The King Steps Out | |
---|---|
Directed by | Josef von Sternberg |
Written by | Sidney Buchman |
Produced by | William Perlberg Wilhelm Thiele |
Starring | Grace Moore Franchot Tone Walter Connolly |
Cinematography | Lucien Ballard |
Edited by | Viola Lawrence |
Music by | Howard Jackson |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release date |
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Running time | 85 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The King Steps Out is a 1936 American musical comedy film directed by Josef von Sternberg and starring Grace Moore, Franchot Tone and Walter Connolly. It is based on the early years of Empress Elisabeth of Austria, known as "Sisi" or "Sissi", and her courtship and marriage to Franz Joseph I of Austria, after he was initially engaged to her older sister Duchess Helene in Bavaria. [1] The film is set from 1852 to 1854.
The script was written by Sidney Buchman, based on a theatre play called Sissys Brautfahrt by Ernst Décsey and Robert Weil aka Gustav Holm. [2] Columbia Pictures bought the rights from Ernst Marischka in order to make the film. The lyrics for the music were by Dorothy Fields and the music by Viennese composer and violinist Fritz Kreisler. [1] Cinematography was by Lucien Ballard and the editing by Viola Lawrence. Costume design was by the Austrian Ernst Deutsch-Dryden.
Future Broadway dancer Gwen Verdon made her movie debut doing a ballet solo at age 11, but was uncredited.
The film had only minimal influence on the later Sissi trilogy from the 1950s by Ernst Marischka starring Romy Schneider and Karlheinz Böhm.
Writing for The Spectator in 1936, Graham Greene gave the film a mildly positive review, noting that in its "light and amusing sequences" it bore the hallmarks of "the Lubitsch touch". Greene praised the acting of Bing, claiming that "the whole film [is carried] on his wildly expressive shoulders". [3]
Gwyneth Evelyn "Gwen" Verdon was an American actress and dancer. She won four Tony Awards for her musical comedy performances, and she served as an uncredited choreographer's assistant and specialty dance coach for theater and film. Verdon was a critically acclaimed performer on Broadway in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, having originated many roles in musicals, including Lola in Damn Yankees, the title character in Sweet Charity, and Roxie Hart in Chicago.
Elisabeth, nicknamed Sisi or Sissi, was Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary from her marriage to Emperor Franz Joseph I on 24 April 1854 until her assassination in 1898.
Princess Sophie of Bavaria was the daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and his second wife, Caroline of Baden. The identical twin sister of Queen Maria Anna of Saxony, Sophie became Archduchess of Austria by marriage to Archduke Franz Karl of Austria. Her eldest son, Franz Joseph, reigned as Emperor of Austria and King of Hungary; her second son, Maximilian, briefly reigned as Emperor of Mexico.
Sissi or Sisi may refer to:
Zell am See is the administrative capital of the Zell am See District in the Austrian state of Salzburg. Located in the Kitzbühel Alps, the town is an important tourist destination due to its ski resorts and shoreline on Lake Zell. While Zell am See has been a favored winter and summer resort for the European aristocracy since the 19th century, it is known as a hub of the international jet set today.
Hotel Sacher is a five-star luxury hotel in Vienna, Austria, facing the Vienna State Opera in the city's central Innere Stadt district. It is famous for the specialty of the house, the Sachertorte, a chocolate cake with apricot filling. There is also an art gallery in the hotel, with works from the 19th century. The hotel is located near the former residence of Antonio Vivaldi. Hotel Sacher is a member of The Leading Hotels of the World, a marketing network.
Ludwig is a 1973 English-language epic biographical drama film co-written and directed by Luchino Visconti. The film stars Helmut Berger as King Ludwig II of Bavaria and Romy Schneider as Empress Elisabeth of Austria, along with Trevor Howard, Silvana Mangano, Helmut Griem, and Gert Fröbe. It is the third and final part of Visconti's "German Trilogy", following The Damned (1969) and Death in Venice (1971).
Ernst Décsey, was an Austrian author and music critic.
Cinema of Austria refers to the film industry based in Austria. Austria has had an active cinema industry since the early 20th century when it was the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and that has continued to the present day. Producer Sascha Kolowrat-Krakowsky, producer-director-writer Luise Kolm and the Austro-Hungarian directors Michael Curtiz and Alexander Korda were among the pioneers of early Austrian cinema. Several Austrian directors pursued careers in Weimar Germany and later in the United States, among them Fritz Lang, G. W. Pabst, Josef von Sternberg, Billy Wilder, Fred Zinnemann, and Otto Preminger.
Sissi is a 1955 Austrian historical romance film written and directed by Ernst Marischka and starring Romy Schneider, Karlheinz Böhm, Magda Schneider, Uta Franz, Gustav Knuth, Josef Meinrad, Vilma Degischer and Peter Weck. Sissi is the first installment in the trilogy of films about Empress Elisabeth of Austria, who was known to her family as "Sisi". It was followed by The Young Empress and Fateful Years of an 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 Cannes Film Festival. It is the second film in the Sissi trilogy, following Sissi and preceding Sissi – Fateful Years of an Empress. This movie in three parts tells the famous story of the Empress of Austria best known as Sissi.
Sissi – Fateful Years of an Empress is a 1957 Austrian film directed by Ernst Marischka and starring Romy Schneider, Karlheinz Böhm, Magda Schneider, Gustav Knuth and Josef Meinrad, costumes by Gerdago. It was entered into the 1958 Cannes Film Festival.
Gustav von Seyffertitz was a German film actor and director. He settled in the United States. He was born in Haimhausen, Bavaria, and died in Los Angeles, California, aged 81.
Otto Treßler, also Otto Tressler, was a German-Austrian stage and film actor. He appeared in more than 40 films between 1915 and 1962. He was born in Stuttgart, Germany and died in Vienna, Austria. He was a close friend to Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria.
Princess Louise d'Orléans was a French princess of the House of Orléans and a member of the Royal Family of Bavaria. Throughout her life, Louise remained very close to her first cousin, Archduchess Marie Valerie of Austria.
Ernst Marischka 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 - Sissi (1955), Sissi – The Young Empress (1956) and Sissi – Fateful Years of an Empress (1957). The films were based on the life of Empress Elisabeth of Austria. He was the brother of Hubert Marischka. He was named for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 1946, for A Song to Remember (1945).
Magdalena Maria Schneider was a German actress and singer. She was the mother of the actress Romy Schneider.
Victoria in Dover is a 1954 Austrian historical romantic comedy film directed by Ernst Marischka and starring Romy Schneider, Adrian Hoven and Magda Schneider. It is a remake of the 1936 Erich Engel film Victoria in Dover, which was based on a 1932 play by Sil-Vara. Schneider's performance as a spirited young royal was a lead-in to her best known role in Sissi and its sequels, although Marischka had originally intended to cast Sonja Ziemann as Victoria.
Princess Maximiliana Josepha Caroline of Bavaria, was a Princess of Bavaria, daughter of King Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria and Queen Caroline of Baden.
Opera Ball is a 1956 Austrian musical comedy film directed by Ernst Marischka and starring Johannes Heesters, Hertha Feiler and Josef Meinrad. Based on the 1898 operetta Der Opernball, it is part of the operetta film tradition. A previous film version had been made in 1939.