| The Exile | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Max Ophüls |
| Produced by | Douglas Fairbanks Jr. |
| Written by | Novel: Cosmo Hamilton Screenplay: Douglas Fairbanks Jr. |
| Starring | Douglas Fairbanks Jr. María Montez Rita Corday (as Paule Croset) |
| Music by | Frank Skinner |
| Cinematography | Franz Planer |
| Editing by | Ted J. Kent |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | October 17, 1947 (US) |
| Running time | 95 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,774,990[1] |
The Exile (1947) is a film directed by Max Ophüls, starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. and María Montez. The film is based on the novel His Majesty, the King: A Romantic Love Chase of the Seventeenth Century by Cosmo Hamilton.
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Charles Stewart (Douglas Fairbanks Jr) heir to the English throne and exiled from the country by Oliver Cromwell and the Roundheads, seeks refuge in the Netherlands until the time is right to return. Whilst bartering in a local marketplace, he meets Katie (Rita Corday), a Dutch flower girl. The two fall in love as Charles spends his time hiding out at her inn. The roundheads who are looking throughout Europe for Charles finally find him, and a dramatic battle ensures between Charles and Colonel Ingram (Henry Daniell), their leader. Charles defeats Ingram, and is told that he can finally return to England once more. To take the crown though means that Charles has to leave behind the peasant girl Katie, and the two sadly depart.
This was Max Ophüls first film in Hollywood, after he was fired from his initial project Vendetta due to disagreements with producer Howard Hughes. Douglas Fairbanks Jr, a well known anglophile, had enjoyed Cosmo Hamilton's book and sought to make the film as a tribute to his father Douglas Fairbanks, a star of Swashbuckler films of the silent period. Ophüls was recommended to Fairbanks by Robert Siodmak, the well-known director at the time of The Killers.
The film was produced by Universal-International Pictures, and whilst the initial plan was for the film to be made in Technicolor, budget restraints meant that the movie had to be shot in black and white. Though the studio was initially concerned by Ophüls unorthodox filming methods, preferring to film in long takes full of complex camera movements, they eventually warmed to his filmmaking techniques and formed a good relationship. Due to this being his first American film Ophüls was paid $22,600 for the movie, a small amount compared to the usual $75,000 or more that established Hollywood directors received.[2]
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