 The film was made by Les Films Corona and Winchester and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.It was based on the novels "Mayerling" by Claude Anet and "L'Archiduc" by Michel Arnold and the 1936 film "Mayerling", directed by Anatole Litvak, which dealt with the real-life Mayerling Incident.In the 1880s, Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria (Sharif) clashes with his father, Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria (Mason) and his mother Empress Elisabeth (Gardner), over implementing progressive policies for their country.