Ski Patrol /USA 1940 movie

Discussions on the Winter War and Continuation War, the wars between Finland and the USSR.
Hosted by Juha Tompuri
Post Reply
User avatar
John Hilly
Member
Posts: 2618
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 10:33
Location: Tampere, Finland, EU

Ski Patrol /USA 1940 movie

#1

Post by John Hilly » 05 Jan 2014, 14:54

This long-lost movie was shown in Finland during christmas time, but I only watched it yesterday from "cloud" copy.

What a laugh! :lol: :lol: :lol:
It even included a Lotta Battalion for Nigel!

I was just wondering if this b-movie is available from somewhere? Outside Finland I mean.

Laughing greets from J-P :milsmile:
"Die Blechtrommel trommelt noch!"

User avatar
Panssari Salama
Member
Posts: 449
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 18:42

Re: Ski Patrol /USA 1940 movie

#2

Post by Panssari Salama » 05 Jan 2014, 16:11

Yes, watched it at the time (Dec 7 I think), a good laugh for sure!

I can imagine the discussion at Hollywood:

- We must make a movie of the war Finland is waging against Soviet Union. Everybody's talking about it!
- Oh yes, I am on it! Finland, did you say?
- Yes Finland, one of the Nordic countries, next to Sweden.
- Ahh, Sweden I know! Mountains, precision clocks, chocolate. Why on earth would Soviet Union attack the area?
- Who knows! But quickly, get the movie out!


:milwink:
Panssari Salama - Paying homage to Avalon Hill PanzerBlitz and Panzer Leader board games from those fab '70s.


User avatar
CanKiwi2
Member
Posts: 1016
Joined: 26 Nov 2010, 16:48
Location: Toronto, Canada
Contact:

Re: Ski Patrol /USA 1940 movie

#3

Post by CanKiwi2 » 06 Jan 2014, 17:39

John Hilly wrote:This long-lost movie was shown in Finland during christmas time, but I only watched it yesterday from "cloud" copy.

What a laugh! :lol: :lol: :lol:
It even included a Lotta Battalion for Nigel!

I was just wondering if this b-movie is available from somewhere? Outside Finland I mean.

Laughing greets from J-P :milsmile:
I found it on Youtube a while ago, I'll see if I can track it down again and post a link. Anyhow, it's pretty funny. The inaccuracies are wild!

This film is a classic! For those who have suffered the misfortune of not having seen it, two rival skiers competing in the 1936 Olympics, one Russian and one Finn, are pitted against each other just a few years later, as the Russians attack the Finnish border in the Winter War, and the Finnish heroes defend a snow-laden mountain pass in the Finnish Alps, where the film starts in an alpine village where everyone gathers together in the village inn fully dressed in Middle European national costumes to socialize, smoke long pipes, and to listen to the village band playing the Finnish national traditional instrument, the kantele. As its inhabitants the village naturally has both an Olympic skier and a Nobel prize winner.

After the introduction, the war starts soon enough with the full-scale attack of the Soviets against Finland and we get to meet a lot of different basic war-type characters - including the obligatory heroic American volunteer. The number and qualities of different characters is surprisingly large and good for such a short film (it's just over an hour), so even though the snow fighting scenes are more for effect than for sense, you actually get to understand a little bit of how the different personalities work. For a film that is only four minutes over an hour long, that's not too bad. Almost all the characters names are not Finnish at all - Birger Simberg, Julia Engel, Captain Per Vallgren, Jan Sikorsky - altho there are a couple of attempts - names like Paavo Luuki and Gustaf Nerkuu for example.

To say that the plot "takes great historical liberties in its storyline" is a bit of an understatement - don't expect anything to match any known facts about the Winter War. The sking you see in the move for example is downhill skiiing, not the typical Finnish cross-country sking, and the mountains are rather .... large for Finland :lol: Although that said, they did get the Lotta Svard organisation correct - probably the earliest feature film in any country mentioning the organization. On the other hand, you see a Finnish man KISSING his mother!!!!... and there was a lack of essential elements of Finnish culture; nobody said "PERKELE" and nobody was crocked! :lol:

It was made pretty quickly - the premiere was just two months after the end of the Winter War and at the time it was made it capitalised on public support for Finland. Here's a link to the New York Times Movie Review of 21 May 1940 - http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res ... 838B659EDE. The plot was actually based on a 1932 film called "Doomed Battalion", which placed Austrian troops in a similar predicament while fighting against Italian attackers in the Alps during the first World War.
ex Ngāti Tumatauenga ("Tribe of the Maori War God") aka the New Zealand Army

User avatar
John Hilly
Member
Posts: 2618
Joined: 26 Jan 2010, 10:33
Location: Tampere, Finland, EU

Re: Ski Patrol /USA 1940 movie

#4

Post by John Hilly » 14 Jan 2014, 20:21

You've really done your homework Nigel. :D
J-P :milsmile:
"Die Blechtrommel trommelt noch!"

User avatar
CanKiwi2
Member
Posts: 1016
Joined: 26 Nov 2010, 16:48
Location: Toronto, Canada
Contact:

Re: Ski Patrol /USA 1940 movie

#5

Post by CanKiwi2 » 15 Jan 2014, 18:18

John Hilly wrote:You've really done your homework Nigel. :D
J-P :milsmile:
I was looking for good video clips to use for music on youtube when I ran into this movie. Enjoyed it for the total lack of reality.... sadly, doesn't seem to be on youtube anymore..... but hey, it was good for a giggle :lol:
ex Ngāti Tumatauenga ("Tribe of the Maori War God") aka the New Zealand Army

Seppo Koivisto
Member
Posts: 760
Joined: 20 Nov 2006, 23:49
Location: Finland

Re: Ski Patrol /USA 1940 movie

#6

Post by Seppo Koivisto » 17 Jul 2014, 07:53

Yle Teema shows Ski Patrol (Hiihtopartio!) today. I hope it will be viewable also outside Finland from Yle Areena (edit: text says it will be streamed only directly).

http://yle.fi/aihe/artikkeli/2014/06/16/hiihtopartio

User avatar
Juha Tompuri
Forum Staff
Posts: 11562
Joined: 11 Sep 2002, 21:02
Location: Mylsä

Re: Ski Patrol /USA 1940 movie

#7

Post by Juha Tompuri » 17 Jul 2014, 12:45

Thanks for the reminder Seppo.
Here discussion about the movie already before it was "found":
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... 9&t=111595

Regards, Juha

Post Reply

Return to “Winter War & Continuation War”