''Sissi – The Young Empress'' (german: Sissi – Die junge Kaiserin) is a 1956 Austrian film directed by

Ernst Marischka Ernst Marischka (2 January 1893 – 12 May 1963) was an Austrian screenwriter and film director. He wrote for more than 90 films between 1913 and 1962. He also directed 29 films between 1915 and 1962. He wrote and directed the Sissi trilogy ...

and starring

Romy Schneider Romy Schneider (; born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach; 23 September 1938 – 29 May 1982) was a German-French actress. She began her career in the German genre in the early 1950s when she was 15. From 1955 to 1957, she played the central chara ...

Karlheinz Böhm Karlheinz Böhm (16 March 1928 – 29 May 2014) was an Austrian-German actor and philanthropist. He took part in 45 films and became well known in Austria and Germany for his role as Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis ...

Magda Schneider Magdalena Maria Schneider (17 May 1909 – 30 July 1996) was a German actress and singer. She was the mother of the actress Romy Schneider. Biography Magdalena Maria Schneider was born in Augsburg, Bavaria, the daughter of a plumber. She atte ...

Uta Franz Uta or UTA may refer to: Universities *University of Texas at Arlington, in the United States *University of Tarapacá, in Chile *University of Tampere, in Finland Sports * FC UTA Arad, a Romanian football club based in the town of Arad * A c ...

Gustav Knuth Gustav Knuth (7 July 1901 – 1 February 1987) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1935 and 1982 and starred in the TV series '' Alle meine Tiere''. He was married to the actress Elisabeth Lennartz. Selected ...

Vilma Degischer Vilma Degischer (17 November 1911 - 3 May 1992) was an Austrian theatre and film actress. She appeared in more than thirty films from 1931 to 1991. From 1931 to 1991 she played at the Theater in der Josefstadt in Vienna. Early life After she atte ...

and

Josef Meinrad Josef Meinrad (21 April 1913 – 18 February 1996) was an Austrian actor. From 1959 until his death in 1996, Meinrad held the Republic of Austria's Iffland-Ring, which passes from actor to actor — each bequeathing the ring to the next holder, ju ...

. It was entered into the

1957 Cannes Film Festival The 10th Cannes Film Festival was held from 2 to 17 May 1957. ''Nights of Cabiria'' by Federico Fellini, ''La casa del ángel'' by Leopoldo Torre Nilsson, ''A Man Escaped'' by Robert Bresson, and ''The Seventh Seal'' by Ingmar Bergman were entere ...

. It is the second film in the ''Sissi'' trilogy, following '' Sissi'' and preceding ''

Sissi – Fateful Years of an Empress ''Sissi – Fateful Years of an Empress'' (german: Sissi – Schicksalsjahre einer Kaiserin) is a 1957 Austrian film directed by Ernst Marischka and starring Romy Schneider, Karlheinz Böhm, Magda Schneider, Gustav Knuth and Josef Meinrad, costume ...

''. This movie in three parts tells the famous story of the

Empress of Austria This is a list of the Austrian empresses, archduchesses, duchesses and margravines, wives of the rulers of Austria. The monarchy in Austria was abolished at the end of the First World War in 1918. The different titles lasted just a little unde ...

best known as Sissi.

Plot

Sissi slowly adapts to life as empress of Austria, but her mother-in-law is hard to live with. Archduchess Sophie adheres to the long-established rules protocol and etiquette, and constantly interferes not only with the emperor's government of the empire but in his family life as well. When Sissi's first child is born, the Archduchess Sophie insists on taking away the child to raise her, because she feels Sissi is too young and unqualified to do so. Sophie also feels that Sissi's place is not in the nursery with her baby, but with her husband as the emperor travels around the empire. A scandal threatens to break out when Sissi leaves Vienna and returns to Bavaria to see her parents. She keeps the truth from her mother, but confesses to her father that she cannot live with Archduchess Sophie's constant criticism and tyranny. Franz Joseph follows her and finally convinces her to return to Vienna. This strengthens Sissi's influence with the emperor, and she supports Count

Gyula Andrássy Count Gyula Andrássy de Csíkszentkirály et Krasznahorka (8 March 1823 – 18 February 1890) was a Hungarian statesman, who served as Prime Minister of Hungary (1867–1871) and subsequently as Foreign Minister of Austria-Hungary (1871–1 ...

and the cause of the Hungarians for equal standing in the Empire. The movie concludes with her being crowned Queen of the Hungarians in Budapest.

