La Valse de Paris (1950)
Directed by Marcel Achard

Film Review

Marcel Achard's final directorial fling was this enchanting but wholly fictitious account of the relationship between Jacques Offenbach, France's leading purveyor of comic opera, and his leading lady, Hortense Schneider.  Prior to this Achard had directed two other films - L'Homme des Folies Bergère (1935) and Jean de la Lune (1949) - but he never achieved the success as a filmmaker which he had previously enjoyed as a playwright.  With its Second Empire setting, La Valse de Paris is more visually interesting, more emotionally engaging than Achard's previous two films but suffers from the same confining sense of staginess, implying perhaps that its director regarded cinema merely as an extension of theatre rather than a totally different kind of medium.

Despite the enormous liberties that Achard takes with his subject (which he openly admits in an amusing exchange at the start of the film), La Valse de Paris is one of the most enjoyable of French biopics.  It may not be factually accurate but it provides an enthusiastic celebration of the work of Offenbach and includes many of his best-loved compositions, including Ô mon cher amant, je te jure from La Périchole, Ah, que j'aime les militaires from La Grande-duchesse de Gérolstein and Oui c'est un rêve from La Belle Hélène.  Far from being thrown in willy-nilly (as is so often the case with musical biopics), the songs are thoughtfully woven into the narrative, in a way that Offenbach himself may well have approved of.  The composer's most famous piece, the  Can-can from Orphée aux enfers, even gets an airing, accompanying a bizarre comic interlude involving military men rather than high-kicking dancers.  It has to be seen to be believed.

The part of Hortense Schneider was a gift for Yvonne Printemps.  An actress of almost unrivalled charm and charisma, Printemps was also an accomplished singer and her vocal talents are exploited to the full by Achard as she gets to sing most of the film's numbers, and does so superbly.  So captivating is the actress that she comes dangerously close to eclipsing her co-star, Pierre Fresnay, and it is only by exercising his formidable skills as a character actor that Fresnay succeeds in holding his own with his amiable, albeit somewhat eccentric, portrayal of Jacques Offenbach.  Achard's well-honed script has us believe that Offenbach was a comi-tragic figure whose only love was his work, whilst Schneider is characterised as a social-climbing man-eater, forever failing to find true love.  No one could ever be taken in by this gross simplification of two complex individuals, but since when has truth ever got in the way of a good biopic?  La Valse de Paris is an affectionate and stylish tribute to the genius of Offenbach, a delight for anyone who adores his music.

Film Synopsis

Paris, in the mid-1800s.  Hortense Schneider is an aspiring young actress who is keen to appear in Jacques Offenbach's next operetta.  Through her boyfriend Berthelier she gains an introduction to the celebrated composer and he is at once won over by her charm and singing voice.  Under Offenbach's tutelage Schneider becomes an instant star of the Paris stage, but her love life continues to be one long round of disappointments.  Finally, the actress professes her love for Offenbach, but is this the start of a lasting romance or merely the beginning of another short-lived infatuation...?