Romy Schneider and Horst Buchholz were one of the most beloved 'Traumpaare' (dream couples) of the German cinema of the 1950s. Their most successful film together was the romantic drama Monpti/Love from Paris (Helmut Käutner, 1957), situated in, oui!, Paris.
Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg, Rotterdam, no. 1012. Photo: Ufa. Romy Schneider and Horst Buchholz in Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957).
German postcard by Franz Josef Rüdel, Filmpostkartenverlag, Hamburg-Bergedorf, no. 2268. Photo: NDF / Herzog / Vogelmann; NDF / Herzog / Brünjes. Publicity stills for Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957) with Romy Schneider and Horst Buchholz.
Dutch postcard by Int. Filmpers, Amsterdam, no. 1221. Photo: Cont Press / Heinz Fremke. Caption: Special picture made at the premiere of Monpti. A film based on the novel 'Monpti' issued in 15 languages in a total edition of 2.000.000 copies. Author: Gabor von Vasary.
Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg, Rotterdam, no. 1027. Photo: Ufa. Publicity still for Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957) with Romy Schneider. Sadly, a former owner of this postcard cut the sides off.
Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg N.V., Rotterdam (Licency holder for Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft, Berlin-Tempelhof), no. 1003. Photo: Ufa. Publicity still for Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957).
Monpti/Love from Paris (Helmut Käutner, 1957) is a cheerful, yet melancholic love story set in Paris that ends tragically.
Horst Buchholz plays a young, starving art student from Budapest who meets Anne-Claire (Romy Schneider), a pretty, French girl on a bench in the Luxembourg park in Paris.
Anne-Claire is a 17-year old seamstress, who pretends to be of rich family in order to crash society. In reality, she is poor and orphaned. She falls in love with the Hungarian artist whom she calls Monpti (short for Mon petit – My little one).
She tells him that she comes from a wealthy family and has a private chauffeur, and even takes Monpti to a family church funeral and points out all her relatives, even telling which ones are not on speaking terms.
A cat and mouse play-like erotic relationship starts. Monpti has no time for women of wealth. Sensing a challenge, Anne-Claire pursues Monpti, keeping her true identity a secret. But when he learns the truth, he hits her in the open street, takes a cab, and drives away.
What starts as a light-hearted romp unexpectedly deepens into tragedy.Anne-Claire tries to follow him but runs into a car. In the background of many scenes we have seen the couple who overrun Anne-Claire, and their shallow emotions were recurrently contrasted with the genuine love of the young couple.
Monpti sees Anne-Claire one last time, lying in the hospital. Monpti promises he will marry her, but Anne-Claire dies a little while later from her injuries. In a dream, Monpti sees her in a wedding dress.
Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg, Rotterdam, no. 1016. Photo: Ufa. Romy Schneider and Horst Buchholz in Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957).
Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg, Rotterdam, no. 1019. Photo: Ufa. Romy Schneider and Horst Buchholz in Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957).
Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg, Rotterdam. Photo: Ufa. Romy Schneider and Horst Buchholz in Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957).
Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg, Rotterdam. Photo: Ufa. Romy Schneider and Horst Buchholz in Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957).
Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg, Rotterdam, no. 1022. Photo: Ufa. Romy Schneider and Horst Buchholz in Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957).
Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg, Rotterdam, no. 1024. Photo: Ufa. Romy Schneider and Horst Buchholz in Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957).
Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg, Rotterdam, no. 1025. Photo: Ufa. Romy Schneider and Horst Buchholz in Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957).
In 1957, Romy Schneider and Horst Buchholz were Germany's biggest film stars. They had teamed up the year before in Robinson Soll nicht sterben/The Girl and the Legend (Josef von Báky, 1957) which dealt with author Daniel Defoe's childhood. Horst Buchholz had also been the hero of the German version of Julien Duvivier's Marianne de Ma Jeunesse/Marianne of My Youth (1955).
The young and fascinating Romy grew in popularity in the wake of the Sissi saga. Monpti (English-language title Love From Paris) was the first time she had left the costume- and Heimatfilms. Monpti became the turning point which explained her further evolution. It was not yet Orson Welles or Luchino Visconti but it was a step in the right direction.
