That's how a love ended
How a love ended is a German film drama from 1934 directed by Karl Hartl . The leading roles are cast with Paula Wessely , Willi Forst and Gustaf Gründgens .
action
Since Josephine cannot give Napoleon I an heir to the throne, Talleyrand, Napoleon's political advisor, does everything possible to convince her that a divorce is inevitable. The emperor absolutely needs a son. Josephine was 47 years old at the time and suffered greatly from having to part with her husband. After the divorce was finalized, Metternich, who was in charge of Austria's fate, received a letter from Talleyrand that began with the words: “I have done my own thing in this matter, do your own thing.” Napoleon himself turned to Kaiser at the same time Franz I of Austria, who is supposed to help him because the Corsican wants a Habsburg princess at his side and on the French throne. A reply from Metternich was soon received, stating that Franz I agreed to such a connection and was keeping an eye on his eldest daughter, 19-year-old Marie-Louise.
The young Archduchess, who is staying in the couple's summer residence in Hungary with her second wife Franz I, the often ailing Empress Maria Ludovika and other children of the emperor, has no inkling of the sword of Damocles that hovers over her. Marie-Louise has a good, friendly relationship with her father's second wife, who is not much older than herself. Ludovika hates Napoleon because he not only defeated Austria, but also usurped the duchy of her brother Franz von Modena.
Metternich is convinced that a connection between the houses of Habsburg and Bonaparte is politically necessary, but he runs into unexpected difficulties in carrying out his plan. Suddenly the Austrian emperor no longer seems willing to give his daughter to the revolutionary dictator and emperor as a wife. He had promised her in the past that she could choose a man according to her inclination. So he leaves the statesman free to obtain the consent of the Archduchess for such a connection himself. Since Metternich knows all too well that Marie-Louise gives a lot to the opinion of Empress Maria Ludovika, which Napoleon detests, he is well aware that such an undertaking is almost impossible. When he pointed this out to the emperor, he said casually whether and how he could manage it was ultimately his business, he was a diplomat. Metternich thinks back and forth and then comes up with the idea of entrusting the brother Maria Ludovikas to Duke Franz von Modena with the task of changing his mind. Duke Franz, who no longer has any real job after Napoleon's deposition, needs money to maintain his usual standard of living, as Metternich can quickly find out. So the statesman has the young duke instructed a larger sum and connects with the request to go to Hungary to his sister and there to prepare everything for an advertisement of Napoleon for the young Marie-Louise. Although Franz does not want to comply with this request at first, he is in Metternich's debt by accepting the amount of money and ultimately agrees.
In Hungary, Franz is greeted with great joy by his sister and the children, and when he faces Marie-Louise, he recognizes in her his former playmate. Marie-Louise's behavior quickly makes it clear to him that he was and is her first great love and that she has not forgotten the promise he once made to her. When the Archduchess was 15 years old, Franz had assured her that he would come back to ask her for her hand. Marie-Louise had assured him at the time that she would wait for him. The Archduchess, who is firmly convinced that Franz came to Hungary for this reason, is overjoyed. She enjoys every hour with the man who her heart belongs to. Franz sincerely returns her love. Again and again he postpones the point in time when he would have to tell Marie-Louise what he knows about her future fate. When he tells about Napoleon's divorce and the reasons for it, Ludovika finds her opinion of the Corsican confirmed and Marie-Louise innocently regrets the future wife at this man's side. But even now Franz does not find the courage to speak openly with the woman he loves, the happiness that he feels with her and that he does not want to miss is too great. So the summer goes by as if in a frenzy.
Maria Ludovika is delighted to see how happy Marie-Louise and her brother are with each other and also writes about it in her letter to the emperor. He is alarmed and sees only one possibility. He replies to his wife, describes the facts to her and points out that Marie-Louise's marriage to Napoleon is now a done deal. The Empress falls ill and Franz travels to Vienna to speak to Marie-Louise's father and ask him to reverse his decision. However, he must quickly realize that the emperor himself has to bear it heavily and would never have decided that if there was another way out for his country. At the same time, Metternich was speaking to Marie-Louise in Hungary, who by now knew that she should marry Napoleon. He made it clear to the young Archduchess that a war was imminent if she did not accept Napoleon's proposal, a war with a predictable outcome, to which the Austrian empire and his dynasty would fall victim. And all because she wants to put her personal happiness above the fate of her country. The young woman agrees to marry the French emperor.
On the day of her wedding, Marie-Louise was given the last opportunity to speak to Franz von Modena. Although she now knows everything, she thanks Franz for the happiest time of her life. When Marie-Louise stands alone in front of the altar in a long distance wedding, you don't see a single happy face among those present. Metternich is also affected by the loneliness that surrounds her. He murmurs softly to himself: “You happy Austria, get married ...”, to which Franz, who is very close to him, replies: “Even with that you will not connect countries in the long run, Herr von Metternich, and the world with eternal ones Give peace! ”When organ tones fill the church and show that the wedding ceremony has taken place, it is the end of a great love.
