Also: “The Culture Week” – on March 10th from 9:05 a.m. on ORF 2
Vienna (OTS) – The “matinee” on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at 9:05 a.m. on ORF 2, will begin – in keeping with the upcoming Oscar night (live from 10:50 p.m. on ORF 1 – details at presse.ORF.at) – with “ “Hope on the Road”: Violinist and presenter Daniel Hope goes in search of the world-famous sound of Hollywood. Afterwards, a film portrait commemorates “Hollywood’s dream dancer – Ginger Rogers” (10 a.m.), who will remain unforgotten thanks to her numerous films and her legendary dance scenes with Fred Astaire. The ORF cultural morning presented by Peter Schneeberger ends with “The Culture Week” (10.45 a.m.) with current reports and tips on local cultural events.
“Hope on the Road: Daniel Hope in search of the Hollywood Sound” (9:05 a.m.)
World-renowned violinist Daniel Hope makes his way to Los Angeles in this documentary directed by Rob Alexander, following the route of many Jewish artists who fled the Nazis after the start of World War II. Erich W. Korngold (“The Adventures of Robin Hood,” “Kings Row”), Franz Waxman (“Sunset Boulevard,” “A Place in the Sun”), Miklós Rózsa (“Spellbound,” “Double Indemnity,” “Ben Hur”) and many other composers have had a decisive influence on the development of Hollywood and the musical language of cinema in their new home.
The former dream factory has been revitalized since the introduction of sound films. The music, which until then was primarily intended to distract the audience from the silence of the film, became an important creative element that significantly underpinned the film’s dialogue. From now on, film music should shape and charge emotions – the blueprint for this was created during this turbulent time.
Daniel Hope not only meets today’s composers such as Thomas Newman and Ben Wallfisch, who were influenced by previous emigrants, but also takes the opportunity to play some of the legendary soundtracks on his violin – in places that have gone down in history, like the house of the writer Thomas Mann, the exile archives of the University of California and the old MGM recording studio, where classics such as “Ben Hur” and “Gone with the Wind” were recorded.
“Hollywood’s Dream Dancer – Ginger Rogers” (10 a.m.)
Lyndy Saville’s documentary commemorates the Oscar-winning actress, dancer and singer who significantly shaped the golden age of Hollywood film. She revolutionized the genre of musical and dance films alongside Fred Astaire, with whom she made a total of ten films. When Rogers’ stirring youthfulness met Astaire’s perfectionism, it released unexpected energies on the screen. “He gave her class, she gave him sex,” colleague Katharine Hepburn is said to have once said about Hollywood’s dream dancing couple. The girl from the Midwest was a match for the charmer Astaire like no other.
But the incredible ease with which Rogers seemed to sweep through the picture was deceptive: “I worked until my feet bled,” she once said. Without ambition and discipline, she would not have become one of the ten highest-paid entertainers in Hollywood and in more than 70 films.
After winning an Oscar for her leading role in “Kitty Foyle,” Rogers became one of the most successful actresses of the 1940s. With the help of numerous film recordings, the documentary traces the life of the Hollywood icon.