The King Steps Out

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.

During the 19th century, Empress Sisi of the Austria-Hungarian Empire was the darling of Europe. She was pretty and the newspapers turned her into a sensation. In many ways, the hubbub around her was like that of the late Princess Diana Windsor...with people adoring her though not exactly sure why. In real life, Sisi was a strange, vain lady who couldn't live up to this public image...after all, who could?! Well, because of her huge popularity in her time, it's not at all surprising that she was the subject of quite a few films...such as the lavish Sisi series starring Romy Schneider. Like this series, "The King Steps Out" is pretty much fiction...showing a strong romance with her eventual husband, Emperor Franz Josef...though in real life they could barely stand each other and spent much of their married life apart! So, if you see this film, remember that it is NOT really a biography...just an excuse to see the opera star Grace Moore sing!

The story purports to be the love story of Franz Josef and Sisi. Originally, the Emperor was going to marry Sisi's sister, but the sister already had a boyfriend. As for Sisi, she and the Emperor meet and fall in love...not knowing who the other was. All in all, both appear to be swell, down to Earth people. Apart from the names, pretty much all the story is fiction.

So is it any good? Well, the history teacher within me says no because the film is a historical nightmare. But, on the positive side, while it's a Grace Moore film, she doesn't sing all that much...a major plus for most viewers since most viewers don't want to hear opera music. Overall, pleasant fluff that bears almost no semblance to Sisi or Franz Josef.

"The King Steps Out" is a very good comedy romance and musical. The latter is mostly in seeming impromptu songs that female lead, Grace Moore, sings a few of. This is a whimsical treatment of some real-life people in the time of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It's a highly fictitious account of the meeting and marriage of Franz Joseph I and his cousin Elisabeth. In real life, he was 18 and she was 10 when they first met in 1848. He became emperor that year, survived an assassination attempt five years later, and then married Elisabeth ("Sisi") in 1854 when she was 16.

But the rest of the characters and parts of the story are fairly accurate. The king's mother, Sophie, had a strong hand behind the scene, and she had originally wanted him to marry Sisi's sister, Helene, who was four years older than she.

Well, this isn't meant to be a history lesson or biography, but a sort of fairy tale romance and comedy. And, it's quite good on those fronts, as well as offering a good look and listen to Grace Moore. I knew nothing of the then famous opera singer and actress. She made only nine films and performed in operas until her tragic death at age 48 in 1947. She had just finished a performance to a packed house of 4,000 people in Copenhagen on January 27. But, the plane she boarded to fly to Stockholm crashed and exploded on takeoff.

Moore has a very good voice and a very sparkling character that I think lights up this story. Franchot Tone plays opposite her as Emperor Franz Joseph. All of the cast are good, including three very prominent and excellent supporting actors of the 1930s and 1940s in comedy. Walter Connolly plays Sisi's father, Maximilian, the Duke of Bavaria. Raymond Walburn plays Col. Von Kempen. And Thurston Hall plays the Major. A number of other very good actors of the day contribute. Herman Bing has a considerable supporting role as the flustered proprietor of the Ox Inn, Pretzelberger. The one strange cast member is Victor Jory who plays Capt. Palfi, who's in love with Princess Helena. He would become mostly known for many later roles as an outlaw in Westerns or a shady character in crime and drama films.

The sprightly performance of Grace Moore and the comedy with Tone, Connolly and Bing make this a very fun film to watch. Beer drinkers are wont to get quite thirsty watching this film, with the Duke of Bavaria having to try so many brews.

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.

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.