Max OphülsFilmography

Born:: May 6, 1902 in Saarbrucken, Germany
Occupation:: Director, Screenwriter
Birth name:: Max Oppenheimer
Biography:: Abandoning journalism for the theater, Max Oppenheim changed his name to Max Ophüls so as not to embarrass his father, a German-Jewish garment manufacturer, if he failed. An actor from 1919, Ophüls turned to directing in 1924. Two years later he took creative charge of Vienna's Burgtheater...Read More

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Montparnasse 19

Crew: Screenwriter

Actors: Gérard Philipe, Anouk Aimée, Lilli Palmer, Lea Padovani, Lino Ventura, Gerard Sety

Synopsis: Montparnasse 19 is better known as Modigliani, which is also the name of its protagonist. In broad, melodramatic strokes, screenwriter Max Ophuls and director Jacques Becker offer their spin on the tragic, troubled life of Italian abstract painter Amedeo Modigliani. As played by Gerard Philipe Read More

4/4/58
Lola Montès

Crew: Director, Screenwriter

Actors: Martine Carol, Peter Ustinov, Anton Walbrook, Oskar Werner, Ivan Desny, Will Quadflieg

Synopsis: Max Ophuls' final film (and his only movie in color) is a cinematic tour-de-force masquerading as a biography, in this case a dazzling fictionalized life of the notorious 19th century dancer, actress, and courtesan. A still beautiful, but weary and disillusioned (and, as we later discover, ailing) Read More

1955
Madame de...

Crew: Director, Producer, Screenwriter

Actors: Charles Boyer, Danielle Darrieux, Vittorio De Sica, Jean Debucourt, Mireille Perrey

Synopsis: Max Ophüls' masterpiece stars Danielle Darrieux as the titular Madame Louise de..., who in the film's opening scenes is forced to discreetly sell a pair of earrings, a gift from her military officer husband Andre (Charles Boyer), in order to make good on her debts. After she claims the earrings to Read More

9/16/53
Le Plaisir

Crew: Director, Producer, Production Designer, Screenwriter

Actors: Claude Dauphin, Jean Galland, Gaby Morlay, Madeleine Renaud, Daniel Gélin, Danielle Darrieux, Simone Simon, Jean Gabin

Synopsis: The works of Guy de Maupassant have likely been adapted by more French filmmakers than those of any other author (with the possible exception of Georges Simenon). Max Ophuls harnesses three Maupassant short stories to suit his artistic purposes in Le Plaisir (House of Pleasure). In "The Mask," an Read More

1952
Vendetta

Crew: Director

Actors: Faith Domergue, Hillary Brooke, Nigel Bruce, Joseph Calleia, Hugo Haas

Synopsis: Vendetta began as a pet project of producer/director/writer Preston Sturges. Producer Howard R. Hughes was at first enthusiastic about the project, but lost interest after a bitter argument with Sturges. Director Max Ophuls was originally slated to direct, but Hughes lost interest in him and hired Mel Ferrer Read More

1950
La Ronde

Crew: Director, Screenwriter

Actors: Anton Walbrook, Simone Signoret, Serge Reggiani, Simone Simon, Daniel Gélin, Danielle Darrieux, Fernand Gravey, Odette Joyeux, Jean-Louis Barrault, Isa Miranda, Gérard Philipe

Synopsis: An exercise in style, La Ronde was one of the few films of the 1950s to contain overtly sexual themes. The story is a series of character vignettes, set in Vienna in the early 1900s and held together by a narrator (Anton Walbrook). As the title implies, both the story and the film's visual motifs Read More

1950
Caught

Crew: Director

Actors: James Mason, Barbara Bel Geddes, Robert Ryan, Ruth Brady, Curt Bois

Synopsis: It doesn't take a nuclear scientist to figure out that Smith Ohrig, the character played by Robert Ryan in Caught, is a thinly disguised takeoff of Howard Hughes. But whereas Howard Hughes was merely paranoid and eccentric, Smith Ohrig is an all-out psycho. Impulsively marrying ambitious model Read More

1949
The Reckless Moment

Crew: Director

Actors: James Mason, Joan Bennett, Geraldine Brooks, Henry O'Neill, Shepperd Strudwick

Synopsis: A blend of melodrama and film noir, The Reckless Moment stars Joan Bennett as Lucia Harper, a suburban housewife whose husband is away on business. Her daughter, Bea (Geraldine Brooks), an aspiring artist, has fallen for Ted Darby (Shepperd Strudwick), a shady older man from Los Angeles who claims Read More

1949
Letter from an Unknown Woman

Crew: Director

Actors: Joan Fontaine, Louis Jourdan, Mady Christians, Marcel Journet, Art Smith

Synopsis: Perhaps the finest American film from the famed European director Max Ophüls, the film stars Joan Fontaine as a young woman who falls in love with a concert pianist. Set in Vienna in 1900, the story is told in a complex flashback structure as the pianist, Stefan Brand (Louis Jourdan), comes upon a Read More

