''Sissi – Fateful Years of an Empress'' () is a 1957 Austrian film written and 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 Rosemarie Magdalena Albach (23 September 1938 – 29 May 1982), known professionally as Romy Schneider (), was a German and French actress. She is regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses of all time and became a cult figure due to ...

and

Karlheinz Böhm Karlheinz Böhm (16 March 1928 – 29 May 2014) was a German-born Austrian 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 in the Sissi film trilo ...

, with Magda Schneider,

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 ...

, Uta Franz,

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 Vienna ( ; ; ) is ...

and Walther Reyer. It was entered into the

1958 Cannes Film Festival The 11th Cannes Film Festival took place from 2 to 18 May 1958. French writer Marcel Achard served as Jury President for the main competition. The '' Palme d'Or'' was awarded to '' The Cranes Are Flying'' by Mikhail Kalatozov. Juries The follo ...

. The costumes are by (Gerda Gottschlich). It is the last film in the ''Sissi''

trilogy A trilogy is a set of three distinct works that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games. Three-part works that are considered components of ...

, following '' Sissi'' (1955) and ''

Sissi – The Young Empress ''Sissi – The Young Empress'' () is a 1956 Austrian film directed by Ernst Marischka and starring Romy Schneider, Karlheinz Böhm, Magda Schneider, Uta Franz, Gustav Knuth, Vilma Degischer and Josef Meinrad. It was entered into the 1957 Cann ...

'' (1956). The director Ernst Marischka planned a fourth film, but Schneider refused to play ''Sissi'' any longer. She appeared 15 years later again as Empress Elisabeth in

Luchino Visconti Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, theatre and opera director, and screenwriter. He was one of the fathers of Italian neorealism, cinematic neorealism, but later ...

's 1972 film '' Ludwig''.

Plot

Empress Elisabeth of Austria Elisabeth (born Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria; 24 December 1837 – 10 September 1898), nicknamed Sisi or Sissi, was Empress of Austria and List of Hungarian consorts, Queen of Hungary from her marriage to Franz Joseph I of Austri ...

, nicknamed Sissi, enjoys travelling in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

. She welcomes the politically valuable friendship of Count Andrássy, but when he confesses he is in love with her, she returns to Vienna lest the relationship become too intimate. Her time in Hungary is only a temporary relief from the frustrations of court life in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, where dutiful Franz Josef remains at his desk and allows his strict, domineering mother

Sophie Sophie is a feminine given name, another version of Sophia, from the Greek word for "wisdom". People with the name Born in the Middle Ages * Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson * Soph ...

to interfere in the raising of his daughter with Sissi,

. Sissi decides to return and meets Franz underway who was coming to Hungary to bring her back to Vienna. They decide to take a vacation in

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

but Sissi falls ill and is diagnosed with possibly fatal

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

. On doctors' orders Franz Josef must allow his mother to remove his daughter from Sissi's keeping. In poor health, deprived of the company of husband and child, Sissi is in danger of losing the will to live as she travels to healthier climates on

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

and

Corfu Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its Greek islands, small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu (regio ...

. Desperately needed

psychosomatic Somatic symptom disorder, also known as somatoform disorder or somatization disorder, is chronic somatization. One or more chronic physical symptoms coincide with excessive and maladaptive thoughts, emotions, and behaviors connected to those symp ...

therapy appears in the form of her indestructibly positive mother Ludovika, who lovingly nurses Sissi's illness and restores her zest for life by taking her on idyllic walks. Once again Oberst Böckl, the clumsy body-guard whose doting admiration for the empress borders on the improper, provides a comical note, as he does in each part of the trilogy. Finally, Sissi recovers and rejoins her husband on an official visit to

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

and

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, Austria's remaining possessions in northern Italy. Italian nationalists have prepared a hostile welcome for the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

sovereigns; the Milanese nobility send their servants, dressed in noble clothing, to a

royal command performance A Royal Command Performance is any performance by actors or musicians that occurs at the direction or request of a reigning monarch of the United Kingdom. Although English monarchs have long sponsored their own theatrical companies and commis ...

La Scala La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...

, at which the orchestra begins with the melody of

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

's "

Gott erhalte Franz den Kaiser "" (; ), also called the "Kaiserhymne" (; ), is an anthem composed in 1797 by Joseph Haydn. In its original version it was paired with lyrics by Lorenz Leopold Haschka and served as a patriotic song, expressing devotion to Francis II, Emperor ...

" but smoothly transitions to Verdi's chorus "

Va, pensiero "" (), also known as the "Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves", is a chorus from the opera ''Nabucco'' (1842) by Giuseppe Verdi. It recollects the period of Babylonian captivity after the destruction of Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem in 586 BC. The libre ...

" from ''

Nabucco ''Nabucco'' (; short for ''Nabucodonosor'' , i.e. "Nebuchadnezzar II, Nebuchadnezzar") is an Italian-language opera in four acts composed in 1841 by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Temistocle Solera. The libretto is based on the biblic ...

'' and the disguised servants in the audience sing it in protest against Austrian rule. There is a moment of comic relief when, after the opera, Franz Josef and Sissi receive the disguised servants at a formal reception, where the servants are presented to the imperial couple under the names of their aristocratic masters and mistresses. Sissi is aware that she is not meeting the true nobility, but when the real nobles realize their servants were introduced to the emperor and empress, they shriek in despair and panic at the idea that the imperial couple believe the awkward, common servants were really the aristocrats. In Venice, crowds stand in hostile silence at the couple's

procession A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner. History Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...

royal barge A royal barge is a vessel that is used by a monarch for ceremonial processions, and (historically) for routine transport, usually on a river or inland waterway. It may also be known as a state barge, and may be used on occasion by other members o ...

on the Grand Canal and as they pass, Italian nationalist flags are defiantly unfurled from behind shuttered windows. But the emotional Italians melt when they witness the openly loving reunion between Sissi and her little daughter on St Mark's Square.

Cast

, or "Sissi" *

as Emperor

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

as Archduchess

, Franz Joseph's mother * as Archduke Franz Karl, Franz Joseph's father * Magda Schneider as Duchess Ludovika in Bavaria, Sissi's mother *

as Duke Max in Bavaria, Sissi's father * as Princess Helene in Bavaria, or "Néné", Sissi's older sister * Walther Reyer as Count

Andrássy Small arms of the Andrássy family 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''. Csí ...

* as Count

Batthyány The House of Batthyány () is an ancient and distinguished Hungarian noble magnate family. The Head of the family bears the title Prince (Fürst) of Batthyány-Strattmann, while other members of this family bear the title Count/Countess ( Graf ...

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, j ...

as Lieutenant Colonel Böckl *

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 ( Pauline von Königsegg) * as Dr. Seeburger * as Henriette Mendel * as Prince Ludwig * as Archduke Ferdinand Max * as Count

Windisch-Graetz The House of Windisch-Graetz, also spelled Windischgrätz, is an ancient Austrian aristocratic family, descending from Windischgrätz in Lower Styria (present-day Slovenj Gradec, Slovenia). The noble dynasty serving the House of Habsburg achieve ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sissi 3 1957 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 Films directed by Ernst Marischka Biographical films about Austrian royalty Films set in Austria Films set in Bavaria Films set in Greece Films set in Hungary Films set in Italy Films set in Portugal Films set in the 1860s Films set in Vienna Fiction about monarchy Austrian sequel films Films set in the Austrian Empire Films set in the Kingdom of Bavaria Films set in the Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia 1950s German-language films German-language biographical drama films