Sissi - Schicksalsjahre einer Kaiserin (1957)

The final film in a highly romanticized trilogy about Elisabeth "Sissi" of Austria finds the young empress traveling throughout Europe.

Director:

Ernst Marischka

Writer:

Ernst Marischka

Stars:

Romy Schneider, Karlheinz Böhm, Magda Schneider

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Romy Schneider	...	Empress Elisabeth of Austria / Sissi
Karlheinz Böhm	...	Emperor Franz Josef of Austria
Magda Schneider	...	Duchess Ludovika of Bavaria
Gustav Knuth	...	Duke Max of Bavaria
Uta Franz	...	Princess Helene / Nene
Walther Reyer	...	Graf Andrassy
Vilma Degischer	...	Archduchess Sophie, Franz Josef's mother
Josef Meinrad	...	Oberst Böckl
Senta Wengraf	...	Gräfin Bellegarde
Erich Nikowitz	...	Erzherzog Franz-Karl
Hans Ziegler	...	Hofrat Dr. Seeburger
Sonia Sorel	...	Henriette Mendel (as Sonja Sorel)
Klaus Knuth	...	Prinz Ludwig
Albert Rueprecht	...	Erzherzog Ferdinand-Max
Peter Neusser	...	Graf Batthyani

Storyline

The young Empress Sissi is staying at the Gödölle Palace in Hungary with her little daughter and some court people. Here she can be herself, liberated from all the strict court rules in Austria. She spends her days with Count Andrassy, riding in the woods. At a ball in his castle he declares his love for her. Because of this Sissi feels forced to break her relationship with him, and moves back to Vienna. It is soon discovered that she is seriously ill with tuberculosis. Dr. Seeburger doesn't think she will survive the winter, but a change of climate might help. After some months on Madeira Sissi's illness is even worse. Her mother, Duchess Ludovika, then decides to go to Madeira to help Sissi recapture the joy of life. When Dr. Seeburger examines Sissy at Corfu several months later, he finds her fully recovered. The Austrian ministers suggest that Emperor Franz Joseph should combine his reunion with Sissy with an official visit to Lombardy-Venetia. Austria is much hated there, but ...

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Plot Keywords:

empress | love | visit | italy | doctor | 

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Genres:

Drama | History | Romance

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Details

Country:

Austria

Language:

German Greek Hungarian Italian Portuguese

Release Date:

1957 (Austria)

Also Known As:

Sissi face à son destin

Filming Locations:

Atelier Rosenhügel, Vienna, Austria

Company Credits

Production Co:

Erma-Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

109 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Perfectone)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Ernst Marischka was originally going to make a fourth installation to the trilogy, but actress Romy Schneider refused to play the title character any longer.

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Quotes

Archduchess Sophie, Franz Josef's mother: You must avoid contact with her. You mustn't even kiss her.

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Connections

Edited into Forever My Love (1962)

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Soundtracks

Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves
Music by Giuseppe Verdi (from "Nabucco")

User Reviews

Disneyland version of history but still enjoyable to watch

The last of the three Sissi movies continues with the idealized version of her story. Just like in Disneyland, no one ever ages and all ends well. This third film shows events that probably did happen sometime during her 45 years on the Austrian throne, but by now the overall story can only be called fiction. The second movie ended with the coronation of Sissi and Franz Josef as King and Queen of Hungary. That happened in 1867. By that time, Sissi gave birth to three children - Sophie in 1855, Gisela in 1856, and Rudolf in 1858. Her firstborn Sophie died in 1857. A fourth child, a daughter, was born in 1868. Yet this third film, presumably a continuation of the second film, shows the imperial couple visiting Venice, which happened in 1856, and shows only one child, a girl, who appears to be about 4. So the chronology is obviously all wrong here. While the illness she suffers from in this movie is based on fact, Sissie should have aged in the movie about two decades by the time these events were presented. I gave this movie a relatively low mark because of the many historical inaccuracies and omissions. In spite of these shortcomings, I still enjoyed the movie. This third movie includes some breathtaking scenery of the Mediterranean coastline, and the Venice visits appears to have been shot on location. One almost feels like a part of the crowd. Franz Josef likewise seems to be forever young and is not shown with the facial hair that distinguished him for most of his reign. He already sported the beard and mustache by the time he was crowned King of Hungary in 1867, so he should have had the facial hair already by the end of the second movie and throughout the entire third movie. But that would probably spoil the Prince Charming image the film makers were aiming for. This movie should be viewed more as a fairy tale that is loosely based on the life of the imperial Austrian family. It is not an historically accurate portrayal of their life story.