The Story of Three Loves

Last updated

The Story of Three Loves
3 Loves.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by
Written by
Produced by Sidney Franklin
Starring
Cinematography
Edited byRalph E. Winters
Music by Miklós Rózsa
Color process Technicolor
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date
  • March 26, 1953 (1953-03-26)
Running time
122 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$2,498,000 [1]
Box office$3,167,000 [1]

The Story of Three Loves (also known as Equilibrium) is a 1953 American Technicolor romantic anthology film made by MGM. It consists of three stories, "The Jealous Lover", "Mademoiselle", and "Equilibrium". The film was produced by Sidney Franklin. "Mademoiselle" was directed by Vincente Minnelli, while Gottfried Reinhardt directed the other two segments. The screenplays were written by John Collier ("The Jealous Lover", "Equilibrium"), Jan Lustig  [ de ] ("Equilibrium", "Mademoiselle"), and George Froeschel ("Equilibrium", "Mademoiselle").

Contents

"The Jealous Lover" stars Moira Shearer and James Mason; "Mademoiselle" features Leslie Caron, Farley Granger, Ethel Barrymore, and Ricky Nelson; Pier Angeli and Kirk Douglas headline "Equilibrium".

The music score is by Miklós Rózsa. The soundtrack features extended excerpts from Sergei Rachmaninoff's Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini , performed by the pianist Jakob Gimpel for "The Jealous Lover".

Choreography for "The Jealous Lover" was by Frederick Ashton.

Plot

The Jealous Lover

On an ocean liner, a passenger recognizes famed ballet creator Charles Coudray, and asks him politely why one of his works was never performed after its debut. When Coudray remains silent, the fan leaves him alone with his thoughts, leading to a flashback.

Ballerina Paula Woodward auditions for Coudray. Coudray is impressed, but then Paula collapses and has to be carried off stage. A doctor informs her aunt Lydia, who in her day had been a highly acclaimed ballerina, that Paula has a heart condition that will force her to give up dancing, if she dances again, she could die. Lydia is deeply saddened, and tells the doctor that Paula would have been an even greater ballerina than she. Paula overhears Lydia wondering aloud how she could tell Paula the terrible news.

Some time later, Paula attends a performance of Coudray's latest ballet. After it seems that everyone else has left, she goes on stage and dances. However, she is not alone, Coudray has been watching. He had been dissatisfied with certain aspects of his work; from what he has seen of Paula's impromptu performance, he believes she can help him fix the defects.

At first, Paula declines his invitation to dance for him at his home studio, but eventually she dons a costume from his ballet and she dances. Paula lives up to Coudray's high expectations, but she exhausts herself in the process. Coudray tenderly kisses her and tells her that they will be together forever. She excuses herself to change, and slips away to return home to Aunt Lydia brimming with the news of what had transpired. But on her way upstairs, she dies, her last words recounting her promise to Coudray that she would be with him always.

Mademoiselle

The story then shifts to a second passenger, referred to only as Mademoiselle. A chance remark by a passerby about a governess triggers her flashback.

She is the governess and French tutor to Thomas Clayton Campbell Jr., a bored eleven-year-old American boy left in her charge at a hotel in Rome by his absent parents. One day, another boy dares him to visit Mrs. Hazel Pennicott, who lives next door and is reputed to be a witch. When he wishes he were a man, she tells him to wrap a ribbon she has around his finger and recite her name at 8 pm, but she warns him that the spell will only last until midnight. She cuts the ribbon in half (in case she wants to have it for someone else's spell) and gives it to him. After arguing with Mademoiselle to stop her from over-mothering him and staying in on her last night in Rome, he gets in bed and evokes the spell. The incantation works, and he is transformed into a young man.

In his new form, he goes to find Mademoiselle, and is surprised to find that he no longer despises Mademoiselle, nor the romantic poetry that she kept reciting to him. They embark on a whirlwind romance, but he warns her that he has only a few hours before he has to go away. He does however promise that he will see her off at the train station the next day. He flees as the clock strikes midnight.

He keeps his word, but as the young boy. Mademoiselle quits her job to remain in Rome. While waiting for her lover to show up, she bumps into Mrs. Pennicott and spills the contents of the old woman's purse. Mademoiselle gathers up the various items, but after Mrs. Pennicott thanks her and leaves, she picks up an overlooked red ribbon.

The film shifts back to the ship. While Mademoiselle is knitting in a deck chair, the red ribbon blows away. When she goes to retrieve it, she encounters a handsome young man who informs her that he saw her before, from the train as it departed the station.