Production and Background
This is how a love ended was created between the beginning of August and mid-September 1934 in the Tobis studios in Berlin-Johannisthal . The external shoots took place in Würzburg and Hungary . The production company was Cine-Allianz Tonfilm GmbH (Berlin). Fritz Klotzsch was in charge of both production and line production, while Viktor Eisenbach was the production manager. For the Filmbauten was Werner Schlichting responsible for the sound Hans Grimm . For Paula Wessely it was her second role in a sound film after Masquerade .
The film was censored on October 16, 1934. It premiered on October 18, 1934 in the Ufa-Palast am Zoo in Berlin. Due to the source material from 1934, the film was later subtitled in places. A planned English-language film version was never realized.
publication
- Portugal on November 5, 1934 and November 5, 1935 under the title Assim Acaba to Grande Amor
- The Netherlands on January 25, 1935 under the titles Het einde van eenenschede and Liefdesfinale as well as So ended a love
- Denmark on February 4, 1935 under the title Kejserens Bryllupsklokker
- Spain on April 8, 1935 in Madrid under the title Maria Luisa de Austria
- Finland on May 10, 1936
- Czechoslovakia 1937 under the title This is how a love ended
- Japan on August 18, 1938 under the title Sasayaki no kokage
- Brazil under the title Assim Acaba to Grande Amor
- United Kingdom under the title So Ended a Great Love
- Greece under the title Ta dakrya tis vasilissis
- Italy under the title Così finì un amore
- Yugoslavia under the Serbian title Ljubavi je kraj
- worldwide English title End of an Affair
history
Marie-Louise of Austria (1791–1847) was the daughter of Franz II./I. as well as his second wife Maria Theresa of Naples-Sicily and second wife of Napoleon I. Marie-Louise lost her mother at the age of 15. A year later, her father married Maria Ludovika Beatrix von Österreich-Este . Due to an illness of Maria Ludovika, this marriage remained childless. By marrying his eldest daughter with Napoleon, Franz II./I. a consolidation of the political relations between the French Empire and the Austrian Empire. Napoleon, however, hoped that this connection would legitimize his empire. In March 1810, a long distance marriage took place between the then 18-year-old Archduchess and the Emperor of the French.
As indicated in the film, Marie-Louise, like her stepmother, loathed Napoleon for having militarily humiliated her beloved father several times. As in the film, the young lady fell in love with Archduke Franz von Modena-Este , the brother of her stepmother Maria Ludovika , at a very young age . However, her father would not have consented to such a marriage. As in the film, Marie-Louise gave in to her lot and viewed what happened to her as a kind of personal sacrifice for the House of Habsburg . She gave Napoleon the longed-for heir to the throne, Napoléon François Charles Joseph Bonaparte , but was anything but popular with the French people. After Napoleon's abdication in 1814, she fled to Vienna with her son.
criticism
Film.at was of the opinion that the film “did not know how to make too much of its promising subject because it lacked the courage to undertake a real main and state action” and “evade into the private sphere”. Nonetheless, it is “interesting to see how Paula Wessely is still looking for her role here and trying out various attitudes. So girlish ”.
The television magazine Hörzu said: "Captivating, freely told biography with outstanding actors."
Karlheinz Wendtland was of the opinion that Paula Wessely's second film did not deliver what Masquerade had expected. Wendtland stated: “Trimming history for the feature film is unthinkable. The fate of the Austrian emperor's daughter Marie-Luise, who was coupled to Napoleon for political reasons by Prince Metternich, touches the audience, but generates more respect than emotion. The film changes the plot and characters in favor of a touching love story with heroic renunciation. Despite the excellent acting achievements of Wessely, Gustaf Gründgens' and Willi Forst, the latter in the role of the Duke of Modena, whom Marie-Luise loves, the film often leaves you cold. "
See also
Web links
- Thus ended a love in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- That's how a love ended at filmportal.de
- So ended a love 18 film photos at cinema.de
- So ended a love film brochure no. 42/1934 at retrografix blogspot.de
- So ended a love movie posters at m.filmaffinity.com
- This is how a Liebe Illustrierter Film-Kurier No. 940 ended
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ulrich J. Klaus: Deutsche Tonfilme, Volume 5, 1934. S. 201. Berlin 1993
- ↑ This is how a love at film.at ended
- ↑ This is how a love ended In: Hörzu / hoerzu.de. Retrieved April 17, 2016.
- ^ Karlheinz Wendtland: Beloved Kintopp. All German feature films from 1929–1945 with numerous artist biographies born in 1933 and 1934, edited by the author Karlheinz Wendtland, Berlin, Chapter: Films 1934, Film No. 108.