Romy Schneider Movies

A man's tragic past leads him to take justice into his own hands in this troubling look at life in Europe after WWII. Max Baumstein (Michel Piccoli) is a well-known human rights activist and avowed pacifist who, to the shock and puzzlement of many, murders a politician from South America. As Baumstein goes to trial, it is revealed that his victim was in fact a Nazi war criminal who ordered the deaths of thousands of people -- including Baumstein's parents. In flashback, Max recalls the horrors of the Nazi occupation of France, and he remembers Elsa Weiner (Romy Schneider), a woman who helped save his life and struggled to free her husband Michel (Helmut Griem) from a concentration camp after he was condemned for publishing anti-fascist literature. La Passante Du Sans-Souci marked the final screen appearance of actress Romy Schneider, who played both Elsa and Baumstein's wife Lina; Schneider died of heart failure shortly after it was released. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This is a minimalist interrogation drama about a wealthy, influential attorney (Michel Serrault) in a small French town falls under suspicion in a double rape/murder case. The police bring the lawyer in for questioning; at first politely, and then less so, the interrogation team (Lino Venture, Guy Marchand) chips away at the suspect's alibi. An expertly wrought surprise ending makes up for the clumsiness of the English-language dubbing. This French film was based on the British novel Brainwash, by John Wainwright. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Noted political filmmaker Costa-Gavras turned his attention to personal issues in this drama. Michel (Yves Montand) has had to deal with the death of his wife, while Lydia (Romy Schneider) is mourning the loss of her daughter. Both Michel and Lydia are lonely, and they are attempting to start a relationship together, but neither has been able to purge themselves of their sorrows, which makes it difficult for them to live in the moment. Clair de Femme was based on a novel by Romain Gary. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The West German/French Group Portrait with Lady (Gluppenbild mit Dame) is based on a bestselling novel by Heinrich Böll. The film is a string of anecdotes, some longer than others, related to the topic of German war guilt. The main plotline involves German woman Romy Schneider's affair with Russian prisoner of war Brad Dourif. Through an occasionally confusing series of flashbacks, we discover Schneider's ultimate fate, and also solve the mystery of the Jewish girl buried in a convent cemetery. Romy Schneider won several German film awards for her participation in this 100-minute elegy. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Michel Piccoli plays Simon, a French businessman reluctantly venturing into middle age. As he deals with his own midlife crisis, Simon becomes virtually oblivious to the social changes around him. The businessman tries to counter advancing age with an increased sex life, but finds that women aren't the same compliant creatures he remembers from his youth. Though the material is rife with opportunities for "radical" camerawork, director Claude Sautet chooses an austere, near-classic cinematic style, allowing us to concentrate more on the people in front of the camera rather than the person behind it. Featured in the cast of Mado is actress Romy Schneider, a Sautet favorite. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Old Gun (Le Vieux Fusil) stars Philippe Noiret as an aging, embittered French physician. During the occupation, Noiret loses his wife and daughter to Nazi bullets. He vows to personally kill every one of the Germans responsible (along with a few who weren't) in order to assuage his grief. Romy Schneider and Jean Bousse costar in this heart rending character study. Philippe Noiret was justifiably honored with the French Cesar Award for his towering performance in Old Gun. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Elizabeth (Romy Schneider) and her daughter (Benedicte Bucher) take a holiday together, and each of them has a brief romance: the mother has an affair with a suitably mysterious Italian (Nino Castelnuovo) and the girl has a satisfying flirtation with a boy her own age (Alain David). ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

