This article needs additional citations for verification .(August 2011) |
Mayerling | |
---|---|
Directed by | Anatole Litvak |
Written by | Claude Anet (book) Joseph Kessel Irma von Cube |
Produced by | Seymour Nebenzal |
Starring | Charles Boyer Jean Dax Jean Debucourt Marthe Regnier Danielle Darrieux Suzy Prim |
Cinematography | Armand Thirard |
Edited by | Henri Rust |
Music by | Arthur Honegger |
Production companies | Nero-Film Mercury Films |
Distributed by | Pax Films (US) |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 95 minutes |
Country | France |
Language | French |
Mayerling is a 1936 French historical drama film directed by Anatole Litvak and produced by Seymour Nebenzal from a screenplay by Marcel Achard, Joseph Kessel, and Irma von Cube, based on the 1930 novel Idyll's End by Claude Anet.
The film stars Charles Boyer and Danielle Darrieux with René Bergeron, Jean Davy, Jean Dax, Jean Debucourt and Gabrielle Dorziat, and Jean-Louis Barrault in a bit part. The film is based on the real-life story of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria, his affair with the 17-year-old Baroness Maria Vetsera and their tragic end at Mayerling.
The film was remade twice: once as the 1957 television film Mayerling, also directed by Anatole Litvak and starring Mel Ferrer and Audrey Hepburn, then as the 1968 film Mayerling in color by MGM, starring Omar Sharif, Catherine Deneuve, James Mason, and Ava Gardner.
Vienna is disturbed by protestors agitating for political change. Crown Prince Rudolph is arrested at a meeting. His father Emperor Franz Joseph insists he get married and settle down. Rudolph reluctantly agrees.
Five years later, Rudolph has become an unhappy playboy. On the night of his wedding anniversary he meets Baroness Marie Vetsera and they fall in love.
Writing for The Spectator in 1936, Graham Greene gave the film a poor review, describing it as "purposeless" and "a too romantic manner for [his] taste". Greene particularly criticizes the conclusion of the film which he characterized as "a Vienna 'musical' without the music: a pathetic ending". Greene did, however, praise the film's production and acting. [1]
A restored DVD was issued in the U.S. by The Criterion Collection (Essential Art House) on September 15, 2009. [2]
Mayerling is a small village in Lower Austria belonging to the municipality of Alland in the district of Baden. It is situated on the Schwechat river, in the Wienerwald, 24 kilometres (15 mi) southwest of Vienna. From 1550, it was in the possession of the abbey of Heiligenkreuz.
Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria was the only son and third child of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria and Duchess Elisabeth of Bavaria (Sisi). He was heir apparent to the imperial throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire from birth. In 1889, he died in a suicide pact with his mistress Mary Vetsera at the Mayerling hunting lodge. The ensuing scandal made international headlines.
Baroness Marie Alexandrine "Mary" von Vetsera was an Austrian noblewoman and the mistress of Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria. Vetsera and the crown prince were found dead at his hunting lodge in Mayerling on 30 January 1889, following an apparent murder-suicide, which is known as the Mayerling incident.
Countess Marie Louise Larisch von Moennich was a niece and lady-in-waiting of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. She was implicated in the Mayerling Incident which resulted in the death of her married cousin Crown Prince Rudolf and his mistress Baroness Mary Vetsera, who was also her friend. She published several books with a ghostwriter about the Imperial household.
Anatoly Mikhailovich LitvakOBE, better known as Anatole Litvak, was a Ukrainian-born American filmmaker who wrote, directed, and produced films in various countries and languages. He began his theatrical training at age 13 in Petrograd, Russia.
The Mayerling incident is the series of events surrounding the apparent murder–suicide pact of Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria, and his lover, baroness Mary Vetsera. They were found dead on 30 January 1889 in an imperial hunting lodge in Mayerling. Rudolf, who was married to Princess Stéphanie of Belgium, was the only son of Emperor Franz Joseph and Empress Elisabeth, and was heir apparent to the throne of Austria-Hungary.