1948
The Exile

Crew: Director

Actors: Nigel Bruce, Fred Cavens, Gordon B. Clark, Robert Coote

Synopsis: Douglas Fairbanks Jr. is the title character, a young king exiled by evil conspirators. Forced to live far from his homeland, Fairbanks is harassed by the wicked Henry Daniell, who has been appointed to keep the young monarch from reclaiming his throne. After falling in love with commoner Paula Croset Read More

1947
De Mayerling a Sarajevo

Crew: Director

Actors: John Lodge, Aimé Clariond, Edwige Feuillère, Gabrielle Dorziat

Synopsis: Director Max Ophuls managed to get three productions before the cameras in 1940, the best of which was De Mayerling a Sarajevo. In his characteristic pageant-like fashion, Ophuls traces the fall of the Austro-Hungarian empire by spiritually linking the tragic 19th century romance of Crown Duke Read More

1940
First Film Concert

Crew: Director

Actors: Gregor Piatigorsky

Synopsis: This "feature film" was actually comprised of eight musical short subjects, helmed by three of France's top filmmakers. Artists spotlighted herein include pianist Alfred Corto, performing Debussy's Children's Corner; cellist Gregory Piatigorsky, playing Andante et Rondo; and contralto Elizabeth Read More

1939
Sans Lendemain

Crew: Director

Actors: Edwige Feuillère, Pauline Carton, Georges Rigaud, Daniel Lecourtois

Synopsis: Sans Lendeman (Without Tomorrow) was Max Ophuls' first directorial endeavor since 1938's Werther. Edwige Feuillere stars as a night club hostess with a shady past, whose sole reason for living is her adopted baby. But she is denied even this balm when ex-lover Georges Rigaud comes back into her Read More

1939
Le Roman De Werther

Crew: Director

Actors: Pierre Richard-Willm, Jean Galland, Jean Perier, Georges Vitray

1938
Werther

Crew: Director

Actors: Pierre Richard-Willm, Annie Vernay, Jean Perier, Jean Galland

1938
Yoshiwara

Crew: Director

Actors: Pierre Richard-Willm, Sessue Hayakawa, Roland Toutain, Lucienne Lemarchand

Synopsis: This bit of elegant esoterica was Max Ophuls' only directorial effort for 1937. Japanese matinee idol Sessue Hayakawa made a long-overdue return to films as Yaamo, a humble Chinese coolie in love with the beautiful and aristocratic Kohana (Michiko Tanaka). Following her father's suicide, Kohana Read More

1937
La Tendre Ennemie

Crew: Director

Actors: Georges Vitray

Synopsis: An early esoteric exercise from director Max Ophuls, La Tendre Ennemie (Tender Enemy) was adapted from a play by A. P. Antoine. Years ago, Annette Dupont (Simone Berriau) married a man she didn't love for financial security. Now, Annette's grown daughter (Jacqueline Daix) is about to make the same Read More

1936
Komedie Om Geld

Crew: Screenwriter

1936
Divine

Crew: Director

Actors: Gina Manès, Georges Rigaud, Philippe Hériat

1935
La Signora Di Tutti

Crew: Director

Actors: Isa Miranda, Memo Benassi, Friedrich Benfer, Franco Coop

Synopsis: Max Ophuls' La Signora di Tutti can be regarded today as a dress rehearsal for his 1955 masterpiece Lola Montes, though it comes nowhere near the brilliance of that later classic. Isa Miranda stars as a famous actress who, in the opening scenes, attempts suicide. A series of lavish flashbacks Read More

1934
On a Volé un Homme

Crew: Director

Actors: Lili Damita, Charles Fallon, Henri Garat, Pierre Labry, Raoul Marco

Synopsis: A choice early example of esoterica from the great Max Ophuls, On a Vole un Homme (Man Stolen) is a bit more lighthearted than later Ophuls efforts. Typical of the director's best works, the film's strongest character is the heroine, a young adventuress named Annette (Lily Damita). Hired by the Read More

1933
Die Verliebte Firma

Crew: Director

Actors: Gustav Fröhlich, Ernst Verebes, Lien Deyers

Synopsis: Max Ophuls' second film directorial effort, Die Verliebte Firma (The Firm in Love) wasn't quite as lavishly esoteric as his later works, but on its own pleased the crowd. While on a location shoot in the mountains, film actress Anny Ahlers quarrels with her husband and walks out of the production. Read More

1932
Verkaufte Braut

Crew: Director

Actors: Jarmila Novotna, Paul Kemp

Synopsis: Filmed in 1932, Die Verkaufte Braut is Max Ophuls' own unique spin on the Smetana opera The Bartered Bride. The film is a showcase for celebrated Czech opera diva Jarmila Novotna, whose screen appearances were unfortunately few and far between. The original libretto, involving the comic Read More

1932
Liebelei

Crew: Director

Actors: Magda Schneider, Wolfgang Liebeneiner, Luise Ullrich, Paul Hoerbiger, Olga Tschechowa

Synopsis: Liebelei is one of the earliest of the cinematic banquets directed by German filmmaker Max Ophuls. The film, set in imperial Vienna, concerns the romance between a young girl and a lieutenant. A powerful baron misreads the lieutenant's ardor, assuming that it is being directed towards his own Read More

1932