Montpi was directed by Helmut Käutner and produced by Harald Braun. It was filmed in the Bavaria Filmstudios and on location in Paris. The scenes often take place in the Luxembourg gardens in the Latin Quarter. 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.
Helmut Käutner was influenced by the French director Julien Duvivier whose Sous le ciel de Paris/Under the Sky of Paris (1951) and other films revolved around the whims of fate, with a voice over. Monpti is narrated by a wry, all-knowing Bistro customer, who functions as a sort of keyhole peeper in a cabaret-like farce. The old Bistro customer is played by director Käutner himself.
Marcin Kukuczka at IMDb: "MONPTI is a nice underrated film about simplicity, youthful joy, pure affection that all young people may get through when they only want to. It's also a wonderful insight into a change introduced in cinema. Highly recommended!"
J.J. Gittes at IMDb: "The film is completely dazzling, and as some say this is Käutner's biggest coup de main, though I'm not so sure myself, I definitely cannot disagree. Monpti left me a bit dumbfounded, gasping for air, as it's as fast as seemingly innocent while going through the motions in a nether-land somewhere between Andrzej Zulawski's Possession (1981) and Ernst Marischka's Sissi (1955). Definitely one-of-its-kind, this is a testament to the 50s as a disjointed decade stuck between the 40s and 60s, on a planet of its own. "
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. AX 3168. Photo: Filmex N.V. Romy Schneider and Horst Buchholz in Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957).
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. AX 3175. Photo: Filmex N.V. Romy Schneider in Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957).
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. AX 3177. Photo: Filmex N.V. Romy Schneider in Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957).
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. AX 3179. Photo: Filmex N.V. Romy Schneider and Horst Buchholz in Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957).
West-German postcard by Ufa/Film-Foto, Berlin-Tempelhof, no. FK 3674. Photo: Ringpress / Vogelmann / NDF / Herzog Film. Mara Lane in Monpti/Love from Paris (Helmut Käutner, 1957).
German postcard by Ufa. Photo: Vogelmann / NDF / Herzog-film. Olive Moorefield in Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957).
Director and actor Helmut Käutner. German postcard by Photo-Kitt, München, no. 504. Photo: Kurt Julius / Camera Film.
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg, Rotterdam, no. 1012. Photo: Ufa. Romy Schneider and Horst Buchholz in Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957).
German postcard by Franz Josef Rüdel, Filmpostkartenverlag, Hamburg-Bergedorf, no. 2268. Photo: NDF / Herzog / Vogelmann; NDF / Herzog / Brünjes. Publicity stills for Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957) with Romy Schneider and Horst Buchholz.
Dutch postcard by Int. Filmpers, Amsterdam, no. 1221. Photo: Cont Press / Heinz Fremke. Caption: Special picture made at the premiere of Monpti. A film based on the novel 'Monpti' issued in 15 languages in a total edition of 2.000.000 copies. Author: Gabor von Vasary.
Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg, Rotterdam, no. 1027. Photo: Ufa. Publicity still for Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957) with Romy Schneider. Sadly, a former owner of this postcard cut the sides off.
Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg N.V., Rotterdam (Licency holder for Universum-Film Aktiengesellschaft, Berlin-Tempelhof), no. 1003. Photo: Ufa. Publicity still for Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957).
A cat and mouse play-like erotic relationship
Monpti/Love from Paris (Helmut Käutner, 1957) is a cheerful, yet melancholic love story set in Paris that ends tragically.
Horst Buchholz plays a young, starving art student from Budapest who meets Anne-Claire (Romy Schneider), a pretty, French girl on a bench in the Luxembourg park in Paris.
Anne-Claire is a 17-year old seamstress, who pretends to be of rich family in order to crash society. In reality, she is poor and orphaned. She falls in love with the Hungarian artist whom she calls Monpti (short for Mon petit – My little one).
She tells him that she comes from a wealthy family and has a private chauffeur, and even takes Monpti to a family church funeral and points out all her relatives, even telling which ones are not on speaking terms.
A cat and mouse play-like erotic relationship starts. Monpti has no time for women of wealth. Sensing a challenge, Anne-Claire pursues Monpti, keeping her true identity a secret. But when he learns the truth, he hits her in the open street, takes a cab, and drives away.
