Having been fortunate enough to be invited to the recent premiere of the restored ver-sion of Max Ophüls 1955 classic, Lola Montes, I nonetheless didn't know quite what to expect. The restoration itself was a joint venture between the Franco-American Cultural Fund which includes the DGA, WGA, MPAA and the SACEM and other organizations such as Les Films du Jeudi and the director's son, Marcel Ophüls. So there were a number of important industry people on hand at the Directors' Guild Theatre including Michael Bay and the newly appointed French Attaché.

A Little Background on Max Ophüls
Any respectable film scholar, a category in which I firmly put mysefl, knows that Lola Montes is important in the annals of film history mainly because of its' fascinating director. Ophüls, born Max Oppenheimer in Saarbrücken, Germany, was one of scores of Jewish filmmakers who were forcibly exiled by the Third Reich. Ophüls left Germany for Paris where he remade his first big success, Lorelei. From there he made films in Italy, Belgium, his last prewar film being the French De Mayerling à Sarajevo about the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand.

Lola Montes: The Culmination of a Career
Lola Montes was, without intention, Ophüls' swan song, he died just 3 years after it's completion. It was his first film in glorious color and was, despite his mistrust, filmed in cinemascope. Although the story is based on the real historical figure, Lola Montes (neé Elizabeth Gilbert), there was no novel from which the screenplay was drawn.

The film as originally conceived, and as currently restored, tells it's story in a sort of back and forth disjointed flashback. The framing device is a circus, presided over by the Ringmaster, played with mischievous delight by Peter Ustinov. Lola, played by Martine Carol, the sex-kitten of the era, is "re-enacting" her life as a wandering courtesan. The films cuts between circus presentations with Lola in various costumes and set pieces, to more narrative biographical. Montes was in fact the mistress of Franz Liszt for a time, and the 60 year old King Ludwig, here played by the elegant Anton Walbrook.

The film turns out to be both a meditations on the limited choices available to adventur-ous and ambitious women in 19th century Europe. And of course this story of limited roles is timeless, a fact which makes it historical and relevent. This rather sad story of restless, nomadic wandering is set in a framework that pits the lush romanticism of the "love story" flashbacks against the garish melodramatic blowout of the circus scenes, stuffed freakishly costumed entertainers.

Not surprisingly,the film was not well received upon release. This has much to do with it's non-chronological order and disturbing theme. Despite it's lushness and visual beauty, it is not a warm and inviting film. It had a sort of Parisian Rite of Spring recep-tion with audiences revolting, some demanding their money back. The critics were not unanimously pleased either although the ''auteur'' fanatics of the time including François Truffaut and later Andrew Sarris celebrated the film.

The film was immediately recut and re-released in a more audience friendly chronological order. The 1959 "recut" version premiered in New York. By 1969, a reconstructed version finally made it to a commercial U.S. release. The film opened the New York Film festival a total of 3 times including this year. It is a film well worth the effort and celebration and let us hope it never lapses into obscurity.

Lola Montes will be released theatrically in 2008.

With:Martine Carol (Lola Montes); Peter Ustinov (Ringmaster); Anton Walbrook (Ludwig I, King of Bavaria) and Oskar Werner (The Student).