The Earrings of Madame de...

I just watched The Earrings of Madame de… (1953) directed by Max Ophüls (who also made La Ronde). Magnifique!

The screenplay was written by Max Ophüls, Marcel Achard, and Annette Wademant. It is based on the 1951 novel Madame de… by Louise Lévêque de Vilmorin. Indeed, the movie is called Madame de… in French. I'm not sure why they changed the title in English. I mean, it's not like they re-filmed it or anything; it's just the French movie with English subtitles. And, sure, there are earrings in it, but I think Madame de… would have worked fine in English too.

The ellipsis in the title refers to the fact that the surname of the protagonist is never revealed. It is always obscured when spoken or written.

The story takes place in Paris, and a tiny bit in Constantinople, sometime during La Belle Époque. Everything is very elegant and people are always riding about in horse-drawn carriages.

Charles Boyer (who was also in Love Affair) sees off both Lia Di Leo and Danielle Darrieux at the Paris train station.

Mireille Perrey is knitting in one scene. It's very fast, but maybe she knits continental and really is that fast.