Caught.

 This is the story of a young woman and two young men who dream! Leonora Eames wants to find a rich and good-looking young man that will sweep her off her feet and marry her. She thinks if she becomes a successful model it will give her a better chance of meeting the right one. But at times living the real life version of our dreams does not always lead to happiness and fulfilment.

 

Smith Ohlrig turns on the charm....

 The men in her life could not be any different. Smith Ohlrig is a complicated man whose afraid of being controlled and to this end accumulates millions of dollars which allows him the luxury of dominating others and presiding over Leonora, whom he marries, but even this does not stop him having psychosomatic heart problems when he can't get his own way! Ohlrig is allegedly modelled on the Tycoon Howard Hughes and with a name that could be mistaken for oilrig I think you can grasp the cut of the character. Our heroine is not after Ohlrig’s money although he thinks she is, this naive young woman actually loves him, well at first at least, until she finds out what the man is really like! Off course conflict ensues with Leonora virtually held prisoner in a home that reverberates the coldness a medieval castle. But strangely Ohlrig loses control over a woman he so much wants to dominate. Feeling threatened he drives her away pushing her into the employment of a Doctor Larry Quinada as receptionist in his East Side surgery. Will she return to Ohlrig, will she fall in love with the captivating doctor, where are her life and emotions heading and will she manage to regain control over her own feelings? And will Leonora finally discover what's really important in her life?

 

....or will she fall for the Doctor?

Superbly directed by Max Ophuls's, who amongst many other films was responsible for classics like Madame de... (1953) and Lola Montes (1955), it has a screenplay based on Libbie Blocks novel Wild Calendar. Caught (1948) is about control and domination with the camera work and Ophuls brilliant direction giving unequal size to the characterisations cleverly placing the actors in dominating positions on the screen for the furtherance of the movies narrative. Although described as a melodramatic soap opera this black and white movie has some truly scene steeling performances from Robert Ryan as Ohlrig and British actor James Mason in his Hollywood debut as Dr Larry Quinada with Barbara Bel Geddes, who is best known for her role in TV’s Dallas as matriarch Miss Ellie Ewing from 1978 until 1990, as Leonora Eames, a role originally meant for Ginger Rogers. The movie has one main problem its overbearing soundtrack that tends at times to dominate the proceedings, other than that well worth a look, as are most of the directors other movies.  

Nice publicity shot for the film. 

Madame de…

Madame de....

‘Madame de… was a most elegant lady, distinguished, and received everywhere. She seemed destined to a delightful untroubled existence. Doubtless nothing would have happened, but for the jewels’. This wee paragraph appears on screen, as the film is about to start. The jewels in question are a pair of diamond earrings, a wedding present from her husband Andre, which she sells without his knowledge to cover debts she has accrued due to her lavish spending. When the jeweller informs the General he buys them back and gives them as a farewell gift to his mistress. She travels to Constantinople and relinquishes them to her gambling debts. Its there that the Baron Fabrizio Donati purchases the earrings and at the same time meets Louise, Madame de, and the pair fall dangerously in love. Donati gives them as a present to Louise who then returns to France.  

 

Louise and Andre.

Louise and Donati.

It’s these two pieces of jewellery that form the substance of Max Ophuls love story. To Louise they are a token of her love for Donati, to Andre, the General; they are a token of his possession and power he welds over his wife. But Ophuls is not judgemental, leaving the audience to consider the French countesses   emotional journey along the diseased road that can be love. ‘The camera exists to create a new art – to show what can be seen elsewhere, neither in theatre nor in life’.[1] Ophuls statement could not be truer than in Madame de… (1953) his penultimate film before his death in 1957, one in which he directing his polished cast with the hand of a master. The bond between him and his actors is so obvious especially with Danielle Darrieux, the heart of the film, who plays the frivolous Parisian woman to perfection, Charles Boyer is every inch the 19^th century French General with Vittorio De Sica portraying the suave international Diplomat. Its also pretty obvious that Christain Matras camera work is in love with the actors, when the couple dance, your on the dance floor breathing down their sophisticated necks, but what makes it even more interesting is that Matras does not rely on the obvious shot and his framing is absolutely exceptional enticing us, the audience, in as though we are scrutinising a painting. The whole shoot flows and ebbs like a Strauss Waltz with the director appreciating that music plays such great part in this adaptation from Louise Leveque de Vilmorin’s period novel. Recently released on a flawless new print that emphasises what a true cinematic classic Max Ophuls penultimate film actually is.

 

Danielle Darrieux with her co stars.

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[1] Max Ophuls

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.