The Monte Carlo story

Movie
German title	The Monte Carlo story
Original title	Monte Carlo
Country of production	Italy , USA
original language	English
Publishing year	1957
length	97 minutes
Age rating	FSK 16
Rod
Director	Samuel A. Taylor
script	Samuel A. Taylor Marcello Girosi Dino Risi
production	Marcello Girosi
music	Renzo Rosselini
camera	Giuseppe Rotunno
cut	George White
occupation
Marlene Dietrich : Maria de Crevecoeur Vittorio De Sica : Count Dino della Fiaba Arthur O'Connell : Mr. Homer Hinkley Jane Rose : Mrs. Edith Freeman Mischa Auer : Hector, head waiter Clelia Matania : Sophia Truman Smith : Mr. Fred Freeman Alberto Rabagliati : Albert, porter Carlo Rizzo : Henri, sailor Frank Colson : Walter Peeples, friend of Hinkley Natalie Trundy : Jane Hinkley Renato Rascel : Duval

The Monte Carlo Story is an American melodrama from 1957 with Marlene Dietrich and Vittorio De Sica.

action

At the beginning of the film it is immediately clear: Count Dino della Fiaba is a gambler and broke because he can't even afford a place on the quay. Before he can row ashore, he has to take off his shoes and roll up his trousers because his dinghy contains water. He goes to the casino with friendly greetings from the staff and wins a little there.

When he returns, he meets with some of these staff: They work in the casino , in the “Au Milieu du Monde” hotel or at the port. But everyone finds it unworthy that a count has to “work” and has therefore advanced a few million ( francs , approx. 10,000 dollars ) to him. For this he has to deliver half of his profits as interest and repayment.

But his lenders are of the opinion that the problem of minimum repayment can be solved with a rich marriage and present a number of rich ladies who reside in the hotel "Au Milieu du Monde". Nobody likes it when the rich heiress Maria de Crevecoeur arrives. Count Dino della Fiaba is immediately fascinated and makes her court - actively supported by his creditors, who make him look like a rich count. Even Maria de Crevecoeur like the rich Count, through which it hopes to escape from the embrace of her nachgereisten pawnbroker. But when, after a few days, Count Dino della Fiaba Maria de Crevecoeur proposes marriage, they both discover that they have fallen for impostors.

At this moment, the wealthy American canning company Homer Hinkley and his daughter Jane arrive on a schooner, accompanied by the Freemans . Homer wants to steer the ship under sail in the harbor and lightly rams the count's boat. After getting to know each other, Maria de Crevecoeur can look after the manufacturer, whose wife has died, while Count Dino della Fiaba is adored by Jane Hinkley . During a visit to the casino, the brisk Americans show the two players how to win at the gaming table, even if Jane has to learn roulette first and Homer struggles with the French rules of 17 + 4 .

So in love Homer then Mary and Jane in the count, even though she knows that a connection because of the age difference is impossible. Jane  - who of course, like her father, has long since noticed that the Count and Marie are two burned-down players - ensures that not only the Count's ship is repaired, but also that the engine that was left on the gaming table is reinstalled. At a ball at which Maria finally promises Homer to go to Indiana with him , Jane tries to convince the Count of her love. She mentions the numbers 15 and 19. Count Dino , who only wants to play roulette again when he has a surefire system and has been tinkering with it for a long time, suddenly recognizes these numbers as his lucky numbers and wins an enormous sum that puts him in a position to pay off his debts and pay off his friends with fat interest. And finally to travel home, renounce the game and retire. The next day the Count and the Hinkleys leave with Maria . But only when she says goodbye does Maria realize that she belongs to the Count and not to Homer , who then releases her and goes with a successful sailing maneuver alongside Count Dino's boat.

criticism

"Appealingly cast, light comedy food in the lush backdrop of Monte Carlo, in the fringes of the casino plot of some wit, with a melodramatic ending."

- Lexicon of international film

background

The songs are by Michel Emer ("Vogliamoci Tanta Bene", "Back Home in Indiana", "The Monte Carlo Story" and "Les jeux sont faits") and Renato Rascel ("Un jour l'amour").

Web links

• The Monte Carlo Story in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• The Monte Carlo story at marlenedietrich-filme.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The Monte Carlo Story. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .