Congress Dances, The

2717. THE CONGRESS DANCES (1931-Germany). With LILIAN HARVEY, WILLI FRITSCH, CONRAD VEIDT, LIL DAGOVER. Produced by ERICH POMMER. Beautiful British-born songstress Lilian Harvey teams with robust leading man Willi Fritsch in this internationally renowned and opulently produced light operetta about romance and intrigue during the 1814 Congress of Vienna. At this historic meeting, monarchs and diplomats are gathered to reorganize Europe after the Napoleonic Wars. Heading the conference is cunning Prince Metternich (artfully acted by Conrad Veidt), who distracts his most powerful political foes in order to prevent them from voting against his policies. Metternich connives to arrange special entertainment to keep the men from the meetings. However, even Metternich does not foresee what will happen when a gloriously saucy shopgirl named Christel Weinzinger tosses a bouquet of flowers to Tsar Alexander of Russia upon his arrival in Vienna. The bouquet misses its mark and falls to the street, and the crowd mistakes Christel for a bomb-throwing assassin! The young miss is taken to prison, where she is sentenced to a caning. As the guard begins to dole out the punishment, Tsar Alexander himself enters the chamber to pardon the girl. This less-than-ideal encounter nevertheless sparks an amorous adventure of moonlight trysts, lush surroundings and comical mistaken identities that Christel will never forget – and neither will you! Amid the pomp of the parades and military bands and the gaiety of the beer gardens, you will delight in a romantic and music-filled entertainment that is as frothy as the whipped cream atop a Viennese dessert. In German with English subtitles. 99 minutes. Musical