Sissi (1955)

In the first of a trilogy of movies about Elisabeth "Sissi" of Austria, the young vibrant princess catches the eye of her sister's fiancé, Emperor Franz Josef.

Director:

Ernst Marischka

Writer:

Ernst Marischka

Stars:

Romy Schneider, Karlheinz Böhm, Magda Schneider

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Romy Schneider	...	Sissi
Karlheinz Böhm	...	Kaiser Franz Joseph
Magda Schneider	...	Duchess Ludovika in Bayern / Vickie
Uta Franz	...	Princess Helene in Bayern / Nene
Gustav Knuth	...	Duke Max in Bavaria
Vilma Degischer	...	Archduchess Sophie
Josef Meinrad	...	Gendarmerie-Major Böckl
Erich Nikowitz	...	Archduke Franz Karl
Karl Fochler	...	Graf Grünne
Franz Böheim	...	Johann Petzmacher
Peter Weck	...	Archduke Carl-Ludwig
Hilde Wagener	...	Baronin Wulffen
Egon von Jordan	...	Graf Arco, Prime Minister
Richard Eybner	...	Postmeister von Ischl
Otto Treßler	...	Feldmaerschall Radetzky

Storyline

16 year old princess Elisabeth, 'Sissi', follows her mother and sister Helene to the Austrian court in Ischl, where the engagement between Helene and the young emperor Franz Josef will be announced. But he meets Sissi when she's out fishing and falls in love with her. Sissi also loves Franz Josef but a marriage with him comes with a bonus, his arrogant and headstrong mother.

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Plot Keywords:

princess | emperor | love | marriage | wedding | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | History | Romance

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Details

Country:

Austria

Language:

German

Release Date:

22 December 1955 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

La principessa Sissi

Filming Locations:

Atelier Sievering, Vienna, Austria

Company Credits

Production Co:

Erma-Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Agfacolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Although he played her husband in this trilogy, Karlheinz Böhm is only 10 years older than Romy Schneider.

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Goofs

The Emperor Waltz is played as background music during Sisi and Franz Joseph's wedding dance in 1854. The Emperor Waltz was composed by Johann Strauss II in 1889.

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Connections

Referenced in Pension Hommeles: Gewoon als iedereen (1959)

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Soundtracks

"Polonaise in a major"
Written by Frédéric Chopin

User Reviews

Corny and inaccurate, but Romy Schneider shines!

I think, I have seen this movie (and it´s prequels) 5 times or so, my mother loves them dearly. Many other people love them as well, while other´s think it´s corny. So, what makes this movie so special for some many people and so successful after all these years?

Quite likely it´s the story: A princess finds her her true love in a king ( or an emperor, as it happens to be the case here). It´s the perfect fairy tale for adults, they can connect with her, especially the characters are based on real people, which gives the movie some authenticity (which it doesn´t deserve, it´s very inaacurate at some points).

So, for those, who haven´t seen it already, here´s a short synopsis: Elisabeth (nicknamed Sissi and played by a very young Romy Schneider), lives with her parents in Bavaria. She travels with her mother Ludovica (Magda Schneider, real mother of Romy) and her sister Helene to Bad Ischl to meet Francis Joseph I, emperor of Austria (Karlheinz Böhm) and his mother, Archduchess Sophie (Vilma Degischer). Ludovica and Sophie are sisters and have plotted to marry Helene and Francis. But, as it turns out, Francis and Sissi fall in love with each other and after some difficult situations, they both have to survive, they finally get married.

The prequels (Sissi - Jugendjahre einer Kaiserin & Sissi - Schicksalsjahre einer Kaiserin) deal with her young married life, with the birth of her first child and a sickness, which she survives against all odds.

The storys are very trivial and corny, and especially the prequels are full of historical mistakes.

What makes this movie watchable, is only Romy Schneider. This movie stands and falls with her. She made this movie at the age of 16 and although she doesn´t show the depth of her later work she compensates that with her youthfulness. Her character is never three dimensional, but watching her eagerness, you hardly notice.

After this movie Schneider became typecast as the beautiful, nice little girl, and after the two other Sissi-movies, she was in the german speaking countries "Sissi". People started to mistake Schneider with the character she created and didn´t want to see her in more complex roles, which finally led to her move to France, where she finally could show her versatility.