094 - Lola Montes, 1955, France. Dir. Max Ophuls.

Tuesday, April 4, 2017

094 - Lola Montes, 1955, France. Dir. Max Ophuls.

In the entire world, scandal means money.  And in America it has no limits.

So says the Circus Master.  Played by Peter Ustinov.

They are in America.  He is here to hire Lola.  Or book her.  For the circus.

Lola asks if he wants her to dance.  No.  You can't dance.  I want to book you for scandal.

She turns him down.  He says the offer stands.  Whenever she needs him, call him.  He will be there.

She will need him.  She will call him.  He will be there.

The film is framed--beginning, ending, parts in the middle--by the circus performance itself.

The circus is dazzling.  Filled with spectacle.  With people of all shapes and sizes running through the tent.

In color.

With Lola herself brought out at the beginning to answer questions about her scandalous life.

The Circus Master will claim she holds the world record for affairs.  This is of course impossible to prove.  And he will call for all of her lovers, played by circus performers, to rush out into the ring.

The circus attendees seem to go for this entertainment.  The circus sells souvenirs of items described, such as real Cuban cigars, for purchase on your way out.

The flashbacks include stories of her affair with composer Franz Liszt, her trip on a ship with her mother and subsequent marriage to her mother's boyfriend Mr. James, her affair with conductor Claudio Pirotto, and her marriage to the king of Bavaria, Ludwig I.

King Ludwig I is played by our Master of Ceremonies, the Raconteur, from our film of three days ago, La Ronde, Anton Walbrook!

There is a boy who plays a student in the film who will go on to have a prolific film career a decade later.  His name is Oskar Werner.  He will play in Jules and Jim (1962), The Spy Who Came In from the Cold (1965), Ship of Fools (1965), Fahrenheit 451 (1966), The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968), and Voyage of the Damned (1976).

The film, like all Ophuls' films we have seen, is filled with beauty.  And great production design.  And dazzling camera movement.

It is no surprise that it created a scandal itself when it was released, and it underwent various changes in editing and censorship.

It is not nearly as salacious as it sounds.  Martine Carol plays the role with humanity, and the film focuses on her efforts eventually to find stability in life.

One imagines that she may have wished she could have stayed with King Ludwig I.

If he had not been forcibly removed.

And that she may have hoped for lasting love with him.

But in the end she is a circus act.

And men pay a dollar to see her up close and personal.

And to touch her.

And kiss her hand.