gift of all is from local woodworker Ernst: hand-carved figures of the three Wise Men!
Later in town, Heidi asks Ernst the meaning of the three figurines, but the craftsman insists that Heidi must apply her own meaning to the statues. Peter joins them, and they try to encourage him to sing in the festival. Peter, however, doubts his own ability.
Next, Heidi visits "John", the librarian, and gets music for an aria which would be perfect for Peter to sing. Later, Peter practices the new aria, with Heidi conducting.
Back at the cabin, Alm-uncle tells Heidi that although Peter is good, and trying his best, it might not be wise to have him participate in the festival, against men who have been singing all their lives. Peter might be hurt, and never sing again. Heidi agrees, and hopes it isn't too late.
The next morning, Heidi tries to retrieve the festival application, but Carlo the mailman tells her it is too late. Resigned to her fate, Heidi goes to fetch Peter, but he has gotten cold feet, and refuses to go. Heidi coaxes him by threatening to throw a rock through his window!
On the way to the festival, Peter whines and tries to change Heidi's mind, but she will have none of it. Finally, Peter declares that he can't go on, and starts home. Heidi refuses to quit, and starts off to the festival by herself. However, she trips on a rock, and hurts her ankle. Rather than risking her traveling alone, Peter reluctantly agrees to accompany her.
They arrive at the festival, already in progress. Again Peter chickens out, and Heidi makes him stay. When it is his turn, Peter learns to his horror that he has been advertised as a bass, when he is clearly a soprano. He begins to sing his aria, and the crowd mocks him mercilessly.
Alm-uncle has traveled to the festival as well, for he fears trouble. Heidi finds him, and cries over her big mistake. Alm-uncle suggests that Heidi tell Peter to sing a simple hymn instead, as the audience might appreciate this more. Sure enough, when Peter warbles "Ava Maria", he brings down the house.
That evening, Heidi speaks to one of the wooden figures, discussing her newly-learned lesson: Faith. Even when things are at their worst, faith is the most important spiritual gift to have.
The next day, Heidi and Alm-uncle ride off to fetch Heidi's friend Clara, who has to come stay for the holidays. They reach the bus, but Clara isn't on it. Heidi is distraught. Soon, however, Clara rides up in a fancy Mercedes limousine, driven by her guardian, Mr. Binder.
Arriving at the little chateau, Binder is appalled by the rustic surroundings, and insists that Clara should stay in town, at a fancy hotel. Heidi is insulted, but Grandfather calms her down.
The next day, Peter takes a nervous Heidi into town to see Clara. Heidi is intimidated by the giant hotel, but bravely asks the desk clerk to see Clara. Soon, Heidi is dining with Clara and Binder, finishing a delicious dinner with a bowl of ice cream. Binder confesses to Heidi that he was a very poor child with a stingy father. Suddenly, Clara hunches over in agony, complaining of a pain in her appendix. Binder picks up the girl and rushes her upstairs to bed,
as Heidi looks on in dismay.
Heidi rushes back to Dorfli to fetch Dr. Paul Berne, who comes quickly to Clara's bedside. Deciding that all she suffers from is a belly ache, he prescribes a gentle laxative. Binder enters, and is shocked at the doctor's simple diagnosis, for he has just summoned the great specialist Dr. Roth, who fears Clara may have appendicitis! Binder rips up Berne's prescription, as Heidi protests in vain.
Later, back at the house, Dr. Berne and Alm-uncle share a glass of warm milk. Heidi asks the men what "charitable" means, and the three discuss the concept, and how Binder falls short of the mark. The men explain to the frustrated lass how one must not prejudge a person before one knows their history. Heidi goes to sleep, contemplating this new revelation.
Back in town, Dr. Roth arrives to examine Clara. Clara fakes symptoms at Heidi's prompting, but Roth sees right through the charade. It turns out that the girls wanted to fake an illness to protect Binder's feelings. Binder is ashamed, and as Roth departs, he reveals that Dr. Berne was in fact one of the finest professors at the medical academy! Binder, thoroughly humbled, thanks the girls.
Dr. Roth accompanies Heidi and Clara back to the house. Roth and Alm-uncle play chess as the girls play. Heidi shows Clara her three wonderful statues. Clara asks for their names. Heidi has named Melchior and Casper, but not the third one. Alm-uncle chimes in; he believes the third wise man is Balthazar...
Next morning, Binder and Clara depart for Frankfurt, with Heidi inviting them back next year. Elsewhere, Corporal Don Blair, a soldier, and his new bride Louise arrive in town for their honeymoon, and contemplate the majestic Mt.
Braun.
Heidi visits Ernst in his shop. They discuss the gifts that the three wise man brought on their marvelous journey to the Christ child. Blair enters Ernst's shop, and asks to use the phone. Calling headquarters, Blair requests an extra two days leave, in order that he might climb the beckoning peak.
That evening, Heidi and her family discuss the mountain climber, and the final virtue of Balthazar: Hope. Blair and Louise approach the mountain, to begin their climb. Alm-uncle and the others try to convince the couple not to tackle the treacherous slope, but the newlyweds are determined.
