Heidi (1965): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1965, Heidi is a drama and family film directed by Werner Jacobs.

What it’s about. After her mother's death, the five year old orphan Heidi is brought by her aunt to her grumpy grandfather Alp, who leads a hermit life in the beautiful Swiss mountains. Heidi's natural cheerfulness quickly brings renewed joy in grandfather Alps life. Heidi becomes friends with the goatherd Peter who is about the same age as her and spent two beautiful years in the pasture. But then she is sent by her aunt to Frankfurt in the house of Consul Sesemann where Heidi should get a proper education and upbringing. After some initial difficulties Heidi eventually adjusts to her new situation and makes friends with Clara, the paralyzed daughter of the consul. Only with the strict governess Miss Rottingmeier she keeps getting in trouble. Miss Rottingmeier clearly can not cope with the free and outdoors spirit of Heidi. But Heidi lets a fresh wind blow through the Sesemann house and even causes Clara to overcome her illness.

Who’s in it. Heidi stars Eva Maria Singhammer as Heidi, Gustav Knuth as Alp Oehi, Michaela May as Klara Sesemann and Jan Koester as Geissen-Peter, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 5.9/10, Heidi has drawn a solid, mixed-to-positive response.

Where to watch. In US you can stream it on FlixFling and rent or buy it from FlixFling. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Heidi page.

If you liked it. Fans of Heidi tend to enjoy The Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather, Schindler's List and The Godfather Part II.