Mayerling

Mayerling is a 1968 French-British romantic tragedy directed by Terence Young. It dramatizes the ill-fated love affair between Crown Prince Rudolf, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, and the young Baroness Maria Vetsera. Trapped by court intrigue, political pressure and his own despair, Rudolf's forbidden relationship with Maria builds toward the notorious tragedy at the Mayerling hunting lodge, where the couple's story ends in death.

Omar Sharif stars as Rudolf opposite Catherine Deneuve as Maria Vetsera, with a supporting cast that includes James Mason, Ava Gardner, Geneviève Page and James Robertson Justice. The screenplay draws on Claude Anet's novel of the same name, Michel Arnold's L'Archiduc, and Anatole Litvak's 1936 film version of the historical incident. Produced by Les Films Corona and Winchester, the picture was distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.