Equilibrium

The camera moves to Pierre Narval, leaning over the rail and gazing at the ocean.

In Paris, Narval saves a suicidal Nina Burkhardt after she jumps from a bridge over the Seine River. He goes to visit her in the hospital, and finds her still very depressed. He gives her his address and asks her to come see him.

When she does (having nowhere else to go), he tells her that he was once a great trapeze artist. However being the best was not enough for him; he kept trying more and more dangerous tricks, and two years before, his partner was killed as a result. After that, nobody would work with him. As Nina has demonstrated that she has no fear of dying, he asks her to be his new partner. When she agrees, he starts training her, despite his friends' warning that his obsession will kill her too.

Narval learns Nina's own dark secret. She and her husband had been imprisoned by the Nazis in a concentration camp during World War II. She was released. Sensing that he was planning an escape, she had written him a letter begging him to wait, that the Allies would liberate him soon enough. However, she entrusted the letter to a man who betrayed them. Her husband was executed.

At last, the act is ready. They audition for an important American, who insists they perform the climax, the "Leap of Death" (a blind jump by Nina through a screen to Narval on the trapeze), without a safety net, just as they would before a live audience. They do the trick, but then Narval makes a decision. They walk away, leaving the circus behind them. Back aboard the ship, Narval is joined by a loving Nina.

Cast

Reception

According to MGM records, the film made $1,096,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $2,071,000 in other markets, resulting in a loss of $805,000. [1]

Awards

The film was nominated an Academy Award for Best Art Direction (Cedric Gibbons, E. Preston Ames, Edward Carfagno, Gabriel Scognamillo, Edwin B. Willis, F. Keogh Gleason, Arthur Krams, Jack D. Moore). [2]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Object of My Affection</i> 1998 American film

The Object of My Affection is a 1998 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Nicholas Hytner, and starring Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd alongside Alan Alda, Nigel Hawthorne, John Pankow, and Tim Daly. The film was adapted from novel of the same name by Stephen McCauley and the screenplay was written by Wendy Wasserstein. The story focuses on a pregnant New York social worker who develops romantic feelings for her gay new friend and decides to raise her child with him, and the complications that ensue.

<i>Giselle</i> Romantic ballet in two acts

Giselle, originally titled Giselle, ou les Wilis, is a romantic ballet in two acts with music by Adolphe Adam. Considered a masterwork in the classical ballet performance canon, it was first performed by the Ballet du Théâtre de l'Académie Royale de Musique at the Salle Le Peletier in Paris on 28 June 1841, with Italian ballerina Carlotta Grisi as Giselle. It was an unqualified triumph. It became hugely popular and was staged at once across Europe, Russia, and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lydia Lopokova</span> Russian ballet dancer (1892–1981)

Lydia Lopokova, Baroness Keynes was a Russian ballerina famous during the early 20th century.

La Sylphide is a romantic ballet in two acts. There were two versions of the ballet; the original choreographed by Filippo Taglioni in 1832, and a second version choreographed by August Bournonville in 1836. Bournonville's is the only version known to have survived and is one of the world's oldest surviving ballets.

<i>On Your Toes</i> Musical

On Your Toes (1936) is a musical with a book by Richard Rodgers, George Abbott, and Lorenz Hart, music by Rodgers, and lyrics by Hart. It was adapted into a film in 1939.

<i>Talk to Her</i> 2002 film by Pedro Almodóvar

Talk To Her is a 2002 Spanish psychological melodrama film, written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar. It stars: Javier Cámara, Darío Grandinetti, Leonor Watling, Geraldine Chaplin, and Rosário Flores. The film follows two men who form an unlikely friendship, as they care for two women who are both in comas.

<i>Pride and Prejudice</i> (1940 film) 1940 film by Robert Zigler Leonard

Pride and Prejudice is a 1940 American film adaptation of Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice, starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier. Directed by Robert Z. Leonard, the screenplay was written by Aldous Huxley and Jane Murfin, adapted specifically from the stage adaptation by Helen Jerome, in addition to Jane Austen's novel.

Almayer's Folly is Joseph Conrad's first novel, published in 1895 by T. Fisher Unwin. Set in the late 19th century, it centres on the life of the Dutch trader Kaspar Almayer in the Borneo jungle and his relationship to his mixed heritage daughter Nina. The character of Kaspar Almayer is based on a Dutch local trader by the name of William Charles Olmeijer.

