| Vienna Blood | |
| Director: | Willi Forst |
| Cinematography: | Jan Stallich |
| Editing: | Arnfried Heyne |
| Runtime: | 103 minutes |
| Country: | Austria (part of Greater Germany) |
| Language: | German |
| Budget: | |
| Gross: | |
Vienna Blood (German: Wiener Blut) is a 1942 German operetta film, based on the 1899 operetta of the same name. With box-office takings of seven million Reichsmarks, it was one of the most financially successful films of the Nazi era.[1]
The young Count Georg Wolkersheim (Willy Fritsch) is sent to the Congress of Vienna (1814-1815) to represent the interests of his country, Reuss-Schleiz-Greiz. Tensions arise between the count, his wife Melanie (Maria Holst), and their two chamberlains (Hans Moser and Theo Lingen), and when the four of them attend a court ball, Melanie leaves Georg, assumes the identity of a famous actress, and attracts the affections of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria (Fred Liewehr). Georg quits the ball and returns to his lodgings to wait for his wife. Meanwhile, the two servants plot to further inflame Georg's jealousy by posing as Ludwig to commission a portrait of Melanie from the famous artist Moritz Daffinger (Egon von Jordan). The next day, however, Georg and Daffinger expose the servants' ruse, Ludwig reveals to Melanie that he has discovered her true identity, and all is forgiven.
The film had its national premieres on 2 April 1942 in Vienna and on 17 April 1942 in Berlin, and was first aired on television on the GDR's Deutscher Fernsehfunk on 15 October 1962. Its American premiere, under the title Vienna Blood, was on 21 March 1951 in New York City. Studiocanal released a DVD version on 25 July 2008. Running times of the various releases vary from 103 to 111 minutes.
The Reich's Film Review Office officially recognized Wiener Blut as "of particular artistic value" and "culturally valuable". The film also received an award at the 10th Venice International Film Festival.