User Reviews

I've read a number of reviews on this film, mostly bad, so I decided to rewatch it. It had been around 10 years since I bought a video copy of it at a local KMART store, and the film was quite sketchy in my memory. But what I did recall about it, was that I DIDN'T like it.

This 1955 version is one of the weaker adaptations of the Grimm's story, but does have it's strong points. My video is a copy of the 1965 English language version, that was shown at "Kiddie Matinees" by Childhood Productions in the 1960's and 70's. Hosted, rather badly, by Paul Tripp (the man CREEPS ME OUT!!!!) and dubbed with poor voice-overs and annoying songs, much is lost in the translation. I would really love to get my hands on a copy of the original German version and compare the two.

The film's strongest attribute is in it's title character. Elke Arendt does a fine job as Snow White. She is by no means perfect, but in this production, her talent stands out. She is pretty, despite her horrible black wig of long braids, and makes a nice storybook heroine. She has a sweet personality and kind presence in the film.

The weakest aspect of the film are the seven miscast CHILDREN as the dwarves. BADLY bearded and costumed these kids ruin the whole picture. You can never get beyond the fact that they are indeed kids in cheap Halloween costumes. Very poor choice on the film makers.

The sets are slightly above average. The little glen where the cottage of the dwarves rests is quite cozy and inviting. The cottage itself is really just a large dollhouse, but very sweet in appearance.

The script is a bit slow moving at times and tries, unsuccessfully, to broaden the Snow White story. For example, the Prince shows up with a necklace for Snow White, whom he hasn't seen in years. He says that it's for the "most beautiful woman in the kingdom". Since Snow White isn't allowed out of her room, the Huntsman (?!?) brings it up to her. He relays the message, but is overheard by the Queen, who insists that the gift must be for her then. She and Snow White exchange a few words and the Queen snatches that necklace right off from around Snow's neck, and heads to her magic mirror for her daily dose of "self- confidence".....I think you can figure out the rest. A valiant effort at adding meat to the story, but an unsuccessful one.

If you decide to try this movie out, I really do recommend finding the German version. But definitely give it a chance. The 1961 German version is FAR SUPERIOR to this one, but this one is worth a watch.

Nice German version of the classic tale Snow White and the seven dwarfs. Released in German and later in English, with dubbed score and songs. The movie is pretty much like the original Disney fairytale although both characters and music lack of Disney's energy and grace. Prince charming is too bland and Snow white too simple but the film enriches with beautiful sets and scenery. And the queen is bad, but not repulsive. They could have taken more profit of the mirror and the first meeting between Snow white and the prince is rather decaffeinated. Songs are not enhancing as Disney's version are, but dwarfs's house and setting are nicely done. Although I missed some things like precious stones shown at dwarfs' mine and the final kiss (snowwhite awakes in a more prosaic way), the fact that no heart is given to the queen by hunter and there is no witch avoids the ugliest parts of the story. Part of a series of German filmed Fairytales made in the fifties and early sixties that also include The Sleeping Beauty and Snow white and Rose red.

My own favourite fairy tale character Snow White has a dull performer in Elke Arendt in this faithful but slow and hardly exiting adaptation of the fairy tale. The dwarfs are played by children; a nice idea, but it does not work: they remain children. Plain cinematography and dull music (the dwarfs only know one song) add to the tedium. The wicked queen is too nice. The colours are nice, but do not help much. Not up to the usual standards of a Schonger production, this film is no competetion for Walt Disney's version.

I noticed this was part of a cheaply made film, "The 50 Worst Films of All Time." I was amazed they would include this one. It is artistically above average and the story, though quite frightening, was interesting. Obviously, what passed for special effects was lacking and the dwarves were quite weird. Still, I made it to the end and felt a personal connection to it. This is a foreign production and had a redo by some American musicians. It works as an alternative tale of the famous fairy tale.

...for its time and place. Germany and Czechoslovakia produced dozens of these low budget fairytales in the post-war years. They are still ubiquitous on Sundays in Central Europe when most businesses are closed. These films are kitschy and amateurish, but charming in their own way, especially in the original language.

I initially found them ridiculous and refused to watch with my Austrian wife, but they've grown on me over the years and now I much enjoy them. This version of Snow White is among the best of these films. It's unusual in that the German script is entirely in rhyme which works surprisingly well in the original German but lends itself poorly to translation for foreign audiences. Overdubbing only complicates viewing.

Elke Arendt is a fabulous actress and her talent and skill shine through in this performance. She is a pleasure to watch.

Taken on its own terms, without modern expectations about what movies should be, this version of Snow White can provide nice entertainment on a lazy afternoon.

