Sa majesté est de sortie

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.

"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.

A really unique opportunity to watch a Sternberg musical comedy: the style is very much in the Lubitsch mold (the two directors were basically rivals on the Paramount lot, though this was actually made at Columbia) – but the former shows little interest in the plot complications and innuendos which are more or less mandated by this type of sophisticated light fare! Leading man Franchot Tone was not the obvious choice for the genre either, yet he acquits himself quite well under the circumstances. Incidentally, this is one of 3 films I own – but actually the first I have watched – that were designed as vehicles for operetta star Grace Moore (her billing preceded here with the epithet "Miss"); while she handles the romantic comedy angle adequately enough, ironically, the numerous songs she is made to deliver prove utterly forgettable (and the sound bafflingly fades in and out during each one of them)!

Anyway, the plot involves a royal marriage within the same family(!), except that the girl concerned (who has never met her husband-to-be) is in love with someone else (who happens to be the adjutant of her intended, atypically played by Victor Jory)! The heroine is one of her sisters who decides to take action to thwart their domineering mother's plans – little did she know, however, that she would fall for the Emperor herself (before whom she appears as a commoner!) and that he repays the sentiment (interestingly, she is both berated by her sister for wanting to usurp the title and, before her identity is properly established, imprisoned for compromising the nuptials!). Other interested parties are Moore's father Walter Connolly (who similarly does not flaunt his rank and is also very fond of beer), typically befuddled Colonel Raymond Walburn, Major Thurston Hall (given to exaggerated facial expressions), Chief Of The Secret Police Johnny Arthur (his face was vaguely familiar until I realized he had been the hero of the Roland West/Lon Chaney 'old dark house' spoof THE MONSTER [1925]!) and, most hilariously, flustered hotelier Herman Bing (especially by way of his vocal inflection and the assorted guttural sounds he emanates).

In the end, even if the director's uneasiness with the material is palpable throughout (reportedly, he even asked for it not to be included in retrospectives of his work!), this is good-looking (one expects no less from a Sternberg picture, and the Ruritanian setting is certainly congenial to his pictorial sense) and surprisingly enjoyable. For the record, the copy I viewed was culled from an old TV broadcast complete with stops for publicity spots!

Notable for starring Grace Moore, being directed by Josef Von Sternberg and having tunes by none other than violin virtuoso and composer Fritz Kreisler, 'The King Steps Out' is still an enchanting and very entertaining film in its own right.

Its weak point is the story, which is very slight and occasionally veers on the wrong side of absurd. Herman Bing's role is also a little over-exposed, and while Fritz Kreisler's songs are lovely, lushly orchestrated and full of energy and pathos the only ones that really have unforgettable staying power are "Stars in My Eyes" and "What Shall Remain" (there's absolutely nothing wrong with them, they just don't have the wow factor).

'The King Steps Out' is a gorgeous-looking film though, with sumptuous period detail and photography that really shimmers. The script is heart-warming, light-footed and smart, with Walter Connolly and especially Herman Bing (did mention about him being over-exposed but still loved the performance) providing some scene-stealing moments, Bing especially delighting by facial expressions, use of voice and body language.

Sternberg directs more than competently, personally didn't think any lack of trust in the material came through, and the energy and enchanting charm 'The King Steps Out' exudes in every frame makes it such an easy film to like. Moore proves to be a graceful leading lady, beautiful in voice and a deft comedienne, while Franchet Tone is elegantly charming. Their chemistry is sweet and wholly natural.

All in all, slight but enchanting. Moore may be the main attraction, but she is certainly not the only reason to see this. 7/10 Bethany Cox

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.