Mayerling | |
---|---|
Directed by | Terence Young |
Screenplay by | Terence Young Denis Cannan (dialogue) |
Based on | Claude Anet (novel) Michel Arnold (book L'Archiduc) |
Produced by | Robert Dorfmann Maurice Jacquin |
Starring | Omar Sharif Catherine Deneuve James Mason Ava Gardner |
Cinematography | Henri Alekan |
Edited by | Monique Bonnot |
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 dates | 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 1880s Vienna, Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria clashes with his father, Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria and his mother Empress Elisabeth, about the implementation of progressive policies for the empire. Rudolf soon feels he is a man born at the wrong time in a country that does not agree on the need for social reform. The Prince of Wales, later to become King Edward VII of Britain, visits Vienna and provides comic relief. Later in Hungary a popular revolt breaks out, which Rudolf begs his father, Francis Joseph, to tolerate, but to no avail.
Rudolf finds refuge from his loveless marriage with Princess Stéphanie by taking a mistress, Baroness Maria Vetsera. Franz Joseph I sends his son to supervise military training, and exiles Maria to Venice. When back in Vienna, the couple's mutual deaths at Mayerling, the imperial family's hunting lodge, are cloaked in mystery. The film's ending suggests that the two lovers made a suicide pact when they decided they could not live in a world without love or prospects for peace.
Cast
- Omar Sharif as Crown Prince Rudolf
- Catherine Deneuve as Baroness Maria Vetsera
- James Mason as Emperor Franz Josef
- Ava Gardner as Empress Elisabeth
- James Robertson Justice as Prince of Wales
- Geneviève Page as Countess Larisch
- Andréa Parisy as Princess Stéphanie
- Ivan Desny as Count Josef Hoyos
- Fabienne Dali as Mizzi Kaspar
- Véronique Vendell as Lisl Stockau
- Howard Vernon as Prince Montenuovo
- Irene von Meyendorf as Countess Stockau
- Mony Dalmes as Baroness Helen Vetsera
- Bernard Lajarrige as Loschek
- Maurice Teynac as Moritz Szeps
- Charles Millot as Count Taafe
- Jacques Berthier as Archduke Jean Salvator
- Roger Pigaut as Count Karolyi
- Lyne Chardonnet as Hannah Vetsera
- Moustache as Bratfisch
- Roger Lumont as Inspector Losch
- Jacqueline Lavielle as Marinka
- Alain Saury as Baltazzi
- Jean-Claude Bercq as Michel de Bragance
- Jean-Michel Rouzière
- Jacques Ciron
- Liane Daydé
- Friedrich von Ledebur
See also
- Mayerling (1936) feature film directed by Anatole Litvak
- Mayerling (1957) TV film also directed by Litvak