Das Schweigen im Walde ( 1955 )

When my sister and I first started watching some of the German/Austrian "Heimatfilms" we were unfamiliar with any of the main or supporting actors that starred in these films, but the more of them we watched the more familiar the faces became and now there are always one or two recognizable characters in every new Heimatfilm that we see.

Well, Rudolf Lenz is a very recognizable face ( a handsome fellow he be ), and since he made so many Heimatfilms you are likely to see him in just about any one of the 1950s films that you choose to watch. He had a regal bearing, so he was generally cast as a count, duke, or other member of royalty. 

In Das Schweigen im Walde ( Silence in the Forest ) he was Prinz Heinz of Ettingen, a prince who takes a hunting holiday in the forests near the Salzburg mountains. While resting from a hike in the woods he spies a beautiful young woman ( Sonja Sutter ) riding upon a donkey in the midst of the morning sun. She is a painter named Lo Petri who lives in the forest with her little brother Gustl ( Heinz Christian ). Prinz Heinz befriends her and comes to visit her daily....but never lets on that he is a prince.

Meanwhile, Toni Mazegger ( Peter Arens ), one of the paid hunters that was assigned to the prince, becomes jealous of the attention that he is paying to Lo, whom he fancies as his girl. In a fit of rage, he decides to do a bit of hunting on his own one afternoon....setting his gunsight on the prince himself!

Like many of the Heimatfilms of the 1950s, Das Schweigen im Walde was based upon a book that was filmed numerous times over. The 1899 Ludwig Ganghofer novel formed the basic plot of the original version which was a silent film released in 1929. Another version was made in 1937, and then a remake of this film was made in 1976, all bearing the same title. 

Das Schweigen im Walde featured beautiful mountain scenery, a gentle romance between the prince and Lo, and some charming sets, but the story plot was not as engaging as some of the other Heimatfilms we have seen. The film lacked a humorous subplot as well as any traditional Alpine music, which is always nice to hear in the background. 

However, if Rudolf Lenz catches your fancy be sure to check him out in Heimatlos ( 1958 ) and Der Priester und das Mädchen ( 1958 ), both with Marianne Hold.