The King Steps Out

Every serious director seems to have one frivolous gem of a comedy in him. Bergman had Smiles of a Summer Night. Hitchcock had Mr. and Mrs. Smith. This is von Sternberg's. The sometimes starchy "Miss Grace Moore" is relaxed and charming. Kriesler's tunes are as buoyant and sleek as the decor. Rich and sweet as a Viennese pastry and total escapism -- if one can forget the sad fate of the real-life Cissy who was mistreated by husband and mother-in-law and eventually assassinated. Another Hollywood deviation: Cissy was noted for her gorgeous hip-length black hair. Moore has short blonde curls. Oh, well, forget such petty details and let's have another delicious, delirious waltz.

This one is tough to honestly evaluate. On the one hand you have Grace Moore and her wonderful voice, able and adequate supporting roles, notably by the always reliable and graceful Frieda Inescort, Franchot Tone and Walter Connoly, and of course Sternberg's direction. For me at least that's reason enough to watch any movie, even this one which in some ways is an utter disaster. On the other there's just too much silliness, foolishness and Herman Bing. He can be aggravating enough even in small doses but he does way too much of that trademark tongue rolling and quaking of his for my taste.

And then there's the ages of the real Sisi (Moore's character, Elisabeth of Bavaria) and Franz Josef (Tone's character). When Sisi married Franz Josef she was 16 and he 24, not 40 and 30, the ages of Moore and Tone respectively. Even given the generous poetic license the producers took with the real story which is nothing if not tragic, there's only one way to look at this movie. It is nothing more than a vehicle for Grace Moore. And maybe that's reason enough to watch it.

I am reminded of the cry of my toddler nephew when witnessing a minor mishap, a plaintive beatific "oh no!", often with his little finger raised aloft; I am reminded of this when examining this film's reputation on the IMDb, and sadly, it appears to have been seen by few people. This is not typical von Sternberg heroin, and I can only think that the few people who have seen it here were expecting such. The soul of the film is much more to do with Ernst Lubitsch. I think it does very well on that level, it's a saucy comedy. One thing that is typical of von Sternberg however, is that the movie has dream absurdity. The clan of Habsburg blue-bloods on display here have more in common with the Munsters than with any sort of historical reality.

The film is mostly a farce. The Empress Mother of the Austro-Hungarian Empire decides to marry her son Emperor Franz Josef (played with elegance by Franchot Tone) off to a relative, the princess Helena, who is a pretty little drip, seemingly permanently anaesthetised. Her sister Sissi wishes to save her from this fate and henpecks her curmudgeonly father Maximilian, Duke of Bavaria, out of the door to intercede on Helena's behalf to stop the arranged marriage.

You would not guess given the absurdly low rating of this film that it a bona fide rib-tickler. Uncredited Raymond Brown as the innkeeper of The Golden Ox is simply hilarious. Just watch him try to catch his own whistle. One thing that I like to see in a comedy is misplaced hysteria, the innkeeper's hilarious rasping, lisping, and stuttering, when he gets out of control and confused are a glory, similarly the chief of the secret police, who really appears to be afraid of his own shadow, will have you rolling on the floor as he flinches and twitches.

Sissi and Franz Josef's lovemaking is the backbone of the movie and is amusing and constantly carefree, and even raunchy (given the times).

I enjoyed seeing the corps de ballet in this film, practising in a hall, Sternberg's play of light and dark attempting to give Degas a run for his money in terms of ballet studies. There seemed almost no reason for the scene, but I'm not complaining.

This is not one of the great movies, but it is something I specifically chose as Christmas fare par excellence, and I chose well.

Grace Moore stars with Franchot Tone and Walter Connolly in "The King Steps Out" from 1936. It's directed by the Josef von Sternberg, normally known for more serious fare.

The operetta concerns the Duke of Bavaria (Connolly) bringing his older daughter to Vienna to marry the Emperor Franz Josef. His younger daughter, Sissi, goes along and poses as a dressmaker. She catches the eye of the Emperor, but he doesn't realize she's royalty.

Moore, a Metropolitan Opera star, enjoyed a nine-year film career. She had a beautiful voice and was a vivacious Sissi. Tone is elegant and charming. And the supporting cast is excellent, including Connolly, Victor Jory, and Herman Bing.

There are a couple of problems with this film. The first is that the music isn't great. The second is that the real Emperor Franz Josef was assassinated, as Sissi was 20 years later. A real downer. Plus, they weren't that happy together. If you can pretend these are fictional characters, it's okay.

In Austria and Germany, Sissi is a cult figure on the level of Princess Diana here. Her face appears on products, cookies and jewelry are named after her, there are statues of her, books about her, a play, ballet, as well as a musical and three films about her starring Romy Schneider that are shown at Christmas.

Of note, this was the film debut of 11-year-old Gwen Verdon, who dances in the ballet.

I've always liked Grace Moore in movies, though I'm not quite sure why. She wasn't the greatest singer, and she had some annoying vocal mannerisms. But she certainly sang with enthusiasm, and that is probably what I've enjoyed about her film appearances.

Sometimes, as in her first success, One Night of Love, the singing was spirited but her delivery of dialog often stilted. That's not the case in this movie. She really comes across most often as very comfortable and natural, qualities that her co-star, Franchot Tone, had in spades. That, I think, is what makes this movie work for me. They are very good in their scenes together, very believable.

What remains a problem for me is the musical aspect of this movie. Others have complained that the songs aren't memorable. For me some are, like The Old Refrain, others not. But the big problem, for me, is that all the musical numbers, with the exception of one march, are vocal solos for Moore. (The march is sung by a men's chorus with Moore singing over them.) Because none of the other characters ever join in the singing, the musical numbers seem isolated from the rest of the picture, and it comes off less as a musical than as a romantic comedy with inserted songs. If you contrast it with a Jeannette MacDonald/Nelson Eddy or Maurice Chevalier picture from the same era, you see the difference.

The plot, as Viennese operettas go, isn't bad. The supporting actors are all good, though I agree that a little of Herman Bing goes a long way, and there is more than a little of him here.

All in all, an agreeable romantic comedy, with inserted songs that don't do anything to advance the story and could, indeed, be cut out without any loss in most cases.