What starts as a light-hearted romp unexpectedly deepens into tragedy.Anne-Claire tries to follow him but runs into a car. In the background of many scenes we have seen the couple who overrun Anne-Claire, and their shallow emotions were recurrently contrasted with the genuine love of the young couple.
Monpti sees Anne-Claire one last time, lying in the hospital. Monpti promises he will marry her, but Anne-Claire dies a little while later from her injuries. In a dream, Monpti sees her in a wedding dress.
Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg, Rotterdam, no. 1016. Photo: Ufa. Romy Schneider and Horst Buchholz in Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957).
Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg, Rotterdam, no. 1019. Photo: Ufa. Romy Schneider and Horst Buchholz in Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957).
Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg, Rotterdam. Photo: Ufa. Romy Schneider and Horst Buchholz in Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957).
Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg, Rotterdam. Photo: Ufa. Romy Schneider and Horst Buchholz in Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957).
Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg, Rotterdam, no. 1022. Photo: Ufa. Romy Schneider and Horst Buchholz in Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957).
Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg, Rotterdam, no. 1024. Photo: Ufa. Romy Schneider and Horst Buchholz in Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957).
Dutch postcard by Gebr. Spanjersberg, Rotterdam, no. 1025. Photo: Ufa. Romy Schneider and Horst Buchholz in Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957).
The turning point for Romy Schneider
In 1957, Romy Schneider and Horst Buchholz were Germany's biggest film stars. They had teamed up the year before in Robinson Soll nicht sterben/The Girl and the Legend (Josef von Báky, 1957) which dealt with author Daniel Defoe's childhood. Horst Buchholz had also been the hero of the German version of Julien Duvivier's Marianne de Ma Jeunesse/Marianne of My Youth (1955).
The young and fascinating Romy grew in popularity in the wake of the Sissi saga. Monpti (English-language title Love From Paris) was the first time she had left the costume- and Heimatfilms. Monpti became the turning point which explained her further evolution. It was not yet Orson Welles or Luchino Visconti but it was a step in the right direction.
Montpi was directed by Helmut Käutner and produced by Harald Braun. It was filmed in the Bavaria Filmstudios and on location in Paris. The scenes often take place in the Luxembourg gardens in the Latin Quarter. 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.
Helmut Käutner was influenced by the French director Julien Duvivier whose Sous le ciel de Paris/Under the Sky of Paris (1951) and other films revolved around the whims of fate, with a voice over. Monpti is narrated by a wry, all-knowing Bistro customer, who functions as a sort of keyhole peeper in a cabaret-like farce. The old Bistro customer is played by director Käutner himself.
Marcin Kukuczka at IMDb: "MONPTI is a nice underrated film about simplicity, youthful joy, pure affection that all young people may get through when they only want to. It's also a wonderful insight into a change introduced in cinema. Highly recommended!"
J.J. Gittes at IMDb: "The film is completely dazzling, and as some say this is Käutner's biggest coup de main, though I'm not so sure myself, I definitely cannot disagree. Monpti left me a bit dumbfounded, gasping for air, as it's as fast as seemingly innocent while going through the motions in a nether-land somewhere between Andrzej Zulawski's Possession (1981) and Ernst Marischka's Sissi (1955). Definitely one-of-its-kind, this is a testament to the 50s as a disjointed decade stuck between the 40s and 60s, on a planet of its own. "
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. AX 3168. Photo: Filmex N.V. Romy Schneider and Horst Buchholz in Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957).
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. AX 3175. Photo: Filmex N.V. Romy Schneider in Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957).
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. AX 3177. Photo: Filmex N.V. Romy Schneider in Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957).
Dutch postcard by Uitg. Takken, Utrecht, no. AX 3179. Photo: Filmex N.V. Romy Schneider and Horst Buchholz in Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957).
West-German postcard by Ufa/Film-Foto, Berlin-Tempelhof, no. FK 3674. Photo: Ringpress / Vogelmann / NDF / Herzog Film. Mara Lane in Monpti/Love from Paris (Helmut Käutner, 1957).
German postcard by Ufa. Photo: Vogelmann / NDF / Herzog-film. Olive Moorefield in Monpti (Helmut Käutner, 1957).
Director and actor Helmut Käutner. German postcard by Photo-Kitt, München, no. 504. Photo: Kurt Julius / Camera Film.
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
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