That afternoon, Peter and Heidi are discussing the couple's fate, when
suddenly, Peter sees a rescue flare rising above the peak; the climbers are in trouble!
On Mt. Braun, Blair carries Louise, who has suffered a broken ankle. Heidi and Peter run to get Alm-uncle, but he isn't at home. The two youths decide to try to rescue the stranded couple themselves.
Meanwhile, Alm-uncle returns from the village, and sees Peter's goatherd unattended. He fears something is wrong, and hurries back to the house.
On Mt. Braun, Heidi and Peter begin their rescue mission, but a sudden
avalanche blocks their way. Alm-uncle enlists the aid of Dr. Berne, and the two worried men start off to rescue both lost couples.
Back on the mountain, Heidi and Peter manage to find Blair and Louise, with the aid of Peter's sheep dog, Gretchen. Heidi explains that the avalanche has blocked their path home; they are all trapped! As the group sits pondering their fate, an L-20 reconnaissance plane flies by. The climbers frantically try to gain its attention.
Peter explains to Blair that the only way out of their predicament now is to navigate the treacherous north gorge of the mountain, a feat which has been accomplished only twice before. Blair has no choice; he must try it.
Alm-uncle, Berne and Hans continue their trek up the mountain, but are blocked by the avalanche. Further up the slope, Peter and Blair are failing in their attempt to traverse the icy north gorge.
Meanwhile, back at Army headquarters, Colonel Porter worries about Blair's whereabouts. Despite the unfavorable conditions, the General decides to send a rescue party out to save the group.
The army sends in men with a tank and a helicopter, and under Alm-uncle's guidance, they head towards our trapped heroes. The helicopter soon locates the lost group and lands. As Heidi and Louise are whisked off in the whirlybird, Heidi realizes that Balthazar's gift was the greatest gift of all: Hope.
Safe back at home that night, Heidi thanks Balthazar for his wonderful gift. As she falls blissfully asleep, Heidi sighs, "I guess I am the luckiest little girl I know!"
THE END
***
A GIFT FOR HEIDI is a fascinating and unique film, a free-form continuation of the Heidi saga, not related to any of the Johanna Spyri or Charles Tilton sequels. It takes the characters and settings of the first book and builds, even ruminates on them, in a singularly enigmatic setting.
Indeed, A GIFT FOR HEIDI has a charming chronological schizophrenia to it; it takes place in an unspoiled region of the Alps, but in modern times; the appearance of sleek modern automobiles and handsome school busses amidst horse-drawn carriages and half-timber huts is disarming, to say the least.
Little Sandy Descher, who stole our hearts in THEM! several years earlier, brings a breathtaking realness to the character Heidi that we have not seen before. This seems to have been Descher's last film role, and we are poorer for her absence. With her winsome smile and dark brown locks, Descher's Heidi is a fetching young teen, likely the oldest screen Heidi ever. This Heidi is also strikingly independent, one might even say "bossy"; she reminds us a lot of Charlie Brown's muse, Lucy.
Peter is played by a marvelously talented Van Dyke Parks (who later became a songwriter for the Beach Boys, then a successful composer for film); this young lad sings like an opera star, thanks to a dubbed-in voice.
The titular gift Heidi receives are three carved wooden figurines, given her by Ernst, the local artisan, as a birthday gift. The statues represent the three Wise Men of antiquity: Melchior, Balthazar and Casper, or as Heidi understands it, "Three wise men from the east, bearing gifts. From these mystical icons, Heidi learns Faith (Peter's song contest), Hope (their rescue from the mountain), and Charity (her revised opinion of nasty Mr. Binder).
More importantly, Heidi gets her first lesson in Psychology: people are all different inside, and one must look into a person's background before judging him. One is wise not to appraise a mortal unless one knows his secret sufferings. This is a valuable lesson, one which will hold Heidi in qood stead throughout her life.
Another important gift which Heidi receives in this most unusual expansion of the Spyri mythology is the life-saving graces of technology, in the form of modern transportation! Busses, cars, tanks, planes and helicopters all come to our heroine's aid at one level or another, making this a truly "modern" film. Heidi accepts that a girl can accomplish much more if she no longer has to hoof it, whenever she desires to spread her joyful spirit with others.
In essence, Heidi learns that Technology is another form of Salvation
(especially from the U.S. military, a curious political reference in an otherwise apolitical film).
Oddly, George Templeton, the effective director of Western classics including THE SUNDOWNERS (1950) and the "Rawhide" TV series, goes uncredited here. The enigmatic "Chabert, Inc." may well have been a production outfit run by Mario & Robert Chabert, two small-time French producers whose main fare was light exploitation.
However, A GIFT FOR HEIDI is a terrific and unique member of the Heidi film canon, deserving a well-earned revival.
Video/DVD availability: VHS (Unicorn Video, oop)
Chabert Inc. / RKO Teleradio Pictures
Story: Johanna Spyri (based on her characters)
Screenplay: Eugene Vale, David Dortort
Cinematography: Bruno Stephan
Music: Bert Grund
Editing: Jack Ogilvie
Executive Producer: William Cruishank
Directed by George Templeton (uncredited)
