Love from Paris

1957 West Germany film

Love from Paris

Theatrical release poster

German| Monpti
Directed by| Helmut Käutner
Screenplay by| Helmut Käutner
Gábor von Vaszary
Willibald Eser
Based on| Monpti
by Gábor von Vaszary
Produced by| Harald Braun
Starring| Romy Schneider
Horst Buchholz
Cinematography| Heinz Pehlke
Edited by| Anneliese Schönnenbeck
Music by| Bernhard Eichhorn

Production
company

Neue Deutsche Filmgesellschaft

Distributed by| Herzog-Filmverleih

Release date

* 12 September 1957 (1957-09-12) (West Germany)

Running time

| 96 minutes
Country| West Germany
Language| German

Love from Paris (German: Monpti) is a 1957 West German romantic comedy-drama film directed by Helmut Käutner and starring Romy Schneider and Horst Buchholz. It was based on the novel of the same title by Gábor von Vaszary. Vaszary also worked on the screenplay. The cinematographer was Heinz Pehlke, who used different techniques to convey the mood of the film, including using a concealed camera to capture the sights and sounds of Paris.[1] The film premiered on 12 September 1957 in the Lichtburg cinema in Essen. The original copy of the film is archived at the Akademie der Künste in Berlin.[1]

It was shot at the Bavaria Studios in Munich and on location in Paris. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Albrecht Becker and Herbert Kirchhoff.

## Plot

[edit]

A young Hungarian student and a 17-year-old French girl, Anne-Claire, meet in a park in Paris. She calls him "Monpti" (mon p'tit, "my little one"). They fall in love and enjoy a happy time. Anne-Claire claims to come from a wealthy family, but Monpti finds out that she actually comes from poor circumstances. Angered at having been deceived by Anne-Claire, he tells her off on the street and leaves her standing there. As she runs after his taxi, she is hit by another car. Lying in the hospital, Monpti promises he will marry her, but Anne-Claire dies a little while later from her injuries.

At the same time, the story of a second couple is told, whose relationship stands in stark contrast to the main story.

## Reception

[edit]

The Lexicon des Internationalen Films wrote, "In Paris, a hungry 23-year-old artist from Budapest plays an erotic cat-and-mouse game with an orphaned 17-year-old seamstress, until the girl's death from an accident puts an end to it. A melancholic romantic comedy is told by an old Bistro customer who functions as a sort of keyhole peeper in a cabaret-like farce. A melodramatic, compact, at times very suggestive battle of the sexes—male lust and feminine stalling tactics, focusing on a fascinating, young Romy Schneider.[2]

## Cast

[edit]

* Romy Schneider as Anne-Claire Jouvain
* Horst Buchholz as (main) Monpti
* Mara Lane as Nadine
* Boy Gobert as (second) Monpti
* Olive Moorefield as Zaza
* Bum Krüger as man from No. 17
* Iska Geri as woman from No. 17
* Bobby Todd as Fliegenäugiger
* Joseph Offenbach as editorial secretary
* Helmut Käutner as narrator
* Willibald Eser as an acquaintance of (second) Monpti

## Sources

[edit]

* Gábor von Vaszary: Monpti. Roman. (Translated into German by the author.) Thiele, Munich and Vienna (2009). ISBN 978-3-85179-015-3

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Rolf Aurich, "Heinz Pehlke - Kameramann" CineGraph, Lexikon zum deutschsprachigen Film. Retrieved March 13, 2012 (in German)
2. ^ Monpti Lexicon des Internationalen Films. Retrieved March 13, 2012 (in German)

## External links

[edit]

* Love from Paris at IMDb
* Monpti at filmportal.de/en

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Helmut Käutner

* Kitty and the World Conference (1939)
* Clothes Make the Man (1940)
* Woman Made to Measure (1940)
* We Make Music (1942)
* Anuschka (1942)
* Romance in a Minor Key (1943)
* Große Freiheit Nr. 7 (1944)
* Under the Bridges (1946)
* In Those Days (1947)
* The Original Sin (1948)
* Royal Children (1950)
* White Shadows (1951)
* Captain Bay-Bay (1953)
* The Last Bridge (1954)
* Portrait of an Unknown Woman (1954)
* Ludwig II (1955)
* The Devil's General (1955)
* Sky Without Stars (1955)
* The Girl from Flanders (1956)
* The Captain from Köpenick (1956)
* Love from Paris (1957)
* The Rest Is Silence (1959)
* The Goose of Sedan (1959)
* A Glass of Water (1960)
* Black Gravel (1961)
* The Dream of Lieschen Mueller (1961)
* Redhead (1962)
* The House in Montevideo (1963)
* Die Feuerzangenbowle (1970)

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* Germany
* France
* BnF data

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