Der große Sprung (1927)
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Directors
Cast
Leni Riefenstahl, Luis Trenker, Hans Schneeberger, Paul Graetz
A wealthy city visitor learns to ski in an effort to win the heart of a mountain shepherdess.
The story
Gita tends goats in a Dolomites mountain village near the Austria–Italy border, where she also lovingly cares for her younger siblings. Self-assured and tired of persistent suitors, she escapes into the mountains, often alongside Toni, a shepherd and longtime friend who shares her climbing skill. Their routine is disrupted when Michel Treuherz, a wealthy city man seeking a rest, arrives and falls for Gita. Toni, who has grown fond of her too, sees Michel as a rival. Michel’s worldly manner impresses Gita, but winning her heart will require more than charm: he must take on the village’s annual farmers’ ski race, despite having never skied.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Gita tends goats in a mountain village in the Dolomites, on the border between Austria and Italy. She cares for her younger siblings as tenderly as she does her favorite goat, Pippa. Gita is a self-assured young woman, and when her suitors become a nuisance, she escapes into the mountains barefoot. She has been friends for a long time with Toni, a shepherd and her companion in the mountains, who can climb almost as well as she can. Michel Treuherz, a wealthy man from the big city, comes to the mountains seeking a rest. As soon as he meets Gita, he falls in love with her. Toni is not at all pleased, since he too has grown fond of Gita. But while Michel has all the advantages of a gentleman and impresses Gita with his worldly manner, the rather modest country bumpkin Toni threatens to fall behind. To win Gita’s heart completely, Michel would first have to win the annual farmers’ ski race. But Michel has never stood on skis. So he learns to ski, first from Toni and then from Gita, who has offered herself as the first prize. His clever servant Paule can help him with some ingenious ideas, such as an inflatable ski suit to protect him from injuries in a fall. In the end, Michel manages to win both the race and Gita’s heart.
Genres
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