Great Leap

Writer/director Arnold Fanck reteamed Leni Riefenstahl and Luis Trenker, the stars of his previous hit Der Heilige Berg, for this light-hearted "mountain film," which has the sub-title "an improbable but happy story." The goatherd Gita (Riefenstahl) is a skilled mountaineer who lives in a small village in the Alps, where she is pursued by her less athletic suitor Toni (Trenker). Michael Treuherz (Hans Schneeberger, also one of the film's cinematographers), a wealthy hypochondriac, comes to the mountains on a restorative vacation, and is rescued by Gita when he topples into a stream. She and Toni teach him how to ski, and Gita offers herself as the prize in a ski race. Treuherz wins and he and Gita marry and raise a family in the Alps. 27/112