Romy Schneider Movies

The British/American co-production My Lover, My Son stars Romy Schneider as Frances, the unhappy wife of businessman Robert (Donald Houston). When her lover is accidentally drowned, Frances turns to her teenaged son James (Dennis Waterman) for comfort. Her husband doesn't like this set-up and bundles James off to college, but upon his return the boy enters into an affair with his own mother. Robert discovers the incestuous couple in an embrace and reacts violently, whereupon Frances kills him in self defense. Knocked unconscious during the struggle, James thinks he is the killer and takes the rap. The boy is released on the grounds of self defense and returns to his mother -- only to renounce her when he discovers that he's the illegitimate son of his mother's dead lover. MGM was the American distributor for My Lover, My Son, and that low vibration you feel is Louis B. Mayer spinning in his grave. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Jean-Paul (Alain Delon) is an out-of-work writer having an affair with Marianne (Romy Schneider), a successful journalist. As they frolic in a swimming pool in St. Tropez, she receives as call from the record executive Harry (Maurice Ronet). He arrives with his nubile young daughter (Jane Birkin). Harry and Marianne were once lovers and he makes a pass at her. Meanwhile, Jean-Paul makes a pass at Harry's daughter. After some drinking, Harry and Jean-Paul fight, resulting in Harry being pushed into the pool. Jean-Paul refuses to help the struggling man as he drowns, and the young couple tries to get their stories straight in order to avoid being charged with murder in this sometimes masochistic feature from France. ~ 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

Tom Tryon plays the title role in this Otto Preminger version of the Henry Morton Robinson novel. In his matriculation from Monsignor to the College of Cardinals, Stephen Fermoyle (Tom Tryon) must undergo several grueling life experiences: standing up to bigots in Georgia, defying Nazis in Austria, and so on. The film boasts cameo appearances by Dorothy Gish, Cecil Kellaway, John Saxon, John Huston, Robert Morse, Burgess Meredith, Raf Vallone, Ossie Davis. Incidentally, Tryon eventually quit acting and became a popular novelist. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Released in the US by 20th Century-Fox, Boccaccio '70 is a compendium of short subjects directed by three of Italy's top filmmakers. Each story is written in the style of the famed Italian essayist Boccaccio, albeit told in contemporary terms. First up is "The Raffle", written by Cesare Zavattini and directed by Vittorio De Sica: Sophia Loren (wife of Boccaccio '70 producer Carlo Ponti) plays the sexy operator of a shooting gallery, who offers herself as first prize to the best shot. In "The Job", written by Suso Cecchi D'Amico and directed by Luchino Visconti, Romy Schneider carries a torch for her philandering boss Tomas Milian. The final segment is "The Temptation of Dr. Antonio", directed by Federico Fellini and scripted by Fellini, Ennio Flaiano and Tullio Pinelli; in this one, Anita Ekberg is an image on a poster who comes to life for the benefit of a drooling middle-aged professor (Peppino De Filippo). A fourth episode, "Renzo and Luciana", directed by Mario Monicelli, was cut from U.S. release. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Feeling hamstrung and confined by Hollywood, writer/director Robert Siodmak returned to Europe to make most of his latter-day films. Produced in France, Magnificent Sinner stars Curt Jurgens as Czar Alexander II, with Romy Schneider as schoolgirl Katja. The Czar takes Katja as his mistress, elevating her to princess status. The romance leads to court intrigue, and is instrumental in Alexander's ultimate assassination. Magnificent Sinner was originally released as Katia; it was a remake of a 1938 French film of the same name, which starred Danielle Darieaux. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Christa Winsloe's novel Maedchen in Uniform was first filmed in Germany in 1933. The story, about a sensitive schoolgirl's lesbian attachment to her headmistress, was handled tastefully, albeit with remarkable frankness for its period. The 1958 remake is somewhat toned down and the material directed in a routine fashion, though technically the production has fewer frayed edges than the 1933 version. Romy Schneider stars in the old Hertha Thiele role as the student, while Lili Palmer takes over from Dorothea Wieck as the older woman. Made in 1958, the remake of Maedchen in Uniform was not released in the U.S. until 1965, possibly because it went against the production code edict concerning "suicide as a plot solution." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Monpti is better known by its English-language title Love From Paris. Romy Schneider stars as Anne Claire, a seamstress who pretends to be wealthy in order to crash society. In this guise, she meets and falls in love with starving artist Monpti (Horst Buchholz), who has no time for women of wealth. Sensing a challenge, Anne pursues Monpti, keeping her true identity a secret. What starts as a light-hearted romp unexpectedly deepens into tragedy. The film is narrated by a wry, all-knowing Parisian who, at closer inspection, turns out to be director Helmut Kautner. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi