Max Ophuls' last film is the opulent "Lola Montes," starring Martine Carol, Peter Ustinov, Anton Walbrook, and Oskar Werner. Ophuls sets the background for Lola's story as a circus, where she is the star. Ustinov, as the ringleader, tells the audience her story, acted out by circus performers and also seen in Lola's flashbacks: her early bad marriage, debut as a dancer, various scandals, her affairs with Franz Liszt and King Ludwig of Bavaria (Anton Walbrook), and her escape from Bavaria as revolutionaries close in, after which she arrives at the circus.
In "Lola Monte," Lola's story ends at the circus. In real life, after leaving Bavaria, Lola worked in both Australia and America, re-married, and had a home in Grass Valley, California, which is now a historic landmark. Her last years were spent in the New York City area where she acted and lectured before suffering a stroke.
Carol is a beautiful Lola, a woman who in love affairs is one of repressed and detached emotions, but prone to wild antics and flares of temper. The song "Whatever Lola Wants" is inspired on Lola Montes, and in the film, it's clear that when she wanted something, she went after it, no matter the consequences.
The color, the costumes, the sets of this film are all gorgeous - this apparently was the only time that Ophuls used color. The camera work is flawless.
While one does not become fully emotionally invested in the character of Lola, this beautiful film is definitely worth seeing, from a great master.
In "Lola Monte," Lola's story ends at the circus. In real life, after leaving Bavaria, Lola worked in both Australia and America, re-married, and had a home in Grass Valley, California, which is now a historic landmark. Her last years were spent in the New York City area where she acted and lectured before suffering a stroke.
Carol is a beautiful Lola, a woman who in love affairs is one of repressed and detached emotions, but prone to wild antics and flares of temper. The song "Whatever Lola Wants" is inspired on Lola Montes, and in the film, it's clear that when she wanted something, she went after it, no matter the consequences.
The color, the costumes, the sets of this film are all gorgeous - this apparently was the only time that Ophuls used color. The camera work is flawless.
While one does not become fully emotionally invested in the character of Lola, this beautiful film is definitely worth seeing, from a great master.