Lola Montès (Directors Suite) (1955)

Based on the life of the notorious Lola Montez: a self-constructed celebrity, the real Lola thrived on scandal, creating her own public persona and fueling the fire of her fame through her various romantic dalliances and extraordinary adventures. Through his opulent camerawork and lyrical narrative style, the great Max Ophuls perfectly recaptures the beautiful yet tragic life of his infamous subject.

Max Ophuls' Lola Montes situates Lola (Martine Carol) in an American circus. As an exuberant ringmaster (Academy Award(R)-winner Peter Ustinov) commentates, we are swept back into the scandalous events of Lola's life: her tormented childhood; her thwarted aspirations to be a dancer; her infamous affairs with men such as Franz Liszt and Ludwig I, King of Bavaria.