La princesa encantadora

The first film adaptation of the play "Sissys Brautfahrt" (1931) by Ernst Décsey and Robert Weil, on which the later Sissi trilogy is also based. Columbia then acquired the rights from Ernst Marischka and Hubert Marischka. The songs are by Fritz Kreisler, and it's certainly not surprising that the whole thing was put together by Vienna-born von Sternberg. If we wanted to compare Grace Moore with Romy Schneider, it would obviously result in a travesty, not an analysis. But we could compare with operetta films starring Jeanette MacDonald from MGM, which Columbia attempted to compete with through this film. And that would be an interesting outcome. For me, it's another intriguing encounter with the forgotten chapter of Hollywood operettas of the 1930s, as not everything in European Hollywood necessarily has to have a Lubitsch touch. (16.03.2023)