Sa majesté est de sortie

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.

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 as a feisty younger daughter of the eccentric Duke of Bavaria (Walter Connolly) whose oldest daughter is off to Vienna to marry the Emperor (Franchot Tone). Moore follows along, masquerading as a dressmaker. The arranged royal marriage when Tone spies Moore and is smitten. The masquerade continues in a merry mix-up until the finale.

Moore is good here, light and comic, but the songs are all rather bland. Tone is handsome as the Emperor, and Connolly steals the show as the beer-guzzling duke. Co-stars include the wonderful Herman Bing as proprietor of the inn, Elisabeth Risdon as the Empress, Nana Bryant as the mother, Frieda Inescort as Helena, Victor Jory as Palfi, Eve Southern as the fortune teller, and Johnny Arthur as the inept chief of police. Others include Thurston Hall, Raymond Walburn, Al Shean, E.E. Clive, William Hopper, and George Hassell.

Moore had a hit-or-miss 9-film career in the 30s, She flopped badly in her 1930 debut in A LADY'S MORALS but had a big hit and an Oscar nomination for ONE NIGHT OF LOVE in 1934.

And yes, Broadway Superstar Gwen Verdon made her film debut here as a ballerina. She was 11 years old.

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.