Das Schicksal derer von Habsburg. Die Tragödie eines Kaiserreiches (1928)

At the center of this biographical costume drama are the key episodes in the Austrian imperial family’s history, dramatically reenacted and linked to the following major events: beginning with Crown Prince Rudolf’s youth, his forced marriage to the Belgian princess Stéphanie, and his hopeless love for Baroness Mary Vetsera, culminating in the bloody tragedy (murder and suicide) at the hunting lodge in Mayerling (1889); continuing with the assassination of Empress Elisabeth in Geneva by an anarchist (1898), the assassination of heir to the throne Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife in Sarajevo and the ensuing outbreak of the First World War (1914), and the death of the aged emperor (1916); and concluding with the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy and the forced departure from Vienna of the young Emperor Karl, who had reigned for only two years (1918). Throughout, the film carefully avoids any political stance, historical context, or judgment, and instead focuses solely on the outward pageantry of a ruling family, with all its highs and lows. Original footage from the assassination in Sarajevo (1914), the funeral ceremonies in 1916, and the final phase in 1918 has been incorporated into the film.