Theatrical release 65 years ago today – premiere in Munich
Munich. After the glamorous wedding of the young Emperor Franz to the even younger Elisabeth, the imperial mother attaches great importance to the inexperienced Sissi from Bavaria observing the strong court ceremony in Vienna – this naturally leads to tensions. In the costume drama “Sissi, the young empress” the conflict between Elisabeth (Romy Schneider) and her mother-in-law, Archduchess Sophie (Vilma Degischer), is the focus. The second part of Ernst Marischka’s famous “Sissi” trilogy was also a great cinematic success and is now a classic, broadcast countless times on television. The film came to the cinema 65 years ago (December 19, 1956).
This year the film will be shown again on linear television for Christmas – on the first public holiday in the late afternoon on Erste (ARD, December 25th, 5:10 pm). The film is also available for streaming on RTL + and Netflix. For the anniversary, the Funke media group has released a so-called bookazine, a mixture of book and magazine, with all kinds of details about the film. A first issue of the “Sissi Collector’s Edition” a year ago for the anniversary of the film “Sissi” (1955) was a hit and, according to the publisher, sold 45,000 times.
In the second film, Sissi has to defend herself against her mother in law
After getting to know each other sweetly and the pompous wedding, the second “Sissi” film is a little more serious. After the birth of a daughter, the mother-in-law decides to raise the child herself, which Sissi sees as being taken away. However, Franz Joseph (Karlheinz Böhm) agrees and disappoints Sissi very much.
The young empress leaves Austria and flees to her parents, Duchess Ludovika (Magda Schneider) and Duke Max (Gustav Knuth), in Possenhofen on Lake Starnberg. When the emperor realizes his mistake and brings his wife back to Vienna, Sissi is allowed to raise her daughter herself. SHE realizes, however, that there are also other problems in view of Austria’s tense political situation with Hungary. A trip by Franz Joseph and Sissi to Budapest becomes a risk.