Lola Montes

When released in Paris on December 23^rd 1955 Lola Montes, directed and scripted by Max Ophuls, caused an unprecedented scandal. Faced with the commercial failure of the movie the producers decided to cut some scenes, to translate part of the German dialogue in French and to remix the sound. At the end of 1956, against the director’s wishes, the film was cut further and re-edited chronologically.   In 1966 the producer Pierre Braunberger bought the movie rights and produced a version that was close to the original. In 2008, thanks to digital technology, the Cinematheque Francaise was able to release a completely restored version, faithful to Max Ophuls original with the colours, the stereo sound and the format as was originally intended. 

 

From Court .....

.....to Circus. 

German born Ophuls saw himself as a French director as most of his films were made in France although he did work in other countries including America.  A Franco-German production, financed by the Swiss company Gamma Film, Lola Montes, or to give it its full title The Sins of Lola Montes, was his biggest film to date, his only one in colour and the last completed before his death and his only film to go wildly over budget!

 

The real Lola Montes

The film is based loosely on the life of the 19^th Century Irish cabaret dancer Eliza Rosanna Gilbert, Countess of Landsfeld who was better known by her stage name Lola Montes. It tells the story of her numerous affairs, most notably with Franz Liszt and Ludwig 1 King of Bavaria, coupled with flashbacks to and from her current life as a performer in a circus. The film stars the beautiful Martine Carol as Lola, although the director did not see the French actress as being ideal for the part, how wrong you can be. Peter Ustinov plays the circus master and Anton Walbrook a great King of Bavaria. All three of the main actors having to play there parts using three different languages. Looking back now the film is recognised as somewhat avant-garde, and was deemed something new in cinema. A beautifully restored version is available on DVD; get a copy and marvel at this forgotten gem.

The Queen of Spades

Anton Walbrook.

When I did my introduction for The Fighter (2010) I mentioned The Arsenal Stadium Mystery (1939) as being one of Britain’s rare films that actually dealt successfully with our national sport, incidentally it was one of the first feature films where football was a central element in the plot. As the title suggests it was a murder mystery that revolved around a game of football involving one of the worlds best known football teams. Thorold Dickinson, a rather neglected British film director, screenwriter and producer who first feature film The High Command was made in 1937, directed the movie. In 18 years he only completed a total of nine feature films, his last being in 1955.

By far his best-known film is the creepy ghost story The Queen of Spades made in 1949. A film he agreed to direct with only three days warning, filming was at a small studio in Welwyn Garden City and it was based on a short story by the Russian author Alexander Pushkin. Set in Imperial Russia in 1806, its central character is Captain Herman Suvorin a solider in the lowly German engineers who is driven insane by his desire for success and fortune at the card game Faro, but does not have the funds or the confidence to join other solders at the gambling table. Intrigued by the men’s gossip that tells of the legend of an old countess who it is alleged sold her soul to the devil in exchange for the secret of success at cards. He sets out to obtain the secret from the old lady.

The 31 year-old Edith Evans

There are great performances from Anton Walbrook as Suvorin and Dame Edith Evans, an actress better known for her work on the British stage until she appeared as the bitter and twisted old countess in Dickinson’s film. This movie has not been seen in British cinemas since it initial release until December 2009 when a special digital re-issue was shown. It is now available for the first time on DVD, which includes an introduction by one of Dickinson’s biggest fans Martin Scorsese who describes it as “a uniquely haunting film with a strong sense of sexuality and desire, of warring passions and impulses within people, of love turning bad” It has such a uniquely foreign feel that while watching this rare movie its difficult to believe that it’s British. This rare treat with its great sets, clever use of light and dark and brilliant mobile camera work is well worth a look especially if you’re a fan of old black and white movies.