''Christine'' is a 1958 French

period drama film A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction such as c ...

, based on the 1894 play '' Liebelei'' (''Flirtation'') by

Arthur Schnitzler Arthur Schnitzler (15 May 1862 – 21 October 1931) was an Austrian author and dramatist. He is considered one of the most significant representatives of Viennese Modernism. Schnitzler’s works, which include psychological dramas and narratives ...

. The film was directed by

Pierre Gaspard-Huit Pierre Gaspard-Huit (29 November 1917 – 1 May 2017) was a French film director and screenwriter. He directed the 1963 film '' Shéhérazade'', which starred Anna Karina. He was once married to actress Claudine Auger when she was 18, and he w ...

and the title character was played by

Romy Schneider Rosemarie Magdalena Albach (23 September 1938 – 29 May 1982), known professionally as Romy Schneider (), was a German and French actress. She is regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses of all time and became a cult figure due to ...

. The cast included

Alain Delon Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon (; 8 November 1935 – 18 August 2024) was a French actor, film producer, screenwriter, singer, and businessman. Acknowledged as a cultural and cinematic leading man of the 20th century, Delon emerged as one of ...

as a young lieutenant. Schnitzler's play had been filmed in 1933 by

Max Ophüls Maximillian Oppenheimer ( , ; 6 May 1902 – 26 March 1957), known as Max Ophüls ( , , ) or simply Ophuls, was a German and French film director and screenwriter. He was known for his opulent and lyrical visual style, with heavy use of trac ...

as '' Liebelei'', starring Romy Schneider's mother,

Magda Schneider Magdalena Maria Schneider (17 May 1909 – 30 July 1996) was a German actress and singer. She was the mother of the actress Romy Schneider. Biography Magdalena Maria Schneider was born in Augsburg, Bavaria, the daughter of a plumber. She atte ...

Synopsis

In 1906 Vienna, a young lieutenant Franz (Alain Delon) has an affair with a married baroness, Lena. He decides to put an end to it when he meets Christine (Romy Schneider, Delon's fiancée in real life), a musician's daughter. Christine is almost engaged to a composer, Binder, but falls in love with Franz. Franz breaks it off with Lena, but her husband the Baron Eggesdorf has already discovered the affair. While Christine and Franz plan their wedding, the Baron challenges Franz to a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in ...

, and Franz is killed, leading to Christine committing suicide.

Cast

Production

Charles Spaak Charles Spaak (25 May 1903 – 4 March 1975) was a Belgian screenwriter who was noted particularly for his work in the French cinema during the 1930s. He was the son of the dramatist and poet Paul Spaak, the brother of the politician Paul-Henri ...

was reported as working on the screenplay. At the time of filming, Schneider was one of the most popular stars in Europe, having enjoyed success starring in the ''Sissi'' film trilogy. ''Christine'' was an attempt to duplicate this, being aimed more at the French market. Delon had only just begun his career when he was cast. He and Schneider began a romantic affair that continued on and off for a number of years.

Reception

In France, the film had 2,848,858 theatre admissions, making it the seventeenth most popular film at the French box office in 1958. Number one in France that year was an American film, ''

The Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (), or the Decalogue (from Latin , from Ancient Greek , ), are religious and ethical directives, structured as a covenant document, that, according to the Hebrew Bible, were given by YHWH to Moses. The text of the Ten C ...

''; number four was another film starring Schneider, the Austrian production ''

Sissi – Fateful Years of an Empress ''Sissi – Fateful Years of an Empress'' () is a 1957 Austrian film written and directed by Ernst Marischka and starring Romy Schneider and Karlheinz Böhm, with Magda Schneider, Gustav Knuth, Uta Franz, Vilma Degischer and Walther Reyer. It w ...

''.

References

External links

''Christine'' (1958)
at filmsdefrance.com * * 1958 films Films based on works by Arthur Schnitzler Italian drama films 1950s French-language films 1958 romantic drama films Films directed by Pierre Gaspard-Huit Films scored by Georges Auric Remakes of German films Films set in 1906 French films based on plays 1950s Italian films {{romantic-drama-film-stub