40 years on: Remembering the legacy of Romy Schneider

Though it wasn't her first role in front of the camera, "Sissi" had the most impact on the then-16-year-old Romy Schneider. After filming with director Ernst Marischka, Schneider was a star. The remarkable success of the first film was followed by several others; Schneider's popularity increased exponentially with each new role. Even today, many in Germany still see the actress as Sissi.

The Heimatfilm genre was all the rage in Germany at the end of the 1950s, as was light cinematic fare. When "Sissi" was released, it became one of the most popular pillars of German cinema. With her next film, "Scampolo," Schneider upped the ante — appearing in what is arguably one of her best films of the era as an orphan girl at Paul Hubschmid's side.

Cast as a young Leni by Orson Welles, Romy Schneider made her international debut in a film version of Kafka's "The Trial." The young Austrian-born actress appeared alongside Jeanne Moreau and Anthony Perkins and landed on the radar of many international directors.

By the end of the 1960s, Schneider had already made a few films in France, and her performance alongside her then boyfriend and film partner Alain Delon in "The Swimming Pool" became a box-office success. The elegant melodrama, which relied above all on beautiful images, made headlines — especially in the tabloid press.

With the release of "The Things of Life" in 1970, Romy Schneider hit a milestone in her career. In French filmmaker Claude Sautet, she had found "her" director. Under Sautet's direction, she could show what she had. She was able to rid herself of the "Sissi" typecasting and establish herself as a character actress.

In 1972, Schneider reprised her role as Empress Elisabeth, but in a film of a very different artistic caliber. The great Italian director Luchino Visconti used the now acclaimed actress in his magnificent four-hour film "Ludwig II." Playing alongside Helmut Berger in the title role, Romy Schneider radiated beauty and grandeur.

The tabloid press in Germany wouldn't leave Romy Schneider alone throughout the 70s and she found herself fighting many stereotypes, including one rumor that said she preferred filming in France as she wanted to put her "Sissi" past behind her. Scandalous films such as "Trio Infernal" (1974) only reconfirmed those rumors in the eyes of Germans.

Directly after the release of "Trio Infernal," Romy Schneider filmed "The Most Important Thing: Love," a film which won prizes in France but few fans in Germany. In it, she plays a down-on-her-luck actress who films soft porn to make money and in so doing, Schneider tested her own boundaries. The movie was excessive both in its acting and in the amount of skin shown.

Schneider's attempts to regain her footing in German cinema had nothing to do with her acting talents. Aleksandar Petrovic's film version of Heinrich Böll's novel "Group Portrait with a Lady" did poorly at the box office; artistically, it wasn't quite all there. For some reason, "New German Cinema" directors did not know where to start with the German star either.

Schneider's later years were overshadowed by the tragic accidental death of her son. The impact of this private suffering can be felt in her last role, in "The Passerby," which appeared in German theaters in 1982. She died a few months before the German premiere.

Even 40 years after her death, interest in Romy Schneider continues unabated. With their new documentary "Romy, femme libre" or "Romy, a free woman," which just premiered in Cannes, Lucie Caries and Clementine Deroudille depart from the often-repeated image of Schneider as a fragile world star and victim of her fate. Instead, they show her as a courageous, determined and free woman.