Costume
Late-1930s designers went FULL Versailles fever.
Acting
Erna Sack's coloratura could shatter actual crystal.
Director
Herbert Maisch
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Erna Sack was nicknamed 'The German Nightingale' and this was her only leading film role—Hollywood briefly courted her, but she stayed in Nazi-era German cinema.
The 1938 release timing is... awkward: a frothy Louis XIV fantasy made as Europe marched toward war, with Jewish director Maisch soon emigrating.