Madame de...

This lavish period affair from 1953 is splendidly directed by Max Ophuls and the movies three stars excel in their distinct and nuanced performances. What starts out as a comedy of errors gradually shifts in tone and ends as a poignant melodrama… and all over a pair of earrings!

Thus is the film’s original title: The Earrings of Madame de… (adapted from Louise Leveque de Vilmorin’s period novel. The ‘Madame’ in question is Comtesse Louise de… (Danielle Darrieux), the beautiful and fabulously wealthy wife of General André de… (Charles Boyer). In fact, is Louise is so well off that her entire existence is one of shallowness, boredom and frivolity – an indulgent lifestyle which prompts her to spend beyond her means. And so it happens that one day she sees herself forced to sell one or the other item in order to clear off her amassed debts. In the opening scene, we see her sifting through her various possessions, from assorted jewellery to expensive furs and what have you. Eventually she decides to sell a pair of heart-shaped diamond earrings – a wedding present from her husband and therefore an indication that this is a marriage that merely exists, with Louise feeling little passion towards André. In turn, André is a sophisticated, gallant and well-educated man who clearly loves his wife although the couple have no children and seem to sleep in different bedrooms. Louise secretly sells the earrings to Monsieur Remy (Jean Debucourt), the longstanding jeweller of the couple. Initially hesitant, he is persuaded by Louise and takes the earrings back while handing her a wad of cash. Later on during a theatre performance, Louise acts hysterically in front of her husband and claims to have lost the precious jewels upon which he undertakes a thorough search with obviously no results. The following morning the local newspaper sports an article with the headline ‘Jewellery theft at the theatre’. When jeweller Remy reads this, he becomes immediately concerned that someone might see said earrings in his shop… very bad for his business and his reputation! Despite having promised Louise to keep the exchange of the earrings a secret he is now so concerned that he decides to return them to her husband, though it’s a gentlemen’s agreement that neither will reveal anything about the transaction to Louise, who still insists to have lost the earrings.

In order to not humiliate his wife and to confront her about the reasons as to why she sold the jewels (he can guess why), André decides to hand them to his mistress Lily as a farewell gift. Lily travels to Constantinople and displaying a bit of a gambling habit, she soon has frittered all her money away in a casino. In her desperation, she sells Andrè’s gift to a casino pawnbroker without ever getting them back. Thus the earrings are displayed in a jewellery shop in town where they catch the eye of Italian diplomat Baron Donati (Vittorio De Sica) – a bit of a womaniser. He buys them for whichever lucky lady might tickle his fancy next and yes you guessed it, Donati travels to Paris on his way to a diplomatic post. A chance encounter brings him together with Louise twice, although he soon learns that she is married to André since the two men happen to socialise in the same circles. André, well acquainted with his wife’s flirtatious nature, thinks nothing of her dancing with Donati, in fact he warns the Baron that Louise merely plays games with men and leaves shattered hopes and broken hearts everywhere. On this occasion he is wrong however and Louise and Donati fall for each other in earnest. As a token of his love, he presents her with the very earrings he purchased in Constantinople, unaware that by doing so he opens a can of worms destined to end in tragedy…

Darrieux is simply magnificent as the bored and indulged Madame de… (we never learn her full name) who suddenly finds meaning and true love in her life thanks to Donati – albeit her happiness is short-lived and doomed. Boyer excels as her devoted husband who too has his ‘little secrets’ just as he is aware of Louise’s constant lies. Nonetheless he is highly protective of her and refuses to hand her over to Donati, the man she is clearly in love with.
The film is atmospherically photographed by Christian Matras and the ‘belle epoque’ costumes and settings a feast for the eyes! This restored Dual Format Edition furthermore boasts various Special Features.