Sissi (film)

Did You Know?

• Finance for the film came in part from Allied Artists.
• Scenes of Sissi's youth on Lake Starnberg were filmed at Fuschl Castle on Lake Fuschl, not at Possenhofen Castle.
• The wedding celebration was filmed at St. Michael's Church, Vienna.

Plot

Princess Elisabeth, called Sissi, is the second oldest daughter of Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria and Princess Ludovika of Bavaria. She grows up carefree at Possenhofen Castle on Lake Starnberg. With her mother and older sister Helene, she travels to Bad Ischl. Archduchess Sophie, Ludovika's sister and mother of Emperor Franz Joseph I, intends for Helene to become engaged to the emperor. Sissi is forbidden from social events due to her impetuous nature. While fishing in the forest, she meets Franz Joseph by chance; he does not recognize her as his cousin. He invites her on a hunting trip in the Alps, where they grow close. Sissi learns of the planned marriage between Franz Joseph and Helene. The emperor says he envies the man who will marry Sissi and feels no connection to Helene. Sissi, distraught by loyalty to her sister, runs away. Helene later reveals the engagement plan. At the emperor's birthday celebration, Franz Joseph sees Sissi and realizes who she is. He confesses his love and proposes. Sissi refuses out of loyalty to Helene. Franz Joseph defies his mother and announces his betrothal to Sissi. Helene leaves in tears, and Sissi obeys the emperor's wishes.

Reception

An earlier film about the empress was The King Steps Out, a 1936 American comedy directed by Josef von Sternberg. The film was seen by an estimated 20 to 25 million people in cinemas and is one of the most successful German-language films. It was followed by The Young Empress (1956) and Fateful Years of an Empress (1957). A condensed English version, Forever My Love, was released in 1962. The trilogy is a popular Christmas television special in German-speaking countries, Hungary, and Italy, partly because the empress's birth date is Christmas Eve 1837. The film's success brought Empress Elisabeth into popular culture and boosted tourism to associated Austrian sites. It inspired the 1992 musical Elisabeth, the most successful German-language musical. The trilogy was parodied in the 2007 animated film Lissi. Romy Schneider's role was her acting breakthrough, and she later played a mature Elisabeth in Luchino Visconti's 1972 film Ludwig. Sissi was very popular on Mainland Chinese television in the 1980s.