Mayerling (1968 film)

Mayerling
Theatrical release poster by Tom Jung
Directed by	Terence Young
Produced by	Robert Dorfmann Maurice Jacquin
Written by	Claude Anet (novel) Michel Arnold (book L'Archiduc) Terence Young (screenplay) Denis Cannan (dialogue) Joseph Kessel (uncredited)
Starring	Omar Sharif Catherine Deneuve James Mason Ava Gardner
Music by	Francis Lai (original) Aram Khachaturian (non-original; Adagio from Spartacus
Cinematography	Henri Alekan
Edited by	Monique Bonnot
Production company	Associated British Picture (UK) Winchester-Corona Productions (France)
Distributed by	Warner-Pathé (UK) Valoria Films (France)
Release date	1968 (France, UK)
Running time	140 min
Country	United Kingdom / France
Language	English
Budget	$5,000,000 (estimated)
Box office	$14,754,720

Mayerling is a 1968 romantic tragedy film starring Omar Sharif, Catherine Deneuve, James Mason, Ava Gardner, Geneviève Page, James Robertson Justice and Andréa Parisy. It was written and directed by Terence Young. The film was made by Les Films Corona and Winchester and distributed by MGM.

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. Although not completely historically accurate, the movie was well received, in part because of its lavish sets and costumes.

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 (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 Britain's King Edward VII, provides comic relief.

Rudolf finds refuge from a loveless marriage with Princess Stéphanie (Parisy) by taking a mistress, Baroness Maria Vetsera (Deneuve). Their untimely demise at Mayerling, the imperial family's hunting lodge, is cloaked in mystery, but the film's ending suggests the two lovers made a suicide pact when they decided they could not live in a world without love or prospects for peace.