Almost Angels (1962)

It is an era when the worst thing a group of pre-teen boys can be caught doing is a pillow fight after hours with the verboten transistor radio playing jazz. The benevolent authority cares for their growing pains as he exacts perfection in execution of some of the world's most glorious choral music ever written. The "almost" qualification to the angelicly pure bell-like voices singing music of the ages is the normal mischieviousness of boys. Celebrates friendship, perseverance, encouragement, loyalty, leadership, kindness. And gives us a chance to enjoy the Vienna Choir Boys. – Marian Schwartz

My Comments: One of my favourite films for the entire family. A great shame it isn't commercially available any more.

Synopsis: Supported avidly by his mother and more reluctantly at first by his father, a working-class Austrian boy joins the Vienna Choirboys, where he proves to be unusually talented. The standard initiation ordeals which new boys must endure at the hands of their seniors are intensified in his case because he has aroused the jealousy of Peter, the head chorister, by singing a solo which Peter had long sung himself. The fact is that Peter's voice is breaking, and with a broken voice often comes a broken heart. But, encouraged by the director and all the boys, Peter begins to develop in a new role as composer and conductor. – Paul Emmons

Review
This movie is one of my favorites for any age group. It is everything that is missing from today's movies–whether for adults or children. It has good taste and class and elegance. It has role models for good behavior contrasted with bad behavior–it shows children an ideal to emulate, in terms of how to build character and how to live a good life. It conveys the spirit of joy in participating in the arts, and in accomplishing things that are difficult by means of the virtues of practice and hard work. It conveys the spirit of adventure in traveling the world. It also shows how one can accept and adapt to changes, and how to deal with issues of competition and envy. Also, it has many beautiful classical choral pieces, including Strauss, sung in languages other than English, yet without any of them boring my American five year old twins whatsoever. My children were watching the adventures of boys more than twice their age, but with rapt attention, never losing interest. After seeing it, my daughter drew a picture of the boy Peter with a mountain behind him, without any prompting.

This is a movie that is about the importance of a life filled with beauty and harmony and purpose, and the importance for parents of giving their children the freedom they need to pursue their goals. – Gregory Ziegerson