"The entire city is a stage..." is how the great dramatist Max Reinhardt once referred to Salzburg.
"The entire city is the backdrop for a film," can also be an appropriate description of Salzburg. The beautiful city on the Salzach has repeatedly lent its attractive scenery as locations for exciting adventures and romantic stories for movies and television films.
Some 160 movies and countless television productions were filmed in the city and province of Salzburg after World War II, spreading the allure of Mozart's city throughout the world. This not only opened an important tourist aspect but has been an invaluable promotion for the city.
One of the first movies to be shot in Salzburg was "Vagabonds" in 1949 starring Paula Wessely and Attila Hörbiger. Other film directors soon discovered the charm of Salzburg's scenery, including Hollywood director Robert Wise, who shot one of the greatest movies of all time, "The Sound of Music", in 1965 starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer - the story of the Salzburg Trapp Family whose songs took the world by storm!
In 1952 Hollywood star Gene Kelly - who had become internationally famous through his hit "Singing in the Rain" just a few months before - came to Salzburg to shoot "Mit dem Teufel sinds Drei" (co-starring Pier Angeli), the first foreign movie to be shot in Salzburg. Further productions followed, including: "Diplomatic Courier" with Tyrone Power, Karl Malden, Hildegard Knef; "Interlude" (1957) with Hollywood star June Allyson and Rossano Brazzi, "The Great Race" (1965) with Tony Curtis, Natalie Wood, Peter Falk; "A Fine Pair" (1968) with Rock Hudson and Claudia Cardinale; "Before Winter Comes" (1969) with David Niven and Chaim Topol. An immense amount of time and money was spent on shooting films such as "Where Eagles Dare" (1969) with Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood or the Beatles film "Help" (1965), in which the "Fab Four" spent four exciting days in the city of Salzburg and skiing in the Obertauern mountains. In 1980 Walter Matthau and Glenda Jackson came to Salzburg for location shots for their comedy "Hopscotch" and in 1988 Salzburg served as the stage for an espionage film, "The Endless Game" starring George Segal. Ugo Tognazzi, Gerard Depardieu, James Mason and Barry Newman also filmed in Salzburg over the years.
In addition to these large international productions, over 70 sentimental films with a regional background were filmed on Salzburg soil, including "Die Sennerin von St. Kathrein", "Saison in Salzburg", "Das Lied von Kaprun" or Wolfgang Liebeneiner's film depicting the life of the Trapp Family starring Ruth Leuwerik and Hans Holt. Indoor shots for a multitude of films were taken in the former Dürer Film Studios in Salzburg-Parsch.
One of the most successful American television films (ABC Television) was shot in the city and province of Salzburg in 1987: "The Sound of Christmas" with Julie Andrews, Placido Domingo and John Denver. J.R. Ewing alias Larry Hagman came to the city of Salzburg in 1989 to shoot another episode of "Dallas" together with George Kennedy and Patrick Duffy.
The young film-maker Wolfram Paulus introduces a new type of sentimental film in movies such as "Heidenlöcher", "Nachsaison" and "Die Ministranten,", using the impressive landscape of the Salzburg province as a backdrop.
The highly acclaimed film by Salzburg's successful director and producer Reinhard Schwabenitzky, the comedy "Ilona und Kurti", starring Elfi Eschke, Louise Martini and Hanno Pöschl, had its premiere in Salzburg and Schwabenitzky's new film "Verlassen Sie bitte Ihren Mann" was also shot on location in Salzburg.
The old tradition of using the picturesque scenery in the city of Salzburg and its environs as a backdrop still continues in location shots for the popular television series "Ein Schloss am Wörthersee" (Lakeside Hotel) and "Salzburger Nockerln."
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