''The Emperor's Waltz'' (german: Kaiserwalzer) is a 1933 German

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

directed by

Frederic Zelnik Frederic Zelnik (born Friedrich Zelnik, 17 May 1885 – 29 November 1950) was an Austrian producer, director, and actor. He was one of the most important producers-directors of the German silent cinema. Zelnik achieved success through period oper ...

and starring

Mártha Eggerth Marta Eggerth (17 April 1912 – 26 December 2013) was a Hungarian actress and singer from "The Silver Age of Operetta". Many of the 20th century's most famous operetta composers, including Franz Lehár, Fritz Kreisler, Robert Stolz, Oscar Strau ...

Paul Hörbiger Paul Hörbiger (29 April 1894 – 5 March 1981) was an Austrian theatre and film actor. Life and work Paul Hörbiger was born in the Hungarian capital Budapest, then part of Austria-Hungary, the son of engineer Hanns Hörbiger, founder of the ...

, and

Carl Esmond Carl Esmond (born Karl Simon; June 14, 1902– December 4, 2004) was an Austrian-born American film and stage actor, born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary. Although his age was given as 33 in the passenger list when he arrived in the USA in January 19 ...

. It was shot at the

Tempelhof Studios The Tempelhof Studios are a film studio located in Tempelhof in the German capital of Berlin. They were founded in 1912, during the silent era, by German film pioneer Alfred Duskes, who built a glass-roofed studio on the site with financial back ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

with sets designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Franz Schroedter Franz Schroedter (9 May 1897 – 14 November 1968) was a German art director.Giesen p.212 Selected filmography * '' The Black Count'' (1920) * ''The Dance of Love and Happiness'' (1921) * ''The New Paradise'' (1921) * '' The Queen of Whitechapel ...

Location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. The filming location may be the same in which the story is set (for exam ...

took place around the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath in 1668. H ...

Bad 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' ...

Plot

In the days of

Austro-Hungarian Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

Emperor

Franz Josef 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 other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...

, an

aristocrat The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient Ro ...

and his son both fall for the same woman.

Distribution

Distributed by

Aafa-Film Aafa Film or Aafa-Film was a German film production and distribution company which operated during the 1920s and 1930s. Established in 1920 as Radio-Film the company was controlled by the producer Gabriel Levy and the director Rudolf Dworsky. The ...

, the film was released in German cinemas on 24 January 1933 with the censorship visa granted on 21 December 1932. In Austria, the film was released in 1933 by Koppelmann & Reiter under the title Audienz in Ischl. General Foreign Sales Corp. oversaw its release in the United States.

Partial cast

as Mizzi Schlaghofer, mistress of Olgahof *

as Count Eggersdorf *

as Viktor Eggersdorf *

Fritz Kampers Fritz Kampers (14 July 1891 – 1 September 1950) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 250 films between 1913 and 1950. Early life Fritz Kampers was the son of a Munich hotel owner, spent his early childhood in Garmisch-Partenk ...

as Dr. Scharfinger *

Hansi Niese Johanna Niese, known as Hansi Niese (10 November 1875 in Vienna – 4 April 1934) was an Austrian actress. Career Hansi Niese made her debut at age 18 in 1891 in the South Moravian town of Znojmo at the local theater. Her success story bega ...

as Stasi, head maid *

S. Z. Sakall Szőke Szakáll (born Jakab Grünwald, akas: Gärtner Sándor and Gerő Jenő; February 2, 1883 February 12, 1955), known in the English-speaking world as S. Z. Sakall, was a Hungarian-American stage and film character actor. He appeared in ...

as Leitner - manufacturer from Budapest *

Trude Berliner Trude Berliner (28 February 1903 – 26 February 1977) was a German actress. She was one of many Jewish actors and actresses who were forced to flee Europe when the Nazis came to power in 1933. Biography Berliner was born Gertrude Berliner in Be ...

as Annemarie Schulz from Berlin *

Olly Gebauer Olly Gebauer (1908–1937) was an Austrian film actress.Vieira p.151 During the early sound era she established herself in the German film industry. Following the rise of the Nazi Party to power in 1933 she fled into exile with her Jewish husband, ...

as Lori Stübinger - Soubrette *

Arthur Bergen Arthur Bergen (24 October 1875 – 1943) was an Austrian Jewish actor and film director. He was murdered at Auschwitz concentration camp during the Holocaust.Mary Nolan, Ziegfeld Girl and Silent Movie Star: A Biography Including Her 1941 Memoi ...

*Rupert Fischer *

Fritz Spira Fritz Spira (1 August 1881 – c. 1943) was an Austrian stage and film actor. He appeared frequently in films during the silent and early sound eras. Spira played the role of the Austrian Emperor Franz Josef in the 1926 film ''The Third Squadro ...

*Helmut Krauss *

Ernst Pröckl Ernst Johann Pröckl (21 June 1888 – 26 November 1957) was an Austrian stage actor and director.Hardt p.219 He also appeared in numerous films, mainly German. Selected filmography * '' The Peruvian'' (1919) * '' Judith Trachtenberg'' (1920) * ' ...

Josef Reithofer Josef Reithofer (1883–1950) was an Austrian stage and film actor. Selected filmography * '' In the Line of Duty'' (1917) * ''Without Witnesses'' (1919) * '' The Dancer from Tanagra'' (1920) * ''The Princess of the Nile'' (1920) * ''Fanny Elssl ...

*Wera Schultz *Rudolf Weinmann *

Betty Bird Betty Bird (born Hilde Elisabeth Ptack, 18 June 1901 in Vienna, Austria-Hungary – 4 March 1998 in Rome, Italy) was an Austrian actress known for ''Die spanische Fliege'' (1931), ''Corazones sin rumbo'' (1928) and ''Sturm auf drei Herzen'' (19 ...

References

Bibliography

* Klaus, Ulrich J. ''Deutsche Tonfilme: Jahrgang 1933''. Klaus-Archiv, 1988.

External links

* 1933 musical films Films of the Weimar Republic German musical films Films directed by Frederic Zelnik Films scored by Nico Dostal German black-and-white films 1930s German films Films shot at Tempelhof Studios Films shot in Austria {{Musical-film-stub