At the beginning of World War II, while the Germans entered France from the north, many people had reason to believe that the Germans would not treat them kindly, and they fled by train to the south. This French film tells the story of a few of them. Because they were fleeing the best-organized bureaucrats in the world, many of them chose to flee in freight cars, unseen and unnoted. When Meyereu (Jean-Louis Trintignant) is separated from his wife during the escape, he allows a Jewish girl (Romy Schneider) to pose as his wife. As the deception continues, they come to care for each other, but she discreetly disappears when his real wife turns up. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Max (Michel Piccoli) is a former judge obsessed with seeing criminals brought to justice. The frustrations of the courtroom, where evidence matters more than guilt, lead him to join the police force. Independently wealthy, he uses all his official and personal resources to make criminals pay for their crimes. He hits on a scheme involving a prostitute (Romy Schneider) and her small-time criminal boyfriend (Bernard Fresson) in which he incites the boyfriend to carry out larger and larger crimes until he can arrange to catch him red-handed. While he has been using the prostitute to set up her boyfriend, he has also fallen in love with her. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Mariana (Romy Schneider) is riding along with her weekend date when she infuriates him by insulting his virility. The irate man drives off a high cliff and crashes into the ocean. She emerges unscathed and she is rescued by the victim's brother. Mariana and the brother become lovers, but he soon believes she may have killed his sibling. The other brother miraculously appears and Mariana kills him and buries his corpse in the garden. The brother has already supposedly identified his brother's body before the victim returns. The police wait for the lovers to return when the rain washes away the soil and exposes the victim's body in this suspense story with a decided lack of tension. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

Passion, whether sex or violence, is the root of conflict in this film which follows as the alcoholic Mercouri and her husband Finch travel with their daughter and Schneider across Spain. Being married does not stop Finch from fooling around with other women, however, and an affair flares up between him and Schneider. But it doesn't just stop between these two--things start warming up between Mercouri and Schneider as well. ~ Rovi

A notorious womanizer, fashion editor Michael James (Peter O'Toole) decides to seek the help of a psychiatrist when he begins to feel that his inability to commit to a relationship is adversely affecting his personal life. Desperate to remain faithful to his fiancée Carole (Romy Schneider), Michael enlists the help of Dr. Fassbinder (Peter Sellers), blissfully unaware that as Dr. Fassbinder is making the moves on a patient who secretly longs for the seemingly irresistible Michael. As Michael and Carole check into the Chateau Chantelle in hopes of patching up their relationship, Dr. Fassbinder has also arrived at the Chateau in hopes of finally cementing his relationship with the comely patient. As the two couples check into the hotel, disaster looms just beyond the bend in a series of hilarious mishaps that will test both Michael's faithfulness and Dr. Fassbinder's sanity. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Much of Orson Welles' latter-day reputation as an "unfathomable" genius rests upon his seeming unwillingness to tell a story in clear, precise fashion. Sometimes, as in such films as Touch of Evil, Welles' spotty storytelling skills can be forgiven in the light of the excellent visuals. In other cases, as in his 1962 adaptation of Kafka's The Trial, Welles'style comes across as empty virtuosity, precious and petulant when it should be profound. Anthony Perkins plays Joseph K, a man condemned for an unnamed crime in an unnamed country. Seeking justice, Joseph K is sucked into a labyrinth of bureaucracy (Welles once described the character as being a "little bureaucrat" himself, who deserves to be punished. This is never clearly expressed in the finished film). Along the way, he becomes involved with three women -- Jeanne Moreau, Romy Schneider, Elsa Martinelli -- who in their own individual ways are functions of the System that persecutes him.

While Welles considered The Trial one of his finest films, this enthusiasm is not universally shared; even his most fervent admirers have been known to emerge from a screening of the film with quizzical, disappointed expressions on their faces. On the plus side, Welles and his cinematographer Edmond Richard perform miracles in transforming an abandoned French railway station into the headquarters of a totalitarian, red tape-ridden society. It's also fun to hear Welles' voice emanating from several of the supporting characters (his post-dubbing budget was nil). All in all, however, The Trial never truly works; it is unfair, however, to lay the blame for this entirely on Welles, inasmuch as the 1948 and 1994 attempts to cinematize the original Kafka novel likewise came a cropper. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi