The Ball of Count Orgel (1970)

1920. Count Anne d'Orgel entertains the upper crust of Paris. A handsome young man, François de Séryeuse, who is fascinated by him, gets into his manor and falls in love with Mahé, the ... See full summary »

Director:

Marc Allégret

Writers:

Raymond Radiguet (novel), Marc Allégret (screenplay)

Stars:

Jean-Claude Brialy, Sylvie Fennec, Bruno Garcin

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean-Claude Brialy	...	Le comte Anne d'Orgel
Sylvie Fennec	...	La comtesse Mahé d'Orgel
Bruno Garcin	...	François de Séryeuse
Micheline Presle	...	Madame de Séryeuse
Gérard Lartigau	...	Paul Robin
Sacha Pitoëff	...	Le prince Naroumof
Marpessa Dawn	...	Marie
Claude Gensac	...	Mademoiselle d'Orgel
Ginette Leclerc	...	Hortense d'Austerlitz
Aly Raffy	...	Mirza
Marcel Charvey	...	L'ambassadeur
Béatrice Chatelier	...	Amina
Max Montavon	...	Un invité
Wendy Nicholls	...	Hester
Hélène Soubielle

Storyline

1920. Count Anne d'Orgel entertains the upper crust of Paris. A handsome young man, François de Séryeuse, who is fascinated by him, gets into his manor and falls in love with Mahé, the count's young wife. Mahé alerts her husband but Anne does not care much, dismissing the fledgling idyll as sheer childishness, even if Mahé faints on stage while playing "The Tempest" with François, even if she dreams of François night after night...

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Plot Keywords:

based on novel | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The film takes place in 1920.

User Reviews

The last ball

After a seven-year gap ,it was to be Marc Allégret's swansong ,in a career which spanned more than forty years .Personally,I have always liked his brother Yves 's works best .Some of his most satisfying films remain his literary adaptations : "lac aux dames " " L'Arlésienne" ,"Blanche Fury" ;on the other hand,his attempt at a "lady Chatterley's lover " adaptation failed because the censorship was hard in 1955.

Based on a Raymond Radiguet 's novel ,which is quite the contrary so to speak ;unlike "Chatterley ",it is a chaste story :think " La Princesse De Clèves " -a book which influenced the novelist- in a Great Gasby world ,where the aristocrats would replace the nouveaux riches .

The main asset is the splendid Christian Matras's cinematography whose pictures are a feast for the eye ,with sparkling colors ; Jean-Claude Brialy and Micheline Presles (who was once the heroine of another Radiguet's adaptation by Claude Autant -Lara , "Le Diable Au Corps ") are strong actors ,so is Sacha Pitoeff in the small part of a fallen Russian prince ;the young ones ,Sylvie Fennec and Henri Garcin are both good-looking but not really convincing in a pure psychological drama; Françoise Sagan's dialog does not help.

The 1970 audience was not able to relate to this story of Belle Epoque people who live in luxury and do not seem to be aware there's a world outside ;as for the 2019 viewer ,it might not be very enthusing either;it's not obvious to feel for those snob posh people 's silent cris de coeur .

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

1 July 1970 (France)

Also Known As:

Bal u hrabiego d'Orgel

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cocinor, Les Films Marceau

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)