''The Paris Waltz'' (French: ''La Valse de Paris'') is a 1950 French-Italian

historical History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categ ...

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serv ...

directed by

Marcel Achard Marcel Achard (5 July 1899 – 4 September 1974) was a French playwright and screenwriter whose popular sentimental comedies Garzanti p. 3 maintained his position as a highly recognizable name in his country's theatrical and literary circles ...

and starring

Yvonne Printemps Yvonne Printemps (; born Yvonne Wigniolle; 25 July 1894 – 19 January 1977) was a French singer and actress who achieved stardom on stage and screen in France and internationally. Printemps went on the stage in Paris at the age of 12, and ...

Pierre Fresnay Pierre Fresnay (; 4 April 1897 – 9 January 1975) was a French stage and film actor. Biography Born Pierre Jules Louis Laudenbach, he was encouraged by his uncle, actor Claude Garry, to pursue a career in theater and film. He joined the company ...

and Jacques Charon. It portrays the life of the nineteenth century composer

Jacques Offenbach Jacques Offenbach (; 20 June 18195 October 1880) was a German-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s to the 1870s, and his uncompleted opera ''The Tales of Hoffmann''. He was a p ...

Synopsis

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

during the Second Empire, the composer Jacques Offenbach discovers an unknown singer, the

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hertz, Hz to A5 in Choir, choral ...

Hortense Schneider Hortense Catherine Schneider, ''La Snédèr'', (30 April 1833 in Bordeaux, France – 5 May 1920, in Paris, France) was a French soprano, one of the greatest operetta stars of the 19th century, particularly associated with the works of composer Jac ...

. He writes lead roles for her in his stage works which make her famous in France and beyond. When he consoles Schneider at the end of her various love affairs their relationship develops and Offenbach falls in love with her. While she is unfaithful to him, he continues to write more operettas featuring her, including several of his most famous works.

Cast list

* Jacques Charon as Berthelier *

Noëlle Norman Noëlle Norman (7 January 1921 – 11 January 1985) was a French film actress. She appeared in more than thirty films including '' On demande un assassin'' (1949).Goble p.452 Selected filmography * '' Immediate Call'' (1939) * ''Grandfather'' (19 ...

as Marie Pradeau * Robert Manuel as José Dupuis * Pierre Dux as General Danicheff * Denise Provence as Brigitte *

Jacques Castelot Jacques Castelot (born Jacques Marie Paul Éloi Storms) (11 July 1914 – 25 August 1989) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1938 and 1982. His brother was the writer André Castelot and their father was the ...

as Le duc de Morny *

Raymonde Allain Raymonde Allain (22 June 1912 – 27 July 2008) was a French model (people), model and actress. She was Miss France in 1928. Her participation in the 1928 International Pageant of Pulchritude, Miss Universe contest drew international media attent ...

as L'impératrice Eugénie *Claude Sainval as the prince *

Lucien Nat Lucien Nat (born Lucien Maurice Natte; 11 January 1895 – 25 July 1972) was a French film actor, film, stage actor, stage and television actor.McCann p.95 He was married to the actress Marie Déa. Selected filmography * ''Fun in the Barracks' ...

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

*Léa Gray as La duchesse de Morny *

André Roussin André Roussin, (22 January 1911 – 3 November 1987), was a French playwright. Born in Marseille, he was elected to the Académie française on 12 April 1973. Biography Early life and education Born on 119 rue Paradis in Marseille, he was ...

Henri Meilhac Henri Meilhac (; 23 February 1830 – 6 July 1897) was a prolific French playwright and opera librettist, known for his collaborations with Ludovic Halévy on comic operas with music by Jacques Offenbach. He also wrote occasionally for serious w ...

Alexandre Astruc Alexandre Astruc (; 13July 192319May 2016) was a French film critic and film director. Biography Before becoming a film director, he was a journalist, novelist and film critic. His contribution to the auteur theory centers on his notion of th ...

Ludovic Halévy Ludovic Halévy (1 January 1834 – 7 May 1908) was a French people, French author and playwright, known for his collaborations with Henri Meilhac on the libretto, libretti for Georges Bizet's ''Carmen'' and comic operas by Jacques Offenbach, inc ...