This German made, live action version of the classic story was made in 1955, and released in the U.S in 1965. The releasing company, Childhood Productions, added a new soundtrack to the film, not only dubbing it into English, but commissioning a brand new score, written by Anne and Milton Delugg. The results are wonderful. Care was taken in matching the dubbed voices to the actors (even if the synchronization is a little off). The songs, and especially the background music, are beautiful. Add the lovely Bavarian scenery, and you have a delightful film. Incidentally, the original narrator, Paul Tripp, was replaced on the version issued by Interglobal Home Video. They filmed a new introduction with actor Chuck McCann, who also took over the storytelling chores. Presumably, this was done for copyright reasons. The Paul Tripp narration is far superior. Childhood Productions imported several German made fairy tale films to the U.S. in the sixties. They did well by all of them, but this is, in my opinion, the best. Having now seen (at last) the original German Language edit, I can say again, they did a remarkable job. The original musical score is bad- no memorable orchestrations, no lovely background themes, no nothing. The cast,(undubbed) have very poor speaking voices. Childhood Productions took a routine film version of a classic story, and made it a memorable one.My favorite ''Snow White'' movie!.

The first time I saw this video of Snow White, I hated it......that was 12 years ago. I watched it a few weeks ago, and was pleasantly suprised. I would like to see the original German version, rather that the poorly dubbed and colorized American version. Elke Arendt is charming as the princess with "skin as white as snow". The seven children playing the dwarfs are cute, but not as effective as real little people would have been. The songs in the American version are horrible and should be ignored!!! I can't wait to hear the original German score. Paul Tripp gives me the creeps as the narrator. I kept thinking her was some sort of child molestor!!! But if you can get past all of that, give this version a try......

This movie scared me so horribly when I was younger, that I refused to ever watch it again. Well, my friend talked me into doing so last night (she has been bugging me for years). And I can see why it scared me; the dubbing is pathetic, the little children dwarfs are horrifying, that prince wears a great big yellow blob on his head that's supposed to look like blonde hair, all of the characters are painfully stupid...okay, to be fair, the sets ARE quite lovely. But my friend and I just burst out laughing so many times over how ridiculous everything was! Yes, it was made in 1955, and so I can forgive the guy dressed in the bear suit who wanders out behind a tree to scare Snow White, as well as the giant fake spider web behind the queen while she is mixing potions, and the snow that looks like shredded toilet paper. But some of the dialogue in the script! I have never read the original Brothers Grimm story, but please don't tell me that Snow White cried, "Oh, can I cook and clean for you?!" after the dwarves begged her to stay. And how stupid IS Snow White? Three times the dwarves come marching home, singing their annoying, creepy songs, to find her keeled over. And the third time, they think she is dead, so they stick her in a glass coffin, in which she remains in perfect condition, until what seems to be a WHOLE YEAR LATER (what took them so long? HMM!) the prince and the hunter come alone, the prince wants to take Snow Whites body home so he can oggle it, the coffin falls down, and she WAKES UP! WOW! Aside from all this, the material is painfully stretched, with scenes with that obnoxious music blaring on in the background as various characters pace, do chores, stare off in space, eat, sleep, and march, scenes comtaning no meaningful context whatsoever. I loved the part when the dwarves "carried" Snow White inside, shouting, "Watch her head!" "This way!" "Okay, easy now" while the camera focused on another dwarf gathering water, so we couldn't SEE them doing all that hard work (since, um, they weren't). Another scene that should have been cut entirely! Oh well, I'm being reaaaal snotty. I want to see the German version but also am afraid to, for...well, you know.

AND WHAT WAS UP WITH THAT HOST?! AHHHHH! Scary!

This is the German-made movie adaptation of the famous fairytale, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. In addition to following the familiar story-line of the fairytale, it gives more emphasis on the setting, particular the elegant exterior scenes of Germany's Hohenschwangau Castle, where the film's palace is based out of, and the cast of characters. It shows a more chilling chemistry between Snow White and the Evil Queen, especially during the part where the Queen confiscates a necklace from Snow White, given to her by the Prince.

The movie places more emphasis on the huntsman, as you get to see more interaction between him and Snow White before the forest scene and the consequences he endured after letting Snow White go. There are also servant characters in the story and we see them react with fear during scenes of the Queen's wicked deeds.

The acting was particular well-done, but the movie's pacing does go quite slow at times. The plot could have used a little more action, but the added suspense to the fairytale makes this a pretty entertaining film.

