Lola Montès (1955)

Biopic of adventuress Lola Montès who ends up as a circus attraction after being romantically involved with famous European men.

Director:

Max Ophüls (as Max Ophuls)

Writers:

Cécil Saint-Laurent (based on the novel by: "La vie extraordinaire de Lola Montès") (as Cécil Saint Laurent), Max Ophüls (scenario) (as Max Ophuls)

Stars:

Martine Carol, Peter Ustinov, Anton Walbrook

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Martine Carol	...	Lola Montes
Peter Ustinov	...	Circus Master
Anton Walbrook	...	Ludwig I, King of Bavaria
Henri Guisol	...	Horseman Maurice
Lise Delamare	...	Mrs. Craigie, Lola's mother
Paulette Dubost	...	Josephine, The maid
Oskar Werner	...	Student
Jean Galland	...	Private Secretary
Will Quadflieg	...	Franz Liszt
Héléna Manson	...	Lieutenant James' Sister (as Helena Manson)
Germaine Delbat	...	Stewardess
Carl Esmond	...	Doctor (as Willy Eichberger)
Jacques Fayet	...	Steward
Friedrich Domin	...	Circus Manager
Werner Finck	...	Wisböck, The artist

Storyline

The film tells the tragic story of Lola Montès, a great adventurer who becomes the main attraction of a circus after being the lover of various important European men.

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Plot Keywords:

circus | dancer | love | flashback | bavaria | 

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Taglines:

She lived too intensely and far too well!

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Sophie Dulac Distribution [France]

Country:

France West Germany

Language:

French German English

Release Date:

23 December 1955 (France)

Also Known As:

Lola Montès

Filming Locations:

Hohentauern, Austria

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,569, 12 October 2008, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$107,264, 22 February 2009

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gamma Film,Gamma Film,Florida Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby (Restored version) 4-Track Stereo (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.55 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the nude painting of Lola commissioned by King Ludwig, she is posed identically to the model in the 1814 painting "Grand Odalisque" by J.A.D. Ingres.

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Goofs

When the Circus Master first tries to recruit Lola, he lists San Francisco as an important North American city, and includes Buffalo Bill in a list of major circus figures. This scene is set shortly before Montez left for Bavaria, so it must be late 1845 or early 1846. San Francisco was called Yerba Buena until 1847, and the name Buffalo Bill was first applied in the 1860s to William F. Cody, who was born in 1846.

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Quotes

Circus Master: Wanting to make a name for herself, Lola understood that keeping a good reputation was out of the question. Rumors, scandals, passion - that's what she chose in order to create a sensation.

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Alternate Versions

The German language version was considered the director's cut by himself, as all actors were speaking their mother language, or spoke French with German subtitles, or spoke the language well and were not dubbed - as was the case with Martine Carol. This version premiere was in Munich 12 January 1956, and ran at 115 min, but was subsequently cut for general release (9 February 1956) to 113 min and for re-release (1957) to 102 min.

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Connections

Edited into Histoire(s) du cinéma: Fatale beauté (1994)

User Reviews

the most flawed masterpiece

Of all movies that appear here and there in lists of greatest movies of all-time Lola Montès is the most criticized. Ranked by some as one of the 10 greatest, the movie suffers from some slow scenes and a wooden-acted protagonist played by Martine Carol. But the overall effect is mesmerizing. Cinema´s history isn´t made only of perfect movies.

It is the only color movie that Max Ophüls directed and the last of his career. You could only imagine the genius he would be in color films. The circus that links all the facts is a example of decadence in its greens and reds that many advertising-style filmmakers would kill for to get the same effect to show beauty. Ophüls is subtle and the most elegant director that has ever lived. He is one of the fundamental cinema masters (in the same category of Griffith, Chaplin, Eisenstein, Buñuel, Renoir, Welles, Bergman, Ford, Hitchcock, Wilder, Visconti, Mizoguchi, Truffaut, etc) and probably the less seen of them.

Lola Montès received poor critics at the time of its release but was recognized as great art and a summing up of Ophüls´ themes by the French nouvelle vague critics. You find in it some interesting comments about the way the society created by men destroy women and their paths to happiness. Ophüls was an author not a historian. He wasn´t interested in Lola as a historic figure but as a celebrity humiliated by her public just because she tried to be free. Ophüls has decided to make the movie after noticing how press used to treat the crisis of Judy Garland and Zsa Zsa Gabor affairs.

If you want to see other incredible films of the director watch to Libelei, Letter from an Unknown Woman and La Ronde.