*Renée Sénac as the mother of Hortense *

Gobin Gobin may refer to: * Gobin de Reims, 13th-century poet-composer * Gabriel Gobin (1903–1998), Belgian film actor * John P. S. Gobin (1837–1910), American politician and Union Army officer during the Civil War * John Gobin (polo), American polo ...

as Chavert - the stage director *Michel Salina as the tsar *

Pierre Juvenet Pierre Juvenet (1883–1951) was a French stage and film actor.Powrie p.231 A character actor, he appeared in more than a hundred films frequently portraying officials and authority figures. Selected filmography * '' The Mystery of the Yellow Ro ...

as the witness *Lisette Lebon as a lady-in-waiting *Caroline Carlotti as a dancer *

Max Dalban Max Dalban (27 May 1908 – 9 February 1958) was a French film actor.Macdonald p.244 Selected filmography * ''Boudu Saved from Drowning'' (1932) * '' Chotard and Company'' (1933) * ''Street Without a Name'' (1934) * ''Toni'' (1935) * '' The Mut ...

as a remover *Bernard Farrel as the aide-de-camp *

Jacques Dynam Jacques Dynam (30 December 1923 – 11 November 2004) was a French film actor. He appeared in more than 150 films between 1942 and 2004, among which the ''Fantomas'' saga. Selected filmography * ''La symphonie fantastique'' (1942) - (uncre ...

as the Calife of Ramsoun *

Jean Hébey Jean Hébey (1916–1992) was a French Algerian film actor.Capua p.163 Selected filmography * ''Le bébé de l'escadron'' (1935) * ''Bichon'' (1936) - Jacques Fontanges * ''Les grands'' (1936) * ''Counsel for Romance'' (1936) - Fil-de-fer / Sli ...

as the diner

Background

Filming took place at

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau ( , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the Kilometre zero#France, centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a Subprefectures in Franc ...

(Seine-et-Marne) and at the

Studios de Boulogne The Boulogne Studios (French: ''Studios de Boulogne'') are a film studio complex located in the Boulogne-Billancourt suburb of the French capital Paris. It should not be confused with the nearby Billancourt Studios. They studios were constructed i ...

. Printemps's costumes were by

Christian Dior Christian Ernest Dior (; 21 January 1905 – 24 October 1957) was a French fashion designer and founder of one of the world's top fashion houses, Dior, Christian Dior SE. His fashion house is known all around the world, having gained promi ...

.La Valse de Paris (1949) Marcel Achard - Fiche film at the Ciné-Ressources website
accessed 22 April 2024. Fresnay and Printemps had been partners in private life since 1932 when her marriage to

Sacha Guitry Alexandre-Pierre Georges "Sacha" Guitry (; 21 February 188524 July 1957) was a French stage actor, film actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright of the boulevard theatre (aesthetic), boulevard theatre. He was the son of a leading French ac ...

broke up, and they had worked together since Coward's ''

Conversation Piece A conversation piece refers to a group portrait in a domestic or landscape setting depicting persons chatting or otherwise socializing with each other.Gerard ter Borch">ccessed ..., Gerard ter Borch, Gabriel Metsu, Caspar Netscher and Jacob Ocht ...

'' in April 1934 where he won excellent reviews, and their stage partnership was greatly admired. In the same year Printemps and Fresnay had a screen hit in

Abel Gance Abel Gance (; born Abel Eugène Alexandre Péréthon; 25 October 188910 November 1981) was a French film director, producer, writer and actor. A pioneer in the theory and practice of montage, he is best known for three major silent films: ''J'ac ...

's ''La dame aux camélias'', and between then and 1951 they appeared together in eight films. Raymonde Allain had already played the Empress Eugénie in the 1937 film '' Les Perles de la couronne''. The music was by Offenbach, arranged by

Louis Beydts Louis Beydts (/bets/) was a French composer, music critic and theatre director, born 29 June 1895 in Bordeaux and died on 15 August 1953 at Caudéran in Gironde. Life and career His father was a wine-merchant who played the flute, while his mother ...

