Bravo Mr. Strauss is something of a sequel to George Pal's earlier Tulips Shall Grow, in that it utilizes the same "Screwball Army" as villainous stand-ins for the Nazi menace. Strauss fades in on a map of Austria before zooming into a statue of Mr. Strauss, the venerated waltz king. The Screwball Army attacks the composer's beloved country and begins laying waste to the buildings and populace. This horror causes the statue to come to life, filled with indignity that its beloved homeland would be treated in such a manner. Mr. Strauss pulls forth his violin and begins playing the "Radetzky Marche." So stirring are the music and the composer's playing that the Screwballs begin marching in time to it, eventually falling into the proper military formation. Now under Strauss's spell, they follow him as he leads them into a thick, bottomless swamp, where they sink and are gone forever. His mission accomplished, Strauss returns to his pedestal and resumes his existence as a statue.
by Craig Butler
synopsis
