Omar Sharif is Archduke Rudolf, the scoundrel heir to the Austo-Hungary empire whose love for Maria Vetsera spelled his doom. The fact that Catherine Deneuve plays Vetsera will help you to understand how that could happen. Beyond some great chemistry between the two stars, there's very little to recommend in this dull film. Though set against the backdrop of Austria at a time of intense unrest (the early stages in the dissolution of the Habsburg monarchy), director Terence Young does not exploit that intrigue in the least. Instead the film is lumbering when it should be exciting. The acting is very uneven. Sharif is fine but Deneuve seems very distant. As the walrus mustached Franz Joseph I, James Mason is wasted and Ava Gardner, as his wife, shows up in a few scenes encouraging Sharif's obsession with Deneuve. On the plus side, there's James Robertson-Justice, excellent as a wily Prince of Wales and Genvieve Page as Sharif's matchmaking cousin. The cinematography by Henri Alekan is stunning. Written by three people, including Young.