Miracle of Flight

Heinz Paul’s Wunder des Fliegens: Der Film eines deutschen Fliegers (The Miracle of Flight: A Film About a German Pilot) is a wildly popular crowd pleaser released in the early years of the Third Reich. This exhilarating, celebratory Bergfilm (mountain film) was produced by Terra-Film as an entertainment vehicle for famous aviator and stunt pilot Ernst Udet) and was directed by Heinz Paul). Udet never fails to please, as he shepherds a group of young glider pilots, thrilling audiences with many of his most impressive stunts, including a sequence in which he flies straight through an airplane hanger. The film includes newsreel footage of Manfred von Richthofen, in whose squadron Udet and Hermann Göring flew during the First World War, as well as aerial footage of Udet from several of his earlier pictures, including SOS Eisberg, shot on location in Greenland.

The script is aimed at convincing young men to become pilots; despite the film’s sponsorship by First World War flying ace, Reichsminister, and Luftwaffe chief Hermann Göring, it is delightfully free of political propaganda. Sprightly, imaginative direction by Heinz Paul makes this one of the finest mountain films of the 1930s. Stirring action-adventure music by Dr. Giuseppe Becce adds considerably to the picture’s charm. Hans Schneeberger’s thrilling aerial cinematography is the highlight of the film. When young Heinz crashes his glider in an Alpine blizzard at the Zugspitze, it’s Ernst Udet to the rescue in a suspenseful denouement!