La Ronde (1950) La ronde (original title)

Director:

Max Ophüls

Writers:

Arthur Schnitzler (play)
Jacques Natanson (adaptation) ...
(more)

Release Date:

16 March 1954 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

A Wonderful Merry-Go-Round of Love With Eleven Stars

Plot:

An all-knowing interlocutor guides us through a series of affairs in Vienna, 1900. A soldier meets an eager young lady of the evening...

Plot Keywords:

Maid | 1900s | Carousel | Soldier | Womanizer

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win

Cast

Anton Walbrook	...	Raconteur - le meneur de jeu
Simone Signoret	...	Léocadie, la prostitutée
Serge Reggiani	...	Franz, le soldat
Simone Simon	...	Marie, la femme de chambre
Daniel Gélin	...	Alfred, le jeune homme
Danielle Darrieux	...	Emma Breitkopf, la femme mariée
Fernand Gravey	...	Charles Breitkopf, son mari
Odette Joyeux	...	Anna, la grisette
Jean-Louis Barrault	...	Robert Kuhlenkampf, le poète
Isa Miranda	...	Charlotte, le comédienne
Gérard Philipe	...	Le comte
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jean Clarieux	...	Le brigadier sur le banc (uncredited)
Paulette Frantz	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Jean Landier	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
René Marjac	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Marcel Mérovée	...	Toni (uncredited)
Jean Ozenne	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Robert Vattier	...	Le professeur Schüller (uncredited)
Jacques Vertan	...	Minor Role (uncredited)
Charles Vissière	...	Le concierge du théatre (uncredited)

Directed by
Max Ophüls

Writing credits
Arthur Schnitzler		(play "Reigen")
Jacques Natanson		(adaptation) and
Max Ophüls		(adaptation)
Jacques Natanson		(dialogue)

Produced by
Ralph Baum	....	producer
Sacha Gordine	....	producer

Original Music by
Oscar Straus		(as Oscar Strauss)

Cinematography by
Christian Matras

Film Editing by
Léonide Azar

Production Design by
Jean d'Eaubonne

Costume Design by
Georges Annenkov

Makeup Department
Carmen Brel	....	makeup artist (as Carmen Brelle)

Production Management
Renée Bardon	....	unit production manager
Ralph Baum	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Tony Aboyantz	....	assistant director
Paul Feyder	....	assistant director

Art Department
Marc Frédérix	....	assistant production designer
Alfred Marpaux	....	assistant production designer
Charles Merangel	....	set designer
Henri Vergnes	....	set designer (as Vergne)

Sound Department
Pierre-Louis Calvet	....	sound

Camera and Electrical Department
Ernest Bourreaud	....	assistant camera (as E. Bourreuad)
Jean-François Clair	....	still photographer
Alain Douarinou	....	camera operator
Sam Levin	....	still photographer

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Marie Gromtseff	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
Suzanne Rondeau	....	assistant editor (as S. Rondeau)

Music Department
Joe Hajos	....	music adaptor

Other crew
Grégoire Geftmann	....	administration director
Lucie Lichtig	....	script girl
Noel Mouton	....	production secretary (as Noèle Mouton)

Production Companies

• Films Sacha Gordine

Distributors

• Svanfilm (1950) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Union Film Vertrieb (1950) (West Germany) (theatrical)
• Commercial Pictures (1954) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Nelson Entertainment (1987) (USA) (VHS)
• Second Sight Films (2006) (UK) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2008) (USA) (DVD)
• Gaumont DVD (2009) (France) (DVD) (box-set)
• New Star (2012) (Greece) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Criterion Collection, The (laserdisc)

Also Known As:

"La ronde" - France (original title)

Runtime:

97 min | 110 min (1989 restored version) | West Germany:89 min (video)

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:12 | UK:A (1982) | UK:PG (1990) | UK:X (1951) (cut) | West Germany:18 (f) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Company:

Films Sacha Gordine

Trivia:

Max Ophuls shot the picture entirely in the studio.

Movie Connections:

Remade as Circle of Love (1964)

Soundtrack:

Der Reigen

Ophul's cameras twirl and glide like the carousel itself

This seems a little old fashioned even allowing for it's period setting. Perhaps it's the reluctance of the director to go beyond even the merest suggestion of congress that gives it an air of something made in the late thirties or forties. It certainly has charm though and Ophul's cameras twirl and glide like the carousel itself. Always looking sumptuous (perhaps it shouldn't) and always light-hearted (perhaps it should be more serious) it is a pleasant enough viewing. Oscar Strauss' music helps enormously and is in complete harmony with the visuals. Simon Signoret as the prostitute, seen at the start and finish is exemplary and Simone Simon shines most brightly as the seductive maid.