Romy Schneider: A Star Across Europe

(Hardback)

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The beautiful Austrian-born Romy Schneider was one of Europes most popular film stars and a cult figure from the moment she played Sissi (Empress Elisabeth of Austria) in the hugely popular Sissi trilogy in the mid-1950s. Although Schneider died in 1982, she continues to be one of the most popular stars in European cinema history. This book analyses her impressive career to place her within a range of European female stars, particularly Germanic and French, who defined cultural and ideological images of femininity on European screens. Schneider, who worked and was celebrated in Austria, Germany, Hollywood, and France, represents a fascinating case study to explore key questions of trans-European and transnational stardom, and Marion Hallet makes a valuable intervention in this growing field within star studies. Romy Schneider: A Star Across Europe shows how the representations of women stemming from Schneiders star image supported specific and shifting cultural and social agendas regarding femininity, from the 1950s to the 1980s. This book explores the significance of Schneiders image both when she was working and since, within Western European film culture and celebrity culture.

Reviews

This nuanced study by the Belgian film scholar Marion Hallet is the first to examine from a feminist perspective the arc of Schneiders career, providing a densely researched context for the story of a German-Austrian actor who reinvented herself as a French film star. * Times Literary Supplement *
An insightful and meticulously researched account of a fascinating film star. Hallet skillfully blends sociohistorical context, extra-cinematic materials and close readings of key films to astutely evaluate the impact and legacy of Romy Schneider across European cinema and celebrity culture. A valuable contribution to the growing scholarship on transnational stardom. * Felicity Chaplin, Lecturer in European Languages (French), Monash University, Australia *
In this important book, Marion Hallet at last gives the beautiful and tragic actress Romy Schneider, long neglected by English-speaking audiences, the critical attention she deserves. Hallets impeccably documented study is attentive to the historical and cultural contexts Schneider traversed, from Austria and Germany to Hollywood, Italy and France, and the challenges of her private life, up to her tragic death in 1982. But the book is equally insightful in its scrutiny of Schneiders looks and performance, illuminating the massive cult she generated among generations of continental fans. While Hallet pays due tribute to the formative role of the 1950s Sissi films for the young Schneider, she comprehensively demonstrates the gender complexity and emotional impact of her later roles, in particular in her French films from La Piscine (1969) onwards. This ground-breaking book will undoubtedly bring new fans to the star. But, as Hallet takes us on a journey across Europe with Schneider, the book is also essential reading for anyone interested in female stars and transnational stardom. * Ginette Vincendeau, Professor in Film Studies, Kings College London, UK *
Marion Hallets superb study of Austrian actress Romy Schneider is a rich and incisively comparative examination of what made her a unique European star. Beyond Schneiders significant contribution to the changing definitions of female agency in Austrian, German, French, and even some end-classic Hollywood cinema, Hallett explores a screen legacy that makes her an icon for transnationalism in film even today. * Robert Dassanowsky, CU Distinguished Professor of Film and Languages/Cultures, University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, USA *

Author Bio

Marion Hallet has a PhD in Film Studies from Kings College London, UK. She specializes in star studies, gender representations, popular films and francophone cinema. She is a Scientific Fellow at the University of Namur, Belgium, and a political advisor for higher education and research in francophone Belgium. She has published articles in French Screen Studies, Genre en sries and is a regular contributor to the feminist site le genre et lcran.