Ophuls, Max

Ophuls, Max (1902-1957), German-born French film director, originally called Maximilian Oppenheimer. He was also known as Max Ophüls. Initially from Saarbrücken, Ophuls began acting on stage in 1919, moving on to directing plays in 1924 and to films in 1930. The few films he made in Germany before 1933, when he went into exile in France, include Die Verkaufte Braut (1932; The Bartered Bride) and Liebelei (1932), both stories of tragic love. This was to be the main theme on which most of his films are variations, from those made in France—where he took citizenship in 1938—such as La Tendre Ennemie (1936; The Tender Enemy) or De Mayerling à Sarajevo (1940; From Mayerling to Sarajevo); through Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948), Caught (1949), and other American films; to those made after his return to France, notably La Ronde (1950), Madame De... (1953; The Earrings of Madame De...), and Lola Montes (1955).

Ophuls made frequent use of tracking, panning, and overhead shots intended to enhance the fluidity and breadth of his films. The British actor James Mason suggested that: “A shot that does not call for tracks, is agony for dear old Max.”

Max Ophuls died in Hamburg on March 26, 1957. His son, Marcel Ophuls, is renowned as a director of historical documentaries.