. The film credits end by a dialogue between the screenwriter and Offenbach in shadow show: :« ''Marcel Achard.'' Excusez-moi des libertés que j'ai prise avec la vérité. (I'm sorry for the liberties I took with the truth) :''Jacques Offenbach.'' Oh, j'ai l'habitude… Mais j'espère que vous n'avez pas touché à ma musique ! (Oh, I'm used to that... but I hope that you didn't play with my music) :''Marcel Achard.'' Bien sûr que non, mon cher maître ! (Of course not dear maestro!) » The music uses songs from Offenbach's stage works ''

La Chanson de Fortunio ''La chanson de Fortunio '' (''The Song of Fortunio'') is a short Opéra comique, opéra-comique in one act by Jacques Offenbach with a French libretto by Ludovic Halévy and Hector-Jonathan Crémieux, Hector Crémieux. The music was composed wit ...

'', '' La Vie parisienne'', ''

La Périchole ''La Périchole'' () is an opéra bouffe in three acts with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The opera depicts the mutual love of two impoverished Peruvian street singers – too poor to afford a marriage ...

'', '' Madame Favart'', ''

La Belle Hélène ''La belle Hélène'' (, ''The Beautiful Helen'') is an opéra bouffe in three acts, with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The piece parodies the story of Helen of Troy's elopement with Paris (mythology ...

'', ''

La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein ''La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein'' (''The Grand Duchess of Gerolstein'') is an opéra bouffe (a form of operetta), in three acts and four tableaux by Jacques Offenbach to an original French libretto by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The s ...

'' and ''

Belle Lurette ''Belle Lurette'' is a three-act opéra comique with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Ernest Blum, Edouard Blau and Raoul Toché. It was first performed at the Théâtre de la Renaissance, Paris, on 30 October 1880. The composer died befor ...

'', (Schneider created the title roles in ''La Périchole'', ''La Belle Hélène'' and ''La Grande-Duchesse de Gérolstein''). The reviewer in ''Sight and Sound'' described ''La Valse de Paris'' as "a stylised musical" and praised Fresnay's "delightful, lightly caricatured portrayal of Offenbach, and noted Printemps's "grace and waywardness and allure". Although the first screen work with the composer as principal character, Offenbach scholar Jean-Claude Yon considers the film's direction as "casual", with Achard resorting to clichés; he also finds Printemps unconvincing as Schneider, spoiling the subtilty of Fresnay personation. From a marxist approach of

Siegfried Kracauer Siegfried Kracauer (; ; February 8, 1889 – November 26, 1966) was a German writer, journalist, sociologist, cultural critic, and film theorist. He has sometimes been associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory. He is notable for ...

(a major German biographer of 1938) and the Offenbach in

Montmartre Montmartre ( , , ) is a large hill in Paris's northern 18th arrondissement of Paris, 18th arrondissement. It is high and gives its name to the surrounding district, part of the Rive Droite, Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for its a ...

Manuel Rosenthal Manuel Rosenthal (18 June 1904 – 5 June 2003) was a French composer and conductor who held leading positions with musical organizations in France and the United States. He was friends with many contemporary composers, and despite a considerab ...

(referring to the ballet ''

Gaîté Parisienne ''Gaîté Parisienne'' () is a 1938 ballet choreographed by Léonide Massine (1896–1979) to music by Jacques Offenbach (1819–1880) arranged and orchestrated many decades later by Manuel Rosenthal (1904–2003) in collaboration with Jacques B ...

'', the same year) Achard's 1950s Offenbach is "precious" with little to do with the real person.Yon, Jean-Claude. La carrière posthume d'un musicien ou Offenbach aux Enfers. In: Histoire, Économie et Société, 2003, 22ᵉ année, n°2. L'opéra, à la croisée de l'histoire et de la musicologie. pp. 268 & 270.

References

Bibliography

* Hayward, Susan. ''French Costume Drama of the 1950s: Fashioning Politics in Film''. Intellect Books, 2010.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Paris Waltz 1950 films 1950s biographical films 1950s historical musical films French biographical films French historical musical films Italian historical musical films 1950s French-language films Biographical films about singers Films about classical music and musicians Films about composers Films about opera Films set in the 1850s Films set in the 1860s Films set in Paris Cultural depictions of Napoleon III Lux Film films French black-and-white films Italian black-and-white films 1950s French films 1950s Italian films Films shot at Billancourt Studios Films scored by Louis Beydts French-language historical musical films