Grade B-

In the 1980's, video brought dozens of "classic" fairy tales to video for children to "enjoy". Many of these came from the 1960's and originated in foreign countries. The most common countries of origin were Mexico, Germany, and Russia. Of the three, Mexico's contributions are the most unbelievably bad and Russia's are the most gorgeously filmed. Germany's fairy tale films fall somewhere in-between.

"Snow White" is long out-of-print on the Interglobal Video label. American distributors added narration and an introduction by Paul Tripp and new music and songs as well. None of the new elements helped the film, they, if anything, killed the film. The film is rather well-filmed; the colors have faded with age, but look nice. The sets are great and the exteriors are gorgeous; this is Germany, of course. I remember hating this movie when I was younger, but now that I've seen it again, it holds a special camp value. I bought it at a used video place for $4.50 and was worth every penny (not more). A few bad things: the dwarves are played by little children, the songs are wretched, and most of the acting is pathetic. But it is beautifully nostalgaic and for anyone who grew up in the 1960's, they will certainly remember being dropped off by busy parents at a theater to see this! Hard to find, but worth a look for camp/nostalgaic value.

I just saw this film with my two sons (7 and 8 years old) and a 8 year old friend of them. They were quite excited of it and I think, that's what counts.

This film is definitely not made for grown-ups. All the flaws mentioned in other comments are really only important if you are older than say ten years. Nobody of the three identified the dwarfs as children, and nobody of them asked _why_ the bad queen wants to kill Schneewittchen - after all she's called bad for a reason ;-).

Nice to see an adaptation of a fairy-tale that doesn't want to be more clever or tell a more believable story than the original. Adaptation was done by Walter Oehmichen, the famous founder of "Augsburger Puppenkiste", so this is a rare piece done by him for real actors, not for puppets.

The story is simple. You know the characters. While it sticks to Grimm's tale for the majority of its plot, the ending is a bit Disney-fied with the death of the Evil Queen. I mean, they scared the bejesus out of us for an entire hour with the little German dwarfs, why not go all the way and give us the real horror of the Queen's death, putting iron shoes on her and making her dance until she dropped dead? For 1955, it's pretty well filmed, with very nice shots of the natural surroundings.

The US dubbed-version is a thousand times scarier, with its music and menacing voice actors. Even the narrator sounds evil. The German version is very childlike with a sort of playfulness that's seen throughout many of the film's pivotal moments.

I recommend watching both versions to get a good kick out of what the US did to a relatively harmless children's film, (even though the Queen tries to kill her stepdaughter multiple times, of course.) The US-dubbed dialog is taken directly from the German film's script. It has simply been translated.

I've always greatly enjoyed this Snow White rendition. Casting, acting, and scenes are beautifully done. The dubbed-in English is a bit poor, as is Tripp's introduction in the US version. The tale does move a bit slow, but this is a fairy tale, not a suspense film. I also love how this version is more faithful to the original tale than is Disney's version (that's Disney's biggest weakness). The music is nice; not overdone, although I like the background music better than the sung pieces. If you can get past this, though, it's a great movie. Would love to see the original German version, but I'll have to settle with the US one for now.

There is so much corny stuff in this movie i couldn't help but laugh through out the film. A lot of it didn't make sense like the belt made her pass out and then the dwarfs return and loosen it and she's fine, and then the comb what was that about she sticks it in her hair and she falls over and the dwarfs take it out put her to bed and then she's fine and then the poisoned apple didn't kill her? the apple was stuck in her throat?and then when the coffin fell she spit it out and was fine that didn't make sense to me. the prince was in love with her and she was in love with him when did that happen? they didn't even know each other they only saw each other from a distance. and the dwarfs only sang one song that annoyed me so bad. snow white didn't speak very much, a lot of the scenes she barely spoke. another thing isn't there more to the story than just the queen killing her? that was the whole movie it needed more than that. but spite all of that i enjoyed laughing at it and seeing west Germany its beautiful there.

another thing isn't there more to the story than just the queen killing her? that was the whole moving it needed more than that.

I love this movie, ever since I first got it in 1988. It's so funny to watch in America since it's so badly dubbed-- it's hilarious. Bim Bam as a dwarf and Francisca the chambermaid? This movie is funny to watch-- that's what makes it so good. Perhaps if I spoke and heard it in it's original language I'd have better results. But the U.S. dub should be mandatory viewing for youngsters!

It is fair to see it in the context of the period and not ignoring the purpose. It is just a simple, silly in many scenes, adaptation of the classic fairy tall. Nothing awfull , only not always inspired. But the spirit of the storytelling is far to be wrong, the performances are reasonable, the Bavarian air is a virtue and the children in the roles of dwarfs- few drops of imagination solve many details. A decent film. And nothing less. Or more.