The Charterhouse of Parma

Christian-Jaque’s Stendhal adaptation follows the young Fabrice del Dongo, who finishes his studies and goes to Parma in 1821 to join his aunt, the Duchess of Sanseverina. Fabrice moves from one love affair to the next while his aunt is in love with him, and the intrigues of the court turn around that bond. Imprisoned, he falls for the jailer’s daughter he can see from his window and starts planning an escape, which she calls madness before making a vow of her own. Gérard Philipe plays Fabrice, Maria Casarès the duchess and Renée Faure the jailer’s daughter. The French and Italian co-production opened on 16 May 1948, drew more than six million admissions and was the most watched French film of the year. The record’s summary is corrupt throughout: it takes Fabrice for a young archbishop, demotes the duchess to a countess, never mentions that she is his aunt, and breaks off in the middle of a sentence and repeats it.