<i>Psycho</i> (novel) 1959 novel by Robert Bloch

Psycho is a 1959 horror novel by American writer Robert Bloch. The novel tells the story of Norman Bates, a caretaker at an isolated motel who struggles under his domineering mother and becomes embroiled in a series of murders. The novel is considered Bloch's most enduring work and one of the most influential horror novels of the 20th century.

Mabel Esther Allan was a British author of about 170 children's books.

<i>Save the Last Dance 2</i> 2006 American film

Save the Last Dance 2 is a 2006 dance drama film and a sequel to the 2001 film Save the Last Dance. It was released to DVD on October 10, 2006, by Paramount Home Entertainment and MTV. While featuring some returning characters, none of the original cast are retained from the original film. R&B singer Ne-Yo makes an appearance in the film.

<i>Meet Me in Las Vegas</i> 1956 US musical comedy film by Roy Rowland

Meet Me in Las Vegas is a 1956 American musical comedy film directed by Roy Rowland, filmed in Eastman Color and CinemaScope, and starring Dan Dailey and Cyd Charisse. The film was tailored for the talents of Charisse, showcasing her skills with modern and classical ballet.

<i>Olive Kitteridge</i> 2008 novel by Elizabeth Strout

Olive Kitteridge is a 2008 novel or short story cycle by American author Elizabeth Strout. Set in Maine in the fictional coastal town of Crosby, it comprises 13 stories that are interrelated but narratively discontinuous and non-chronological. Olive Kitteridge is a main character in some stories and has a lesser or cameo role in others. Six of the stories had been published in periodicals between 1992 and 2007.

<i>Black Swan</i> (film) 2011 film by Darren Aronofsky

Black Swan is a 2010 American psychological horror film directed by Darren Aronofsky from a screenplay by Mark Heyman, John McLaughlin, and Andres Heinz, based on a story by Heinz. The film stars Natalie Portman in the lead role, with Vincent Cassel, Mila Kunis, Barbara Hershey, and Winona Ryder in supporting roles. The plot revolves around a production of Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake by the company of New York City Ballet. The production requires a ballerina to play the innocent and fragile White Swan, for which the committed dancer Nina Sayers (Portman) is a perfect fit, as well as the dark and sensual Black Swan, which are qualities better embodied by the new rival Lily (Kunis). Nina is overwhelmed by a feeling of immense pressure when she finds herself competing for the role, causing her to lose her tenuous grip on reality and descend into madness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leon Small</span> UK soap opera character, created 2010

Leon Small is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders and its Internet spin-off EastEnders: E20, played by Sam Attwater. He made his first appearance in EastEnders on 5 January and appears in all twelve episodes of the first series of EastEnders: E20. The character was created by a team of 13 writers aged between 17 and 22 and is described as sexy and cool with a short fuse and a lack of respect for those in authority. The character's departure was announced on 11 May 2010 and his last appearance was on 30 September 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zsa Zsa Carter</span> UK soap opera character, created 2010

Zsa Zsa Carter is a fictional character from the BBC soap opera EastEnders and its internet spin-off EastEnders: E20, played by Emer Kenny. She is the daughter of Tina Carter. She made her first appearance in EastEnders on 5 January 2010 and appears in all twelve episodes of the first series of EastEnders: E20. The character was created by a team of 13 writers aged between 17 and 22 and is described as bright, sarcastic and a rebel. In May 2010, the character's departure from the show was announced; her last appearance was on 30 September 2010.

<i>The Toast of Death</i> 1915 film by Thomas H. Ince

The Toast of Death is a 1915 silent era drama/romance motion picture released by Mutual Film Corporation starring Louise Glaum, Harry Keenan, and Herschel Mayall.

<i>The Night Is Young</i> 1935 film by Dudley Murphy

The Night Is Young is a 1935 American romantic musical film starring Ramon Novarro and Evelyn Laye. The film is based on a story written by Vicki Baum and directed by Dudley Murphy.

The Hired Man is a 1918 American silent comedy film written and directed by Victor Schertzinger. The film stars Charles Ray, Charles K. French, Robert Gordon, Doris May, Lydia Knott, and William Fairbanks. The film was released on January 27, 1918, by Paramount Pictures.

References

  1. 1 2 3 The Eddie Mannix Ledger, Los Angeles: Margaret Herrick Library, Center for Motion Picture Study.
  2. ↑ "NY Times: The Story of Three Loves". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times . 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-10-18. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.