Mayerling (1968 film)
Mayerling | |
---|---|
Directed by | Terence Young |
Written by | Claude Anet (novel) (book L'Archiduc) Terence Young (screenplay) Denis Cannan (dialogue) Joseph Kessel (uncredited) |
Produced by | Robert Dorfmann |
Starring | Omar Sharif Catherine Deneuve James Mason Ava Gardner |
Cinematography | Henri Alekan |
Edited by | |
Music by | Francis Lai (original) Aram Khachaturian (non-original; Adagio from Spartacus) |
Production companies | Associated British Picture (UK) Winchester-Corona Productions (France) |
Distributed by | Warner-Pathé (UK) Valoria Films (France) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (USA) |
Release date | 1968 (France, UK) |
Running time | 140 min |
Country | United Kingdom / France |
Language | English |
Budget | $5,000,000 (estimated) |
Box office | $14,754,720[1] |
Mayerling is a 1968 romantic tragedy film starring Omar Sharif, Catherine Deneuve, James Mason, Ava Gardner, Geneviève Page, James Robertson Justice and Andréa Parisy.[2] It was written and directed by Terence Young. The film was made by Les Films Corona and Winchester and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
It was based on the novels Mayerling by Claude Anet and L'Archiduc by Michel Arnold and the 1936 film Mayerling, directed by Anatole Litvak, which dealt with the real-life Mayerling Incident.
Plot[]
In the 1880s, Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria (Sharif) clashes with his father, Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria (Mason) and his mother Empress Elisabeth (Gardner), over implementing progressive policies for their country. Rudolf soon feels he is a man born at the wrong time in a country that does not realize the need for social reform. The Prince of Wales (Robertson Justice), later to become King Edward VII of Britain, visits Vienna and provides comic relief. Later in Hungary popular revolt broke out, which Rudolf begged his father, Francis Joseph, to tolerate, but for no avail.
Rudolf finds refuge from a loveless marriage with Princess Stéphanie (Parisy) by taking a mistress, Baroness Maria Vetsera (Deneuve). Rudolf sends his son to supervise military training, and further exiles Maria to Venice. When back in Vienna, the couple's mutual untimely death at Mayerling, the imperial family's hunting lodge, is cloaked in mystery, which the film's ending suggests the two lovers made a suicide pact when they decided they could not live in a world without love, nor prospects for peace.
Cast[]
- Omar Sharif - Crown Prince Rudolf
- Catherine Deneuve - Baroness Maria Vetsera
- James Mason - Emperor Franz Josef
- Ava Gardner - Empress Elisabeth
- James Robertson Justice - Prince of Wales
- Geneviève Page - Countess Larisch
- Andréa Parisy - Princess Stéphanie
- Ivan Desny - Count Josef Hoyos
- Fabienne Dali - Mizzi Kaspar
- Véronique Vendell - Lisi Stockau
- Howard Vernon - Prince Montenuovo
- Irene von Meyendorf - Countess Stockau
- - Baroness Helen Vetsera
- Bernard Lajarrige - Loschek
- Maurice Teynac - Moritz Szeps
- Charles Millot - Count Taafe
- Jacques Berthier - Archduke Jean Salvator
- Roger Pigaut - Count Karolyi
- Véronique Vendell : Lisl Stockau
- Lyne Chardonnet : Hannah Vetsera
- Moustache : Bratfisch
- - Inspector Losch
- - Marinka
- - Baltazzi
- - Michel de Bragance
- Jean-Michel Rouzière
- Friedrich von Ledebur
See also[]
- Mayerling (1936) feature film directed by Anatole Litvak
- Mayerling (1957) TV film also directed by Litvak
References[]
External links[]
- English-language films
- 1968 films
- British historical drama films
- British films
- 1960s historical drama films
- French films
- French film remakes
- Biographical films about Austrian royalty
- Biographical films about British royalty
- Cultural depictions of Empress Elisabeth of Austria
- Cultural depictions of Franz Joseph I of Austria
- Films directed by Terence Young
- Films set in the 1880s
- Films set in Austria
- Films set in Vienna
- British remakes of French films
- Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films
- Romantic period films
- Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria
- Films produced by Robert Dorfmann
- Films scored by Francis Lai
- English-language French films
- French historical drama films
- Films set in Austria-Hungary