Mayerling is a 1968 romantic tragedy film starring Omar Sharif, Catherine Deneuve, James Mason, Ava Gardner, Geneviève Page, James Robertson Justice and Andréa Parisy. It was written and directed by Terence Young. The film was made by Les Films Corona and Winchester and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
Mayerling is a village and hunting lodge in Lower Austria.
"Mayerling" is an episode of the American television series Producers' Showcase made for NBC Television, which was aired on 4 February 1957 and released theatrically as a film in Europe.
Mayerling is a ballet choreographed by Kenneth MacMillan to the music of Franz Liszt, arranged by John Lanchbery, scenario by Gillian Freeman and designed by Nicholas Georgiadis. The ballet is based on the Mayerling incident, a series of events surrounding the apparent murder–suicide of Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria and his lover, Baroness Mary Vetsera. The ballet premiered on 14 February 1978, at the Royal Opera House, danced by The Royal Ballet, with David Wall as Prince Rudolf and Lynn Seymour as Vetsera.
Adolph Aloys Freiherr von Braun was a diplomat and statesman who became one of the closest collaborators of the Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. He was the Privy Councillor and Director of the Emperor’s Cabinet’s Chancellery from 1865-1899.
Gabrielle Dorziat was a French stage and film actress. Dorziat was a fashion trend setter in Paris and helped popularize the designs of Coco Chanel. The Théâtre Gabrielle-Dorziat in Épernay, France is named for her.
The Secret of Mayerling is a 1949 French Historical drama film directed by Jean Delannoy and starring Jean Marais, Dominique Blanchar and Jean Debucourt. It set around the 1889 Mayerling Incident when the crown prince of the Austrian Empire was found having apparently committed suicide with his lover.
Tragedy in the House of Habsburg is a 1924 German silent historical film directed by Alexander Korda and starring María Corda, Kálmán Zátony and Emil Fenyvessy. The film recounts the events of the 1889 Mayerling Incident in which the heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire committed suicide. Interior filming was done at the Johannisthal Studios in Berlin with location shooting in Vienna. The film cost $80,000 to make, but only earned back around half of this at the box office.
Woman of Malacca is a 1937 French drama film directed by Marc Allégret and starring Edwige Feuillère, Pierre Richard-Willm and Betty Daussmond. It was based on a 1935 novel by the French writer Francis de Croisset. It was a major success on its initial release. It was shot at the Epinay Studios in Paris. The film's sets were designed by the art director Jacques Krauss. A separate German-language version Another World was also made.
Sarajevo is a 1940 French historical drama film directed by Max Ophüls and starring Edwige Feuillère, John Lodge and Aimé Clariond. Beginning in the aftermath of the Mayerling Incident, the film portrays the love affair and marriage between Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, leading up to their eventual assassination in 1914 in events that triggered the First World War. The film was not a commercial or critical success. Following the German occupation of France the film was banned, and Ophüls fled into exile for the second time.
Crown Prince Rudolph's Last Love is a 1955 Austrian historical drama film directed by Rudolf Jugert and starring Rudolf Prack, Christiane Hörbiger and Winnie Markus. The film portrays the tragic 1889 Mayerling Incident, in which Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria and his lover Baroness Mary Vetsera committed suicide.
Goodbye Darling is a 1946 French drama film directed by Raymond Bernard and starring Danielle Darrieux, Louis Salou and Gabrielle Dorziat. The film's sets were designed by the art director Robert Gys.
The Fate of the House of Habsburg is a 1928 German silent drama film directed by Rolf Raffé and starring Fritz Spira, Alfons Fryland, and Leni Riefenstahl. It is based on the Mayerling incident of 1889, wherein a Crown Prince of Austria killed his mistress and himself.
The Crown Prince is an Austrian-German-French-Italian television film from 2006 and deals with the last ten years of the life of the Austrian Crown Prince Rudolf von Habsburg.