SOURCE: "Ophuls and the Romantic Tradition," in Yale French Studies, No. 17, Summer, 1956, pp. 3-5.

In the following essay, Archer identifies Ophuls as the most controversial figure in French cinema.

La Ronde opens with the introduction of an autonomous entrepreneur, an addition to the text of Schnitzler's Reigen, who functions in the stylized manner of a Shakespearian Chorus. Wandering through a deserted sound stage, this enigmatic figure, suavely played by Anton Walbrook, regards his audience with polite disdain as he establishes the point of departure for the film. The theme, he announces, is love, in all its variations; the setting Vienna, gauzy and ornate; the mood nostalgia (violins commence an Oscar Strauss waltz); the time "le passé" ("J'adore le passé," he thoughtfully explains). By the time this curious combination of headwaiter and puppeteer has started the carousel which symbolizes La Ronde, it is clear that he is a calculated...