Starring

as Empress Elisabeth of Austria, or "Sissi" *

as Emperor

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the Grand title of the Emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg m ...

as Archduchess Sophie, Franz Joseph's mother * as Archduke Franz Karl, Franz Joseph's father *

as Duchess Ludovika in Bavaria, Sissi's mother *

as Duke Max in Bavaria, Sissi's father *

as Oberst Böckl *

Richard Eybner Richard Eybner (March 3, 1896 – June 20, 1986) was an Austrian actor at the theatre and in films. Selected filmography * ''Spring Parade'' (1934) * ''Peter'' (1934) * '' Little Mother'' (1935) * ''Dance Music'' (1935) * ''The Postman from Long ...

as Postmaster of

Ischl Bad Ischl (Austrian German ) is a spa town in Austria. It lies in the southern part of Upper Austria, at the Traun River in the centre of the Salzkammergut region. The town consists of the Katastralgemeinden ''Ahorn'', ''Bad Ischl'', ''Haiden' ...

Walter Reyer Walther Reyer (4 September 1922 – 5 September 1999) was an Austrian actor. He appeared in more than 50 films and television shows between 1954 and 1997. Filmography References External links * 1922 births 1999 deaths Austrian m ...

as Count

Andrássy The House of Andrássy is the name of a Hungarian noble family of very ancient lineage that was prominent in Hungarian history. The full family name is ''Andrássy de Csíkszentkirály et Krasznahorka''. ''Csíkszentkirály'' is a town in modern- ...

Senta Wengraf Senta Wengraf (10 May 1924 – 6 December 2020) was an Austrian film and television actress.Fritsche p.231 Selected filmography * ''Two Times Lotte'' (1950) * '' Voices of Spring'' (1952) * '' The Spendthrift'' (1953) * ''Franz Schubert'' (1953) ...

as Countess Bellegarde * as Countess Esterhazy-Liechtenstein

Historical inaccuracies

* The film portrays the historical events as if they had happened much earlier than they actually did. The

Austro-Hungarian Compromise The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (german: Ausgleich, hu, Kiegyezés) established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. The Compromise only partially re-established the former pre-1848 sovereignty and status of the Kingdom of Hungary ...

and the coronation of the imperial couple as King and Queen of Hungary happened in 1867, 12 years after Sissi's first daughter Sophie was born. This is in contrast to the third movie, '' Fateful Years of an Empress'', which instead narrates historical events prior to 1859. * Sissi's first daughter, Sophie, died at the age of two during a trip to Hungary. The second child, Gisela, born one year later, survived the same disease. * The Archduchess Sophie removed indeed Sissi's daughters from her custody and took care of their education; Elisabeth suffered from it but accepted the decision and did not flee from the court. * Sissi's escape from Vienna happened instead, for the same reasons, after the birth of her son Rudolph. She will later oppose the strict military education planned for him.

Music

In addition to creations by

Anton Profes Anton Profes (1896–1976) was an Austrian composer.von Dassanowsky p.98 Selected filmography * '' Josef the Chaste'' (1930) * '' Suburban Cabaret'' (1935) * ''The Eternal Mask'' (1935) * '' Hannerl and Her Lovers'' (1936) * '' The Postman from Lo ...

, the film's music includes many classical works, including several waltzes by

Johann Strauss Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ove ...

and the Hallelujah from Messiah by

Georg Friedrich Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

, as well as the waltz "Les Nubiennes" from the opera ''

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...

'' (Act 5) by

Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

References

External links

*
Official Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sissi 2 1956 films 1950s biographical drama films 1950s historical drama films Austrian biographical drama films Austrian historical drama films Cultural depictions of Empress Elisabeth of Austria Cultural depictions of Franz Joseph I of Austria Biographical films about Austrian royalty Films directed by Ernst Marischka Films set in Bavaria Films set in the 1850s Films set in Vienna 1950s German-language films Monarchy in fiction Austrian sequel films Films set in the Austrian Empire Films set in the Kingdom of Bavaria