''Mayerling'' is a 1968

romantic Romantic may refer to: Genres and eras * The Romantic era, an artistic, literary, musical and intellectual movement of the 18th and 19th centuries ** Romantic music, of that era ** Romantic poetry, of that era ** Romanticism in science, of that e ...

tragedy film starring

Omar Sharif Omar Sharif ( ar, عمر الشريف ; born Michel Yusef Dimitri Chalhoub , 10 April 193210 July 2015) was an Egyptian actor, generally regarded as one of his country's greatest male film stars. He began his career in his native country in the ...

, Catherine Deneuve,

James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was the top box-office attraction in the UK in 1944 and 1945; his British films inc ...

, Ava Gardner,

Geneviève Page Geneviève Page (born Geneviève Bonjean, 13 December 1927) is a French actress with a film career spanning fifty years and also numerous English-speaking film productions. She is the daughter of French art collector Jacques Paul Bonjean (1899– ...

, James Robertson Justice and Andréa Parisy. It was written and directed by

Terence Young Terence or Terry Young may refer to: *Terence Young (director) (1915–1994), British film director * Terence Young (politician) (born 1952), Canadian Conservative Party politician * Terence Young (writer), Canadian writer * Terry Young (American p ...

. 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 Elizabeth Petrovna (russian: Елизаве́та (Елисаве́та) Петро́вна) (), also known as Yelisaveta or Elizaveta, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular Russian ...

(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 to no avail. Rudolf finds refuge from a loveless marriage with Princess Stéphanie (Parisy) by taking a mistress, Baroness

Maria Vetsera Baroness Marie Alexandrine "Mary" von Vetsera (19 March 1871 – 30 January 1889) was an Austrian noblewoman and the Mistress (lover), mistress of Rudolf, Crown Prince of Austria. Vetsera and the crown prince were found dead at his hunting lodge i ...

(Deneuve). Franz Joseph I 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. 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, nor prospects for peace.

Cast

as Crown Prince Rudolf * Catherine Deneuve as Baroness Maria Vetsera *

Emperor Franz Josef Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...

* Ava Gardner as

* James Robertson Justice as Prince of Wales *

as Countess Larisch * Andréa Parisy as Princess Stéphanie *

Ivan Desny Ivan Desny (born Ivan Nikolaevich Desnitskij; 28 December 1922 – 13 April 2002) was a Chinese-born actor of Russian descent. Early life Desny was born in Peking, China. Career Desny was a film actor. Bilingual in French and German, he acted ...

as Count Josef Hoyos *

Fabienne Dali Fabienne Dali (born Marie-Louise De Vos; 22 September 1941) is a Belgian actress. She appeared in more than fifteen films from 1960 to 1969. Selected filmography References External links * 1941 births Living people Belgian film ac ...

as Mizzi Kaspar *

Véronique Vendell Véronique Vendell (born Véronique Duraffourd, 21 July 1942) is a French actress. She appeared mainly in French and German productions, but had roles in both Peter Glenville's ''Becket'' and Sam Peckinpah's ''Cross of Iron'' and its sequel '' ...

as Lisl Stockau *

Howard Vernon Howard Vernon (15 July 1908 – 25 July 1996) was a Swiss actor. In 1961, he became a favorite actor of Spanish film director Jesús Franco and began starring in many low-budget horror and erotic films produced in Spain and France. After po ...

as Prince Montenuovo * Irene von Meyendorf as Countess Stockau *

Mony Dalmes Mony may refer to: People * Abdul Hamid Mony (born 1989), Indonesian footballer * Pierre Mony (1896–1980), French international footballer * Olivier Mony (born 1966), French writer and journalist * Sivaram Mony (born 1991), Indian feature f ...

as Baroness Helen Vetsera *

Bernard Lajarrige Bernard La Jarrige (25 February 1912 – 29 May 1999) was a French film and television actor.Paietta p.17 His name is sometimes written as Bernard Lajarrige. Selected filmography * '' Orage'' (1938) - Un copain (uncredited) * ''La cité des lumi ...

as Loschek *

Maurice Teynac Maurice Teynac (1915–1992) was a French actor. In 1948 he starred in the film '' The Lame Devil'' under Sacha Guitry. In 1954 he appeared in London's West End in J.B. Priestley's poorly reviewed play ''The White Countess''. Selected filmogr ...

as Moritz Szeps *

Charles Millot Charles Millot (born Veljko Milojević; 23 December 1921 – 6 October 2003) was a Yugoslav-born French actor who made many film appearances over a 35-year period. His notable film appearances include: '' The Train'' (1964), ''The Night of t ...

as Count Taafe *

Jacques Berthier Jacques Berthier (27 June 1923 – 27 June 1994) was a French composer of liturgical music, best known for writing much of the music used at Taizé Community, Taizé. Biography Berthier was born in Auxerre, Burgundy (region), Burgundy; both of ...

as Archduke Jean Salvator *

Roger Pigaut Roger Pigaut (birth name Roger Paul Louis Pigot) (8 April 1919 – 24 December 1989) was a French actor and film director. He appeared in 40 films between 1943 and 1980. Partial filmography * ''Retour de flamme'' (1943) - Maurice * '' Lov ...

as Count Karolyi * Lyne Chardonnet as Hannah Vetsera * Moustache as Bratfisch *

Roger Lumont Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

as Inspector Losch *

Jacqueline Lavielle Jacqueline may refer to: People * Jacqueline (given name), including a list of people with the name * Jacqueline Moore (born 1964), ring name "Jacqueline", American professional wrestler Arts and entertainment * Jacqueline (1923 film), ''Jac ...

as Marinka *

Alain Saury Alain may refer to: People * Alain (given name), common given name, including list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Alain (surname) * "Alain", a pseudonym for cartoonist Daniel Brustlein * Alain, a standard author abbreviation u ...

as Baltazzi * Jean-Claude Bercq as Michel de Bragance *

Jean-Michel Rouzière Jean-Michel Rouzière (died 13 February 1989) was a French comic actor and theatre head. Life He headed the théâtre du Palais-Royal from 1965 then headed the Théâtre des Variétés from 1975. He was made a knight of the Légion d'Honneur. ...

Jacques Ciron Jacques Ciron (17 May 1928 – 7 December 2022) was a French actor. Biography Ciron was born in the 17th arrondissement of Paris on 17 May 1928. After gaining recognition for his looks and his voice, he became very popular in cinema and boulev ...

Liane Daydé __NOTOC__ Liane may refer to: People Given name * Liane Augustin (1927–1978), German Austrian actress and singer * Liane Bahler (1982–2007), German racing cyclist * Liane Balaban (born 1980), Canadian actress * Liane Berkowitz (1923–19 ...

* Friedrich von Ledebur

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control 1968 films British historical drama films 1960s historical drama films Remakes of French films 1960s English-language films 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 1960s British films 1960s French films

Plot

Cast

See also

References

External links